Insomniac just dropped the highly anticipated set times for their flagship event, EDC Las Vegas, and ooh boy, it’s a doozy. There are chart-topping headliners to be found everywhere, insane b2bs all over the place, rare art car performances, and some very tough decisions to be made. But, that’s okay; we’re here to help you figure out the best acts to see and maybe tip the scales on some of the many time conflicts you and/or your squad are sure to encounter. Let’s start with Day 1.
Opening ceremonies
As appears to be tradition now, Cosmic Meadow will open early for some top notch performances. It’s all about House music to start things off. Friday will see a brief set from House breakout John Summit, as well as a tasty Vintage Culture b2b Solardo set. There’s even more starpower on Saturday, as Sidepiece kick things off, before a special Diplo b2b Lee Foss house set. That should be vibey AF. Finally Blossom and Z-Trip kick things off on Sunday. If you can manage the extended hours, all of these sets are can’t miss.
Friday, October 22
Festival gates open at 7 PM, the crowd may be sparse, but there’s still some acts to catch if you can make it up there super early. Frank Walker opens things up at Kinetic Field, and one of Your EDM’s favorites, Moore Kismet, is opening up Cosmic Meadow. If you want some House to start your night off, Lucati is opening up Circuit Grounds.
Things really get kicking around 9 PM when Nicky Romero takes over Kinetic Field, Claptone takes the stage at Circuit Grounds, and Born Dirty is kicking at Cosmic Meadow. After that, head over to Basspod for another Your EDM favorite, Sullivan King. It will be a headbanger’s delight for sure. Don Diablo takes over Kinetic at 11:15, but this is where some tough decisions will need to be made. Tchami also occupies the same time slot at Circuit Grounds, while Basspod will be hosting a special Jauz b2b Peekaboo set.
The lineup is just too stacked after this. The Chainsmokers play Kinetic at 12:28, Zhu plays Cosmic Meadow at 12:00, NGHTMRE will be lighting up Basspod, and Alison Wonderland will bye playing Circuit Grounds at 12:45. You can’t really go wrong with any choice, I, for one, would love to see some new Chainsmokers music. Once again, there are tough, but clear decisions to be made after that. Alesso takes over Kinetic, Flosstradamus throws down at Cosmic Meadow, and Basspod has what is sure to be an insane Kayzo b2b Knife Party set.
I don’t blame you if you’re tired, but there’s still so much more to choose from. If you can make it, Seven Lions, Ghastly, and Wuki will all be throwing down. After that, Vini Vici will close down the main stage, with Nitti Gritti closing out Cosmic Meadow.
Saturday, October 23
If you thought Day 1 was loaded, Day 2 is about to rock your world! There’s already a lot of early action with Elephante at Kinetic and ARMNHMR at Circuit Grounds heading into the 8 o’clock hour. Take your pick between the legendary Benny Benassi at Circuit Grounds at 8:45 or trance/bass crossover Jason Ross at Kinetic in the same time slot. If you’re like me the move is to check out Benassi and then check out Oliver Heldens directly afterwards. Once again, the lineup is stacked at this point. Andrew Rayel will be taking over Kinetic in the same time slot, and AC Slater will be hitting Cosmic Meadow at 10 PM.
The decisions only get harder from here on out. Stay at Circuit Grounds for Slander? Head over to Kinetic for Alan Walker? Vibe out at Cosmic Meadow with Diplo? There is no wrong decision here. After that is arguably the toughest choice of the weekend. Do you catch Martin Garrix at Circuit Grounds, sure to unleash a bevy of new IDs? Or do you catch the Tiesto at Kinetic? Tiesto always brings it at EDC, and a special guest is almost guaranteed (Karol G, anyone?). Again, regardless of which Dutch superstar you choose to see, you can’t go wrong.
If you can believe it, deadmau5 will follow Martin at Circuit Grounds. I, personally, will not be leaving that stage for that time frame. But, there’s still a lot of stuff going on. DJ Snake will be a Kinetic, and he also brings it everytime at EDC. Louis the Child will be playing out their new album at Cosmic Meadow; Excision will be throwing down a Detox set at Basspod, and Ilan Bluestone will be lighting up Quantum Valley.
Here’s where the festival lineup starts getting really diverse. As deadmau5’s set ends and DJ Snake plays into the night, you can also check out Charlotte de Witte at Neon Garden, get your trance fix with Ferry Corsten at Quantum Valley. Jauz will take over Circuit Grounds after deadmau5. Shortly after that KSHMR will take the stage at Kinetic. Once again there are many options to close the night. Vintage Culture will shut down Kinetic, 12th Planet will play a throwback set at Basspod, Blanke will be shutting down Circuit Grounds, and Gammer and K?d will be going b2b at Cosmic Meadow for what is sure to be a memorable set.
Sunday, October 24
After two absolutely insane days, EDC gives you a chance to catch your breath on Sunday, before, once again, giving you all you can handle at the end of the weekend. If you can make it, there’s still plenty to choose from early on, on Sunday. ARTY opens up Kinetic, Throttle opens up Circuit Grounds, William Black opens up Cosmic Meadow; there are definitely choices. At least as far as I’m concerned, there aren’t really a whole lot of can’t miss sets during the early period on Sunday.
My first can’t miss set is Eric Prydz, and he doesn’t even take the stage until Midnight. Use Sunday to explore the festival grounds and check out an Art Car set. After this, there are major choices to be made. You could stay at Circuit Grounds for Rezz, you could go next door to Cosmic Meadow for Zedd. (I still don’t understand why Zedd plays that stage. He’s a mainstage artist with visuals good enough for Circuit Grounds.) Or, Kygo at Kinetic. I haven’t made my choice yet. This is as good as it gets. After that, the only place I’ll be is at Kinetic for Afrojack b2b R3hab. I cannot wait for the mainstage vibes we’ll be getting from those two. If you make it that far, treat yourself to Slander b2b Said the Sky at the mainstage. The immaculate vibes will suit you if you made it that far into the festival.
Make sure to download the Insomniac app to plan out your weekend accordingly. Check out this massive, two-hour EDC 2021 Mega Mix to get yourself pumped as well. See you under the Electric Sky!
Photo by aLIVE Coverage for Insomniac