Back in 2012, Kaskade called Electric Daisy Carnival “Our Generation’s Woodstock”. Anyone who’s attended one of the Insomniac Events festivals would agree with the comparison. With tens of thousands of fans, line-ups that feature the best acts in electronic dance music, and artistic elements that create a surreal experience, the various EDC locations have become weekend meccas for ravers from around the US and the world.
So in July, when it was announced that next year’s EDC New York would take place at Winston Farm, the location of the 1994 Woodstock festival (and original proposal for 1969’s Woodstock, which took place nearby), festival-goers rejoiced. Set to have a 3-day camping experience instead of the usual NYC public transit frenzy, the proposal seemed perfect. But unfortunately the town board of Saugerties, New York have rejected the idea due to safety concerns.
Insomniac said there would be a limit to 75,000 attendees for the weekend, but for a smaller town, this would still be too risky a number in regards to providing sufficient fire and ambulance services during the event. “The Electric Daisy concert does not look like it’s going to happen,” said Town Supervisor Kelly Myers in the area’s Daily Freeman. “There were some concerns about how to safely manage that and the Schaller family has had some concerns as well.” The Schaller family owns the historic Winston Farm.
With such a big event at hand, it’s important that the town hosting it has a voice in the planning of the festival, and for Saugerites, EDC just wasn’t a practical fit. Remember the backlash from the residents of Douglas County, GA regarding the noise at TomorrowWorld, despite the festival’s remarkably low number of accidents? Perhaps there was some concern about the nature of the festival as well. Insomniac’s VP of communications and public affairs released the following statement regarding EDC not taking place at Woodstock:
“The proposal was denied by the Schaller family, the owners of Winston Farms, who did not feel comfortable hosting a dance music festival on their site. Local officials often have questions over any type of mass gathering and this was no different. However, the proposal was nixed due to a lack of venue, not due to health and safety concerns.”
