Ok let’s face it, 2020 has been an incredibly strange and difficult year for us all. With Covid-19 being the party crasher or year crasher we haven’t had much to look forward to all year. If you are an avid raver like we are then you obviously have seen all the events that have been cancelled. And like us if you already had tickets to all the festivals this year then you are feeling it even harder. With EDC, Ultra, Beyond wonderland, and coachella being cancelled what hope did we have for the rest of the year?
Luckily we were given virtual festivals by almost every big festival production company. And while that allowed us to safely rave from the comfort of our own home while also respecting social distancing guidelines set by the government, we started to get that itch to be in public raving under the lasers and seeing our most favorite dj’s in person. So what could be done to insure that we safely get that music connection that we oh so crave?
We started getting rumors that possibly a drive in rave would happen. And it was met with both excitement as well as criticism. How were we going to be able to dance while still social distancing, How were we going to be able to hear the music? What are the rules of this so-called rave? Jon stanly who works in the rave industry said “We put our heads together and started asking all the right people. The question we got in response was, “when is it going to happen?” How are drive in raves going to work?”
The first drive in rave happened in florida on June 6th 2020 at the central Florida fairgrounds in orlando florida. Thanks to Dj Carnage as well as Riot Ten, Blunts & Blondes, Nitti Gritti, and Gravedgr. The rules were simple 5 people to a car with capacity at 500 cars. Not so bad right? Ok but what do we do from there? How are we going to hear the music, How are we going to get to dance and have fun with our friends? The answer honestly was not that complicated. Everyone would get a space next to their car. Everyone who was in that certain car would be able to dance and socialize (safetly) in their square. Not to bad right?
And for the music there would be giant bass speakers all over the fairgrounds which would blair bass music over the entire arena. So you would be able to hear the music perfectly like if it was a normal rave.
We were excited to see that the industry was trying to do something special for us. After all, for many of us music is what is our therapy. We know the excitement you get as you’re walking toward the rave or that exciting time that your favorite dj is about to come on. Or that euphoric rush you get from the bass as you’re dancing your heart out and screaming the lyrics to your favorite songs.
So with this amazing good news how do we ensure our safety? It is simple, have fun but still keep being safe. Make sure that you still are wearing a mask, make sure that you bring hand sanitizer and make sure that you social distance from everyone else.
Is this going to be our new normal?
We expect that this will be the new normal for at least the next year. With covid-19 still running rampant and with everything else going on in the world our biggest concern is the health of everyone. And although it might not feel like a normal rave it’s honestly better than nothing at all.
