Beyond Wonderland SoCal hosted another epic edition full of spectacular moments, surprises, and unforgettable memories.
A little over a week ago, Insomniac kicked off festival season in style with the latest edition of Beyond Wonderland SoCal. Thousands of ravers reunited under the warm sun and electric night sky in San Bernardino at the iconic NOS Event Center for two days of groovy beats and unforgettable experiences. All weekend, we celebrated the start of festival season, whether through pure bliss or wild adventures.
As usual, Insomniac outdid last year’s edition with unmatched production, leading to unforgettable experiences down the rabbit hole. This year marked the first time I made the trek down to San Bernardino for this festival, and it was undoubtedly an eventful one.
At first glance, Beyond Wonderland is an incredible festival that closely matches the wonder I felt attending EDC Las Vegas for the first time. From the immersive art installations, unbelievable stage productions, and diverse music selections, this festival seemingly had it all.
Day one of Beyond Wonderland took an unexpected turn, starting outside the festival with parking and shuttles.
As a first-time attendee, I barely had any idea of what to expect at Beyond Wonderland and wish I had done better research going into the festival. The first day of the festival was admittedly a series of unfortunate events, but nothing that can be blamed on the festival promoter.
I arrived late to the festival on Friday evening, so I had to park in the furthest lot from the festival grounds and board a shuttle to get there. I’m used to these modes of transportation to festivals, but a five-minute drive turned nearly an hour long, plus a 20-minute walk as our driver decided to take the scenic route through San Bernardino.
At around 9:30 PM, the long journey to the festival ended, and I immediately searched for some tasty food. The festival had the usual items like chicken tenders and fries, but there were other unique options like tacos, pizza, gyros, and much more. I grabbed a slice of pizza that tasted incredible after a tiring day.
My night finally began as I explored the festival grounds and, to my surprise, I came across a ton of music that I enjoyed.
I had almost no plans other than spending time at the hardstyle stage, but I was captivated by the sounds of Chris Lorenzo, Sullivan King, and Anfisa Letyago. While walking around and looking for friends, I was drawn into all of the vibrant and wonderful art and performers around the festival, a sight I’m not used to seeing as I usually attend the hard dance events at the NOS.
I made my way to The Looking Glass, where hard techno reigned supreme and fans were dancing all night. Undoubtedly, this stage was the best throughout the weekend as heavy-hitters Sara Landry, I Hate Models, 999999999, Alignment, and more annihilated everyone in sight with pounding kicks and ravey stabs. Contrary to the social media outrage, this stage had plenty of room to dance if you were truly there to stay for sets.
On the opposite side was Cheshire Woods, where Basscon took over the revamped stage on day one.
Although The Looking Glass hosted some of my favorite performances, Cheshire Woods took the cake when it came to stage design and production. On day one, American Hard Dance standout Hartshorn came through with the happy hardcore sounds that had everybody jumping while Clawz and MADGRRL tore the house down with hard techno beats.
The night ended with two of my favorite sets: the reverse bass masters, TNT, and the return of the king of hardcore, Angerfist. As usual, TNT put on a reverse bass masterclass, and Angerfist closed the festival down in style with hardcore beats for the mind, body, and soul.
Apart from my undying love for hard dance, I fell in love with the dynamic of Beyond Wonderland as there was something for everyone. While Angerfist pierced eardrums with hardcore, The Chainsmokers kept the vibes high with a versatile set a mere two-minute walk next door.
After an eventful day one, day two of Beyond Wonderland opened my eyes to the festival’s magic.
After a series of unfortunate events ensued one after the other, I almost skipped the rest of the festival entirely. Luckily, I dusted off my shoes and went back to NOS early.
Entry to the festival was starkly different from the night before. I parked and made it to the festival in well under 30 minutes including the walk to the venue. Upon entry, the warm sun shone in and I caught glimpses of everyone smiling and happy to be there.
After recording some great interviews with ION and MISS DRE (check them out on the EDM Identity Instagram), I sought out the positives of the festival by searching for the beauty right under my nose. Instead of worrying about who was next, I took some time to make new friends, trade some kandi, and bond over our love of dance music.
Of course, I still caught some banging sets like Will Sparks, Wax Motif, Blossom, and JAWNS, which were all completely out of my wheelhouse. I also found comfort in the screeches and distortion of The Looking Glass, where hard techno artists seemingly played hardstyle all weekend. Although I completely missed it the first day, the Sea of Wonder stage was visually a favorite, and the Mad Tea Party became a sanctuary where I went to escape the cold and seek some relaxation while vibing to some great music.
Despite the setbacks I experienced on day one, Beyond Wonderland was the perfect way to kick off the festival season in California.
My first Beyond Wonderland experience was quite a wild ride. Even after reflecting on the weekend, I’m still not entirely convinced I want to go back. I have nonetheless concluded that although I had some bad times, Beyond Wonderland was not a bad festival. Online outrage aside (which I’m guilty of, too), Beyond Wonderland served its purpose as a journey down the rabbit hole into the marvelous world of dance music.
Through all of the negative emotions, I was forced to find glimmers of hope which taught me more about myself than a purely positive experience ever would have. In the end, that’s the beauty of dance music and festivals. As much as it’s a party experience, these events are ultimately a sacred experience that should be treated as such. When you respect the music and culture, it returns the energy tenfold.
Although all the fun is over, Beyond 2025 presale passes are available now at the lowest tier until Friday at 11:59pm PT via Front Gate Tickets. Make sure to snag yours and join us for another edition of Beyond Wonderland next year!
