Day Trip Festival Recap

When the Beatles wrote their 1966 single Day Tripper, it was part of a seismic shift in culture away from the stuffy social atmosphere of the 50s into the peace and love movement of the 60s. Songs began to carry more weight and innuendos and would speak of deeper social issues and emotions than a simple love song or sad ballad.

Today, this zeitgeist carries on through the Day Trip festival, which took place at the Queen Mary Waterfront in Long Beach on June 25th and 26th, 2022. If you like house music, beaches, and connecting deeply with your fellow humans, this is the place for you.

Two solid days of sunshine and pounding music, along with the backdrop of beautiful Los Angeles, brought the crowd to a euphoric peak, only to softly set them down in a cascade of trance and house beats at night. The lights and music came together in an explosive and enchanting way, and the crowd sang and danced along with the shimmering energy of the air.

The Artists

Day Trip featured some of the hottest house and electronica artists out there. “House music all day long” was the tagline for this event, and it certainly held true. Some of these artists included:

• MK
• Armand Van Helden
• Bob Moses
• Lane 8
• Fisher
• Wave Point
• Coco and Breezy

Along with these artists, there were so many more performers, good music, cool merch, and delicious food. The artists performed on two separate stages, given the names “High Tide” and “Deep End”. This allows the crowd to shift back and forth in the waves of the music, caught in the tide of deep bass and house drums.  

The Experience

This was a festival like no other. The Queen Mary sat regally, her huge bulk creating a dramatic and powerful backdrop for the festival. While this is not a campout-style festival, the host of the event, Insomniac, paired up with local hotels to make sure they were able to provide good rates and a nearby place to stay, along with suitable parking arrangements.  

This was only the second time the Day Trip festival happened, but Insomniac put their experience and talent to good use, pulling off an incredibly tight and exciting two days. Tickets were reasonably priced at around $159 for general admission, with VIP tickets available for those who could swing it. Lockers, drinks, and food were all available on site.  

The Party

The most exciting part of any festival like this is the party atmosphere. In an increasingly tense and stressful world, it’s critical to find ways to let loose and have fun for a few days. Forgetting your worries and taking some time to reflect on things before coming back down to real life is a valuable and undeniably powerful way to improve and enhance your mental health and stability.  

EDM festivals have become a staple of culture and American life because of this. For a younger generation that can feel overwhelmed by things like inflation, Covid, and far-off geopolitical conflicts, dance festivals like this are a way to escape all of that and finally feel free. This type of different and exciting break from the monotony of everyday life can have a profound effect on people, giving them hope, joy, and something to look forward to.

Connecting with our fellow humans is the most important thing we can do in this life, and Insomniac’s festivals showcase this incredibly well. If you feel like you missed out and want to experience the joy, don’t worry, because Day Trip is coming to Seattle on August 7th at the Fisher Pavilion at the Seattle Center.