My first music festival was the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) in Las Vegas. My friend, Harris, and I went as a pseudo bachelor party in October, 2021 since everything was shut down in the world in the time leading up to my actual wedding in 2020. I had heard folks talking about festivals and DJs talking about them on the radio, but I had no idea what to actually expect. It was incredible!

EDC was enormous. It took up the entire Las Vegas Motorspeedway 9 stages full of lights, lasers, fireworks, and loud electronic music. I figured I would try it once to see what it was like and then cross that off my bucket list, but I was hooked right away.

Harris and I have been to EDC in Vegas multiple times, Electric Forest in Michigan, Dreamstate in LA, Portola in SF, A State of Trance in Amsterdam, and Tomorrowland in Belgium.

The rave culture is unique -- people are just so happy to be vibing to the music. You'll have complete strangers come up to you to give you a sprout or just to ask if you're having a good time. There are always less friendly people wherever you go, but raves are a place where I feel at home. To be myself. To dance to the music. To have a good time.