Insomniac’s Pasquale Rotella On May’s Electric Daisy Carnival: ‘If Our Plan Is Approved, We Will Move Forward’

Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas, June 18, 2016.
Steven Lawton / Getty Images –
Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas, June 18, 2016.

Insomniac founder Pasquale Rotella made it clear on March 25 that if Nevada authorities approve plans for this year’s Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas slated for May 21-23, he is moving full-steam ahead and will have a definitive answer by April 8 or sooner. If the plans are not approved, Rotella said, the event will move to October.

In an Instagram post (below) by Rotella entitled “EDC UPDATE,”  the veteran EDM promoter wrote that his team had “submitted a robust safety plan that is currently under review by Nevada officials…If our plan is approved, we will move forward with the May 21-23 dates, and if not, EDC will be moved to October.”

Pasquale Rotella – Pasquale Rotella

According to a timeline set out on Feb. 11 by Nevada’s Democratic Governor Sisolak that runs until May, meetings and conventions, entertainment venues and large group gatherings may operate at 50 percent capacity with approval through the state’s Department of Business and Industry. Public gatherings have increased to only 250 people or 50 percent of capacity, whichever number is lower.

Those numbers, of course, are exponentially lower than the estimated 465,000 who turned out across three days for EDC Las Vegas 2019 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, featuring headlining sets by Tiësto, David Guetta and Deadmau5. But the state’s COVID-19 Mitigation and Management Task Force is slated to meet on Apr. 1 and expected to transition oversight powers from state to local authorities, who could be more inclined to allow EDC to happen in some capacity. 

In his post, Rotella encouraged fans to move forward and reminded them that hotel reservations can be canceled up to 48 hours before check-in and most airlines are not charging change fees for flights booked in March.  He also noted fans will have the option to transfer tickets to 2022 or receive a refund.

In perhaps not a great indicator, however, the promoter addressed “headliners asking that we move the show,” asking them for  understanding of other headliners “who have struggled through this year & need EDC and the support of our community in their lives. We’d love to be able to pull the show off and bring light back into their lives sooner rather than later… ”

With other major festivals moving their dates to fall or even 2022, including Coachella, Bonnaroo, New Orleans Jazz Fest and others, it is encouraging that EDC has not only not moved, but is pushing for it to go ahead less than eight weeks out—something we have not seen for a while. Worth noting: EDC’s parent company, Insomniac, partnered with Live Nation in 2013.

In this transitional period we’re in now, with 87.3 million people vaccinated or 26% of the population as of March 25, according to the CDC, states across the country are easing restrictions and allowing for partial capacity events, including in California and New York.

In New York, clubs are making their way back with mandates starting on April 2 that allow for a 33% of capacity limit and maximum of 100 people indoors and 200 for outdoors.

News broke this week that starting on April 1, fans attending Knicks and Rangers games at Madison Square Garden in New York  will have two new options to demonstrate they are eligible to attend an event – proof from a health care provider of a negative antigen COVID-19 test or full vaccination – in addition to a negative PCR COVID-19 test.

New York state has also launched the NY Forward Rapid Test Program, which has multiple testing center locations, including several near the arena, that provide antigen COVID-19 testing, with results available in 30 minutes and for no more than $30.

In the Golden State, baseball teams will have fans in the stands on Major League Baseball’s opening day depending on which color-coded tier your county falls under: 67% capacity in the yellow, 33% in orange, 20% in red and 100 people in purple.

On March 26, North Carolina will allow 50% capacity for its sporting events and live venues. And Virginia this week just announced indoor venues can operate at 30% capacity.