Southern California’s Beyond Wonderland returned for its 8th year this past weekend. With 70,000 music lovers, 2 magical nights, over 60 performers, Beyond Wonderland took our breath away once again. Dance Music Northwest had the opportunity to join the enchanted gathering this year and provide you some takeaways.
Photo: Skyler Greene
Entry and Exit
Whether it was GA or VIP, entry to the venue never took longer than 30 minutes, which is pretty insane in our opinion considering the number of attendees. The lines at will call and ticket office were almost non-existent. Security and staff at the venue were directing traffic very well and knew where exactly the entrance was.
And let us add, GA parking was FREE. Once in line, the security went through very quickly without any hiccups. Leaving the venue didn’t cause too much traffic jam, however, the only thing that was a pain was the Uber pick up area. You had to walk a while to get in the pick-up zone. Overall, Beyond has been one of the most smooth entries and exit we’ve encountered.
Venue
This year the festival was held at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino. The area around the venue might not be the prettiest but there were enough security to make you feel safe if attending alone.
Walking into the venue felt like you were walking into a psychedelic wonderland. The trees were decorated with lights and balloons. There were many sculptures and enchanted centerpieces. Many photo opportunities for the festival goers. Everywhere you went, there were neon lights close by.
Photo: Bennett Sell
Stages
Beyond consisted of four stages in addition to art cars throughout the venue. The main stage, Queen’s Domain, hosted headliners Tiesto, Alesso, Seven Lions and more. The Mad Hatter’s Castle, which was the bass stage had bass head favorites Kayzo, Andy C, Floss and more.
If you liked house and techno, there was a place for you too: Caterpillar’s Garden. Chris Lake, Claptone and more house and techno DJs took over the stage. Insomniac Records hosted the Cheshire Woods which had Jayceeoh and other Insomniac Records favorites.
The four stages were decorated with the psychedelic theme with superb lights, stage and sound production. There was a little noise conflict between the main and bass stage, not too much to ruin the party.
Food and Vendors
From glitter bars to Kandi making stations, there was a lot to see and do when you wanted a break from all the music. Food trucks were spread out throughout the venue, Leno’s Tacos, Shake Ramen, Kogi, Brooklyn Pizza and more. Clothing vendors, Smirnoff tents, general stores, merch shops and a lot more could be found.
Music
We all came here because someone on the lineup intrigued us. This year at Beyond Wonderland a couple of artists stood out to us. Yultron, Alesso, Seven Lions and Elephante brought heat to the main stage. Andy C had a great DnB set at the bass stage alongside with DJ Mustard and R3hab.
The music that surprised us the most was the art cars. There was non-stop music from beginning to end at the art cars and it was the perfect place to take a break from the bigger stages. Every single time we passed the art cars, the music drew us in. This makes us very excited to see the art cars at EDC Las Vegas this year.
Have you been to Beyond Wonderland? Let us know in the comments below!
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