Page 29 - We Rave You Magazine | March 2023

EDITORIAL > LAS VEGAS: THE HISTORY BEHIND THE METEORIC RISE OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC IN THE CITY

Electronic Dance Music or EDM found its birth and meteoric rise in America
in the early 1990s, where underground parties in Chicago and New York
where it quickly grew into the star studded California where warehouse
raves became more prominent. The trend quickly spread to Las Vegas
during this time where due to its remote location saw a growth of outdoor
parties deep in the outskirts of the city and within the desert of Nevada.
The mainstream explosion of dance music within the city can be account-
ed for by the Desert Move party which saw its debut in 1996. Acting as a
first of its time in the city of the festival, the party had local radio support
alongside sponsorships and saw partygoers travel via party bus to remote
and pop-up locations and promise state-of-the-art sound systems and
dynamic intoxicating lighting production. Hosting huge names the likes of
Josh Wink and WestBam, the event was a raging success that paved the
way for electronica in the city.

Due to this rising popularity of Electronica in the city, Las Vegas quickly
founded an ecliptic club of its own. Named Utopia, the club was the first
to open within the Las Vegas strip, in a secluded spot in where the Hard
Rock Cafe stands today. Offering a whole host of DJs, and reasonable drink
prices at the time, Utopia was a turning point for the genre in the city which
saw thousands of guests witness stunning decor and ahead-of-its-time
production. British producer and trance DJ, Paul Oakenfold was one of the
first to host an empowering residency at Utopia, which cleared the way
for other clubs to begin the residency concept. Former clubs the likes of
RA and C2K were among the first to host international DJs on their stages,
which led to the person that started it all, DJ, Paul Oakenfold, comparing
the desert oasis to that of Ibiza, Spain.

It wasn’t until the 2010s that the domination of EDM took hold in Las Vegas
with mega-corporations such as The Tao Group, Wynn Resorts and Play
Management arriving onto the scene to create extraordinary venues.
During this time, most of the well-known clubs opened their doors with
Hakkasan in 2013, Omnia in 2015 and Jewel in 2016, offering never before
seen production which now hosts all of the global top 10 DJs annually.
During this time in 2011 world-renowned festival Electric Daisy Carnival or
EDC moved away from its previous location of Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
Organised by Insomniac, founder Pasquale Rotella has been constantly
quoted stating the desert city was the perfect fit, with its remote location, a
venue big enough to accommodate the festival’s thousands of visitors was
an easy operation and due to the city-wide rise of electronica the decision
to move was a given. Taking place around May time each year at the Las
Vegas Motor Speedway, EDC Las Vegas saw around 400,000 attendees
in 2021 with a percentage of the tickets going to a number of charities
including The Las Vegas Academy for Arts which has only boasted growth
of musical talent within the city.

28 we rave you.com PC: DANNY MAHONEY _ PROVIDED BY WYNN LAS VEGAS march 2023 29