Ground Control: My Life-Changing Experience at EDC Las Vegas

I would be lying if I said this past weekend didn’t change my life.

This past weekend I attended my first Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, but I was not only attending. I was working ground control with Insomniac, the biggest and best experience creating company in North America.

Ground control is Insomniac’s team of compassionate ravers who patrol the festival grounds with the goal of keeping all headliners (festival attendees) happy, healthy, and hydrated. I wanted to work with ground control to experience being on the other side. I wanted to give back to others who shared the same love for EDM and the festival life as me. And of course, I wanted to work for Insomniac!

EDC Prep (Day 1)

After picking up credentials at the Golden Nugget, I head to my Airbnb where I am staying with 6 other girls working ground control. I am so excited to meet them in real life after feeling like we’ve known each other for months after chatting online.

All the girls are awesome. We come from all over the U.S. and work different jobs. Some of us have worked ground control before, but the majority of us have not. The one thing we have in common, though, was our excitement to help others and make a positive impact on their EDC experience.

Orientation

Our first night of work begins with orientation 8PM-3AM. We are only staying 15 minutes west of the speedway, but we leave around 6:30PM to give ample time for traffic. We get nervous because there’s a HUGE line for EDC Campers, but we luckily zoom right around them and make it to orientation an hour early.

My friends and I join a room of 500 other ground controllers where we meet our supervisors and hear their inspirational stories from past Insomniac events. They remind us that this weekend will change our lives and that we will leave with a new family. This, paired with an Avicii tribute video featuring his time playing at EDC, makes half the room tear up.

Now onto the serious stuff. We go through extensive training that includes how to respond to emergency situations, answer and use our radios, comfort and assist distressed headliners, and recognize signs of dehydration, overdose, and discomfort.

With the R.A.V.E. act in place, people are afraid of getting in trouble when they actually need medical help. Acting as an approachable outlet and ensuring our headliners won’t get in trouble is our job. And (an even bigger plus), onsite medical is free! A doctor’s bill will not be sent home to your parents where you will be forced to face their wrath after experiencing the best weekend of your life. Insomniac’s number one priority is the safety of their headliners. No one is getting in trouble.

The Tour

The festival grounds are split up into different zones containing each of the 8 stages. We are grouped into different teams to get a tour and meet each of the zones’ leads. This is my first time seeing the grounds of this festival.

I have pretty high expectations. I am afraid I have ruined all festivals after seeing the biggest and best at Tomorrowland and am nervous for another let-down like Ultra Miami. This was not the case. As we tour each zone and hear sound checks at each of the magnificent stages, I get butterflies in my stomach and more tears in my eyes with anticipation for what will come tomorrow. I am so excited for the headliners!

EDC Ground Control 1st Shift

I am relieved when I am paired up with Andrea, a long time EDC veteran and second-time ground controller. We are ready to take on our first 5PM-7AM shift, armed with band-aids, ear plugs, and water.

We focus our attention on the dark corners or areas away from the stages where people who aren’t feeling well tend to hide. If someone is asleep, we need to wake them up to make sure they aren’t unconscious. If someone cannot tell us their name, that’s a sign that they might need medical attention or an eye kept on them.

As the night gets later and we are stationed near more hotspots (areas where there’s a higher need for medical attention), the number of people needing help starts to increase.

One of these spots is at the top of the grandstands near the entrance gates and concessions. We find an intoxicated female headliner asleep by herself up against a wall. She wakes up and is able to tell us her name but is distressed about losing her friend. We persuade her to come with us back into the festival grounds where we introduce her to some new friends to hang out with while watching Jai Wolf at Cosmic Meadows.

Another headliner is asleep by herself in the middle of carnival square (an area at the center of the festival with faux lawn and bean bags). We try many times to wake her up and ask her what her name is, but we can only get her to open her eyes briefly before falling back asleep. Andrea radios in her status and location while I run to get a wheelchair from medical to take her to the med tent.

Hydrate

Another huge part of our ground control duties is working the water stations, which to me is one of the most rewarding jobs. I can’t tell you how many positive interactions I had with people or how many headliners thanked me and told me I was saving their lives.

EDC Ground Control 2nd Shift

On my second ground control shift, I am paired up with Bryan. I really luck out with both of my partners! They were both so uplifting and positive. Without them, I don’t know if I could have survived.

My second day of work is pretty similar, very chill compared to others’ shifts, with no major medical emergencies. Kinetic Field for Slander is a little hectic. There seem to be a lot of younger headliners who are hurting or in need of some encouraging words. When we try to check on some of them, they still seem nervous, reassuring us, “I’m fine, I promise!” Once we tell them they’re not going to get in trouble and that we are on their side, they accept our free water bottles and give us some fist bumps in return.

As the sun starts to rise on the final day, we look for headliners leaving the fest having trouble walking. I approach a group of Australians who just sat down after stumbling. They are fine but disclose to me that they are altered (our word for high). They just need to take a second. As I go to tell my zone lead, Bryan and I spot people carrying a headliner who has his eyes closed. We stop them, get them to lie him down, and run to medical for a wheelchair.

It’s all worth it

Sometimes you wish more than anything that you could be at a set watching your favorite artist. You get tired, weary, and almost a little delirious. You’ve seen some things.

You completely forget all of that and remember what you’re there for when someone comes up to you and says, “I appreciate you.” Receive a smile, a fist bump, a hug, or kandi from another raver, and you’re instantly pumped with a rush of adrenaline born from love. These are my people, who share my passion, and I am here for them.

Insomniac’s ground control team is unlike anything I have seen at any other festival. It’s unlike anything I have ever been a part of. Insomniac cares about each and every one of its attendees and workers.

I left Vegas on Monday, sad that it was over and wondering when I will see my new family next. This experience changed my perspective on things I had been so sure on. It gave me new knowledge that I promise to teach and spread to others in the EDM community. But most of all, ground control proved the importance of showing love and compassion to each and every person, because that energy has the power to spread like a wildfire, to 140,000 people.

How to work with Ground Control

If you’re interested in working with Insomniac’s ground control team you can apply here. If you have more questions, feel free to leave a comment below or send me an email at [email protected].