Insomniac’s #VirtualRaveAThon

Virtual Rave-a-Thon

Keeping the PLUR alive.

By Melissa Zuniga Art by Eraj Hussain

Technology is one of the only things connecting everyone right now. With the stay at home order being extended, we’ll be stuck in the house for much longer. Music could help

us get through it. With artists and DJs playing for free, artists are bringing the festivals right to your home.

Pasquale Rotella is the founder and creator of Insomniac, the world’s largest dance music company. With his yearly Beyond Wonderland being held during quarantine, he decided to do a free live stream on Insomniac’s YouTube. He didn’t

want to stop the fun, so he brought it straight to our laptops. No need to wait

hours to buy a ticket or sign up with your email. Simply head to Insomniac’s user profile from Friday to Sunday and it’s right there in front of you.

Rotella put together his team to create

a DJ set in his own Insomniac headquarters.

The room was filled with decorations heavily inspired by “Alice in Wonderland.” There were mushrooms, butterflies and neon lights primarily red and purple. He had booked about six to eight DJs that would come to the

headquarters and play their sets live. Rotella sat across from the DJs so that he could

hear the music and watch the lights, all while checking on the comments.

Each DJ is introduced before their set by Rotella. With set time slots, listeners can tune

in when their favorite DJ is playing. The sets last between an hour or more with lasers, lights and

Music is helping lighten the mood, especially during this time of

stress and anxiousness

concerning the nation.

fog per the DJ’s request. Throughout the night,

the team takes precautions. They make sure that the DJs are either wearing masks, gloves and even having Disinfecto, a man with a belt full of cleaning supplies, wipe down the DJ controller.

A completely free festival every single

weekend, who wouldn’t want that? When

the time comes around, the headquarters is

decorated from floor to ceiling to fit the weekly

theme. His past virtual raves have included Hard

Summer, Countdown, Nocturnal Wonderland

and Escape. Many viewers are excited about what comes next, checking their emails for the next #virtualraveathon to come starting Friday of every week.

This online music festival thing is something many could get used to. Over one million people tune in to dance, watch and comment while in

the safety of their own homes. People are on Zoom calls partying with their friends. Music is helping lighten the mood, especially during this time of stress and anxiousness concerning the nation. Artists are taking advantage of it. Fans are loving it. The viewership just keeps going up every week. Even if you miss a set, the Insomniac team puts many of their previous sets up on their channel.

If you’d like to join in on a free festival,

tune in from May 15 to 17 for the Electric

Daisy Carnival. Keep a lookout for any other Insomniac live streams or even your own

favorite artist. Frequently view their social

media for constant updates; they might just be live streaming soon too.