For three consecutive years, Apache Pass near the Central Texas town of Rockdale has been the home of Nocturnal Wonderland, a multi-day electronic dance music festival that Texas EDM fans have counted on to kick off their EDM festival season.
The season is largely driven by L.A.-based supergiant promoters Insomniac Events, the company responsible for the lion's share of today's largest EDM festivals across the country, including Nocturnal Wonderland. But last Monday, Insomniac head Pasquale Rotella regretfully announced via Twitter that there would be no Nocturnal Wonderland Texas 2013. Despite the success of the previous Nocturnal Wonderlands held in Apache Pass, no reasons were given to fans to explain the cancellation.
Leading up to the cancellation, there was speculation that Nocturnal wasn't going to happen. Back in January, Rotella said (also on Twitter) that the he wasn't "100 percent sure" that there would be another NDT this year. Shortly after came a letter from Insomniac stating that they would be hosting a different event at a "soon to be determined city in Texas."
Rewind:
Why Electric Daisy Carnival Texas Should Be In Houston
The event referred to was Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC), which has been booming in growth and popularity every year along with EDM itself. EDC is the true feather in Insomniac's cap; Chicago's EDC is moving this year to a larger venue, and Las Vegas' EDC is well-known to be the year's biggest and best EDM party.
Many felt that as soon as an EDC Texas was announced, that spelled death for Nocturnal. In some ways, the March 18 cancellation wasn't a total surprise. The problem is that Electric Daisy Carnival doesn't look like it will be happening here, either.
Since Insomniac's EDC-specific letter, there has been nothing but bad news for Texas EDM fans. First and foremost, there is no venue for EDC Texas. Dallas, which held EDC back in 2011, does not want it back. The event came under major scrutiny after crowds grew wild, killing a male attendee and injuring several others, and an underage girl died due to a reported ecstasy overdose.
Plans were then in the works to hold EDC at Fort Worth's Texas Motor Speedway, but it has since been reported that Insomniac and TMS president Eddie Gossage could not agree on legal terms to hold the show at the venue.
Even more telling is what information can't be found. Since Rotella's last announcement about Nocturnal, official Web sites for Insomniac and Electric Daisy Carnival, as well as their official Facebook pages, have been virtually scrubbed clean of any information for any upcoming Texas shows.
