Holy Moly! From 2018 to 2019, Countdown was the best New Year’s Eve experience I have ever had. Insomniac truly knows how to throw a party! Starting from Los Angeles, CA to the desert of San Bernardino, everything was perfect. My girlfriends and I grabbed an Uber from our hotel, the Embassy Suites at the Ontario Airport. The ride totaled just $20 and we were on our way to an out of this world experience we were not ready for.
The Countdown Sets and Stages
Without hesitation, we walked directly to the main stage, Mothership, where we found Dillon Francis. He happened to be giving one of the most captivating sets of the night. Seriously–rolling up to Dillion Francis like…
A bit of advice, I highly recommend downloading the official Insomniac app they release just before each festival. The Countdown app provides you with a map of the event and gives the most current updates on the day of the festival. I found the map was particularly useful during our adventure throughout the festival, with so many people it can be confusing. Insomniac pays such attention to detail. From the fire art installations to the funky tree ornaments, every time I looked around there was something new to see.
The next artist on our list was the young Dion Timmer. He truly proved why Excision took him under his wing. Dion lit things up over at the Area 51 stage. Like his peers, Timmer’s lights and lasers kept us for the entire set which was followed by Herobust. Both artists brought the heat to close down 2018. About halfway thru Herobust, we decided to get our place set up for the quickly approaching midnight champagne toast! 2019 was started off by the legend Tiësto. With the countdown on the screen behind him, dropping beats, Tiësto welcomed the new year. The Mothership stage went off with strangers hugging and giving best wishes for the year ahead.
Then There Was Zedd…
We lucked out cause following Tiësto’s epic set was Zedd closing out the night. The group’s attempt to go see RL Grime at the Nebula stage or Zomboy at the Area 51 Stage was extremely strong, however, President Zedd (my new nickname) kept reeling us back in. Not joking in the slightest–we left the stage in three different attempts to venture off. Just as we got to the head of the stage he would throw a curve ball and drop a beat that we couldn’t pass up! Finishing off the magical night singing our hearts out to familiar, classic songs is a precious memory I’m going to hold on to through 2019.
As if the evening couldn’t get any better, on the way out we had the pleasure of meeting CEO and Founder of Insomniac, Pasquale Rotella. Check out the outfit! It is truly so great to see him enjoy the festivals he created for us all with such a driven passion. Anyone shooting little laser guns with a spaghetti strainer on their head is okay in my book!
Until next time earthlings!
*Featured Image Courtesy of Insomniac Events*
