It was late September of 2013, and I had just moved to upstate New York for a new job. I had only been there for about three months, and outside of my coworkers, I didn’t know many other people in the area. But when I heard that one of my favorite DJs was playing at a smaller venue in Syracuse that month. I was especially excited for this show announcement because of the recent cancellation of the last day of Electric Zoo 2013, where I was prepared to be front row all day long.
When tickets went on sale, I immediately bought mine, and began calling friends from out of town to see if anyone would be able to make the drive up. But seeing as the show was on a weeknight, everything fell through, and, a few days before the show, I realized I would be raving solo.
Always having gone to shows with at least one other friend of mine, the thought of going alone initially sent me into a panic. Who would I talk to? What if people saw that I was alone? What if something bad happened to me? Despite all of the thoughts running through my head, my desire to see to go prevailed, and I headed out to Syracuse, solo.
Let’s just say that the minute I walked into the venue, I completely forgot that I was alone. No one thought it was strange in the least that I walked in alone, and I immediately began talking with other people who shared a love for the music and were pumped to be there. As I made my way towards the front, I bumped into a guy who looked familiar.
“Hey, I think you might follow me on twitter,” I said. I recognized him from his twitter picture, and knew that he follow me because a large majority of my tweets focused either on EDM or the unfortunate weather patterns of upstate New York.
“No way! You’re right,” he said. “I’m Travis, and these are my friends. Who are you here with?”
Immediately reminded that I was alone, I made up the easiest lie I could think of.
“I’m with a friend, but I lost her. She didn’t want to come to the front.”
And that was that. For the rest of the night, I danced, screamed, sang, and raved with Travis and his crew. I managed to stay in the front row the entire time. I left the night feeling alive and free, with memories that I knew I would never forget.
Little did I know that a year and three months later, I would be buying my EDC Las Vegas ticket. And little did I know that I would be traveling out to Vegas and raving with no one other than Travis and two of his friends I met that night.
If I hadn’t taken a chance and gone to the show alone, I probably would never get to experience EDC Las Vegas at all. While going to a show solo was initially out of my comfort zone, it introduced me to a whole new group of best friends and ravers. I went alone and left with new friends. While I didn’t spend the entire time alone, the time I spent by myself allowed me to meet new people.
One of the most beautiful things about EDM and what it brings to people’s lives is that it encourages self-expression, individualism, and confidence. Everyone is your support system, whether you know them or not, and everyone unites under one electric sky for the same reason – to experience life-changing music around some of your favorite people.
Since that night, I have attended several events solo and have no problem saying who I’m with — even if it’s just myself. You never know who you could meet!
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