Insomniac dazzled the crowd with over-the-top production at this year’s sold-out Valentines Day event, Crush.
Valentine’s Day, a day associated with lovers from all across the world has become a landmark event for not just lovers and couples but friends and family; a day to showcase your affection and/or appreciation for the ones you love. Insomniac once again added their own touch to the holiday festivities by bringing back their successful Crush event for a second year at the National Orange Show Center in San Bernardino, CA. Adding a Northern California Bay Area and Arizona location as additional cities to host the event, the inaugural ‘Back to Basics’ event was far better than “basic.”
Returning to the NOS center has always held a nostalgic vibe as some of the more memorable festivals and events have held their significant place at the historic venue. For the return of Crush, Insomniac restructured the stage infrastructure to include 4 long panel LED screens, a variety of long range lasers, and quite the number of heart shaped confetti showers. Using the allotted space of the Damus hanger at the venue, beams of lighting features ran across the celling to expand the visuals from front to back.
As one of the smaller events that Insomniac hosts year-round, we were treated to the delight of food vendors, a free water refill station, and one large ‘cash only’ bar serving a variety of alcoholic beverages for the 21+ crowd and bottled water. However to our dismay, the lack of availability for our debit/credit cards made for an inconvenience of having to wait for an ATM machine that would add an additional fee to withdraw cash.
Crush this year provided us with a lineup that had yet to really set the bar as Insomniac has previously done with their innovative festival and events. Crowd favorites such as the Chainsmokers with their hits “Kanye” and remixes to singles such as Bebe Rexha’s “I Can’t Stop Drinking About You” alongside Seven Lions during “Strangers” and “Still with Me” were able to bring out the best of the night. Other notable acts such as Mercer, Alvaro, and the Australian producer/DJ Tommy Trash fully brought the night in a full circle with enough energy to turn the hanger into quite the intimate space.
Hosting Crush in such an intimate space really brought everyone together in a more private setting. With enough space to dance and move around the crowd, we encountered little to no issue moving around freely from the front of the stage to the back of the building. Furthermore, the crowd embraced every single drop and made for a mesmerizing view that made the vibe feel authentic.
Without a doubt the patrons of the night are what truly make each event special. This time around we witnessed more couples, friends, and groups truly embrace one another through their matching outfits and costumes. Everything from accompanying shirts, spirit hoods, and wings, to even some extravagant headpieces made for some great features on our official Instagram page (@edm.maniac).
Whether you were alone or with your significant other(s) Crush was another memorable event by Insomniac. We truly enjoyed the hospitality that everyone around us (including the staff) brought to the event. As festival season rapidly approaches around the corner, expect much more from Insomniac in the coming months.
