From an outsider’s perspective, EDM at music festivals is just another concert that people choose to attend. However, from the avid attendee’s perspective, these festivals go beyond just the music, but they are a way for people to meet and interact with one another—it creates a culture and a community. EDM pushes people to become fully immersed in the festival; one cannot just attend it, but they have to actively participate in the festivities. The great thing about this community is it is all-inclusive, so if someone is attending their first music festival and has no prior knowledge of what to expect, someone experienced, at the festival, will help them learn.
In order to study the creation of a new community, this paper will look at three ways that the EDM festivals push people to engage with the festival—trading of bracelets and necklaces (otherwise known as kandi and perlers), the attire that the attendees choose to wear, and the types of dance styles that the music allows people to create. Some people choose to participate in all three ways and others just in one or two ways. This paper will analyze the ways in which EDM festivals create bonds between people that go beyond the music, and the ways it creates a feeling of inclusivity even if someone is new to the EDM scene. This paper will include visuals that will help the reader best understand the community that is formed without having to actually attend the festival. Finally, the paper will also be using first-hand accounts from various people that have attended EDM festivals, and it will explain how each of these people became immersed in the culture. Overall, EDM at festivals creates a culture that needs to be examined and interpreted because it is movement that will ultimately be a part of history.