Nocturnal Wonderland Continues Its Tradition of Excellence [Event Review]

Earlier this month, Insomniac placed on the twenty eighth version of Nocturnal Wonderland, North America’s longest operating rave. I used to be fortunate sufficient to attend as soon as once more this yr, and like a Swiss practice, Nocturnal simply persistently delivers. Whether it’s the stainless vibes that can’t be matched by every other Insomniac fest, the all the time stacked lineup, the acquainted venue and setup, or the Cosmic Equinox itself; Nocturnal retains its uniqueness and attraction. I don’t suppose there’s every other pageant the place you’ve gotten a confluence of individuals raving for his or her first time and OGs who’ve been there because the early days.

Once once more going down on the pristine Glen Helen Regional Park in hills north of San Bernardino, this yr’s version of Nocturnal featured completely good climate. Just as a result of the equinox is on the calendar doesn’t imply that the Southern California summer time is over. This yr, although, headliners have been handled to nice fall-like climate, with temperatures by no means exceeding 80 levels. In reality, it was downright cloudy on Saturday.

As I discussed, the Nocturnal pageant grounds are very acquainted to anybody who’s ever been, and with solely three official levels, it’s supremely straightforward to navigate. For non-campers, they walked up the hill to the Glen Helen Pavilion entrance, you stroll up the ramp adorned by blacklight painted ferns and also you both stroll up the hill to the Labyrinth stage, which was headlined by Bassrush all weekend lengthy, otherwise you walked (stumbled) down the hill to Sunken Garden and Wolves’ Den.

While the levels at Nocturnal normally retain most of their kind from the earlier yr, not like EDC, there have been some notable variations on the primary stage. While it retained the large circle video panel within the center of the stage. The high of the stage was adorned in neon coloured flowers that bloomed over the course of the nights. The Nocturnal Wonderland emblem was entrance and heart whereas the highest border of the stage featured blacklight painted wooden panels. The lasers and pyro solely received greater from final yr.

The Labyrinth stage additionally had some new options. While the stage maintained the identical design, it allotted with the a number of smaller TV-like video panels for a single lengthy diagonal video panel on all sides resulting in the tall vertical video panel. Again, lasers and pyro have been on level on the stage. My solely criticism is that the quantity was considerably decrease at Labyrinth than on the primary stage. Sunken Garden was pushed again somewhat to permit for extra foot site visitors (good transfer) and seemed to be the identical as final yr.

Every single set was superb this weekend. As for my expertise, we walked into the venue on Saturday as Joel Corry was throwing down a pleasant set of home and techno. We made our means up the hill for our a lot wanted dose of drum & bass from UK legend Dimension. After somewhat bit we made our means down the hill for absolutely the home occasion that NITTI b2b Marten Horger have been throwing down. After that, Jason Ross was a significant spotlight of the primary day, from trance to techno, Ross confirmed that he can do all of it. We loved the sights and sounds of the Sunken Garden as VNNSA threw down earlier than we made our means again to Wolves’ Den for AC Slater’s banging home set, and an immaculate set from Seven Lions the place he threw down each his hits and a few wild psy-trance. Finally we ended Night one atop the hill with Black Tiger Sex Machine, the duo threw down an insane set that featured heavy dubstep in addition to some extra melodic tunes to steadiness it out.

We received in a tad in a while Sunday (occurs to the very best of us on the ultimate day), however we made it in time to see some of Pendulum’s set earlier than absolutely the spotlight of the weekend; Benny Bennasi’s Sunset set. The dance music legend weaved by means of some deep and clubby tracks earlier than closing his set out with some of his largest and most beloved hits. He closed his set out with Skrillex’s iconic remix of Benassi’s hit music Cinema. The lasers and manufacturing of the stage helped to ship an unforgettable second for everybody there. For me, this was an iconic second; a dance music icon delivering an indelible second in an iconic area.

From there we moved up the hill and bass was the system for the remaining of the night time. I used to be in awe of PhaseOne’s efficiency, and Eptic delivered an unbelievable set for all of the headliners who have been totally having fun with his efficiency. We stayed atop the hill for GHOSTRYDR (JOYRYDE b2b Ghastly) and loved the old fashioned rave vibes. By that point, everybody had gone right down to the Wolves’ Den for Subtronics, so old style ravers have been rewarded for his or her persistence.

There you’ve gotten it for an additional profitable version of Nocturnal. I haven’t seen something but confirming subsequent yr, however I’d be stunned if Nocturnal didn’t return for its twenty ninth version at Glen Helen Regional Park. Also, Premier Parking got here in clutch, you bought dropped off on the tenting entrance, and didn’t have to attend in site visitors for an hour to depart the venue. 10/10 suggest. This yr’s Nocturnal was pitch good, and we will’t wait to return subsequent yr.