Electronic dance music is the fastest-growing musical genre out there and has emerged as a major force in the global music scene, captivating audiences and shaping popular culture. Although the EDM genre started gaining popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000’s, the fact is that it has been around for more than three decades. There was hype for EDM in the late 90s and early 2000s, but now it is even crazier than before, with more people excited about getting on the scene than ever before, resulting in a magnificent rise in the trend of EDM music festivals.
The popularity of EDM has led to the origin of music festivals worldwide, with a few being exceptionally eye-catching, such as Tomorrowland and Ultra Music Festival.
The Ultra Music Festival (UMF) has been around since the late ’90s and takes place in Miami, Florida. . The festival usually takes place during the month of March across the weekend. Since 2011, around 3,50,000 people have turned up in the audience, selling out pre-sale tickets within five minutes.
Fun Fact: Despite the extra-ordinary turn-up, Faibisch and Omes (the founders of the festival) still saw a financial loss of between $10,000 and $20,000 during the festival’s inaugural year. However, the UMF immediately picked up in 2000 and is one of the major U.S. music festivals, with lineups including artists such as Hardwell, Fisher, and Chris Lake.
Brothers Manu and Michiel Beers came up with the concept for Tomorrowland, which made its debut in 2005 and has since grown to be one of the most well-known music festivals worldwide. The festival usually takes place in July for two to three days. Tomorrowland has gained recognition over the years and the crowd has gone from merely 9,000 in 2005 to 4,00,000 in 2024. The lineup is filled with more than 800 world-class renowned electronic artists such as Tale of Us, Swedish House Mafia, Dimitri Vegas, like Mike, The Chainsmokers, across 16 mesmerizing stages. The festival takes place annually at De Schorre public recreational park in Boom, Belgium. Recently, the Province of Antwerp and the cities of Boom and Rumst announced an agreement with ‘WeAreOne.World’, the organizers behind Tomorrowland, ensuring the festival’s continued use of De Schorre for the next 66 years.
Originating from underground club scenes in the 1980s, EDM music festivals now take place in 68 countries around the globe and have made their way to India as well.
The trend of music festivals is increasing in India, and there are numerous festivals taking place across the country throughout the year with extra-ordinary visual setups and lineups.
Various music festivals have popped up in India over the last decade. Some outstanding festivals, such as Sunburn, Magnetic Fields, Hilltop Festivals, VH1 Supersonic, and Goa Sunsplash, have gained immense popularity, and as social media adds to it, it is still booming, especially in the last 5 years. These festivals usually take place over 3-5 days in cities like Goa, Mumbai, Delhi, or Pune. Except for Magnetic Fields, which is held annually at Alsisar Mahal in Rajasthan, offering a fine blend of international and Indian culture.
In addition, the surge in EDM’s popularity also influenced multi-genre events like Coachella and Lollapalooza to extend their lineups with more electronic acts, which helps in understanding the relationship that people have with EDMs and their willingness to attend these festivals.
To conclude, the rise of music festivals is based on the experience of joy, friendliness, carelessness, living life, and listening to good music; all other elements are secondary. Grabbing on to the opportunity to attend these festivals is a chance to relax and not care about anything, as everyone is looking for a way to blow off some steam.