Insomniac Brings People Together Once More at This Year’s Beyond Wonderland at the Gorge
Megan Paspalis — 7 months ago
Insomniac threw another enchanting festival at the Gorge Amphitheater last weekend for Beyond Wonderland’s 2022 edition.
Ravers from around the PNW and country hopped in their packed cars with camping gear, coolers, Kandi, and vibes to the Gorge Amphitheater. For a full weekend attendees got to experience all the joy that comes with being at a festival with people who understand the magic of electronic music. Not only that but they got to experience it at one of the most beautiful venues, the Gorge Amphitheater.
This was the second year that Insomniac hosted their Beyond Wonderland festival at the Gorge. The production company started by Pasquale Rotella brought an absolutely massive production together for the festival. With everything from warm weather to rain sprinkling unexpectedly, Insomniac kept the energy and production alive and created a beautiful experience at the Gorge.
The collection of creative totems that floated in the air this year ranged from on-theme Cheshire Cats to a Vincent Van Gogh painting, to Peppa Pig, to vibrant aquamarine jellyfish, to the Nintendo icon Kirby, and many more. The rave queens, moms, and rave babies were out in full force with their amazing outfits and loving hearts. Additionally, the Ground Control team made sure that all the ravers felt safe and provided necessary hugs to keep everyone afloat.
Insomniac was also on point with their Alice in Wonderland theme. With the red queen on the main stage playing croquet to the colorful women on stilts, wonderland was in full effect. With multicolored lighted pathway above the trees and mushroom forests, ravers went down the rabbit hole and didn’t emerge until it was time to return home.
All three stages saw a collection of talented DJs who each had unique and staggering performances. Tears were flowing during Elderbrooks‘ set as sweet vibrations emanated from the speakers during his song “Numb”. As dusk settled onto Caterpillar’s Garden, Dombresky revived the crowd with his upbeat music.
Later, the light sprinkle of rain that visited Fractal Valley created glitter spirals in the lights during Clozee‘s set. Additionally, Green Velvet brought ravers into a world of tunnel vision canceling all ambient noise and leading fans into the realm of house music. By the end of day one, the fluffy furries were in full force with their light pois headbanging to the ultimate dubstep homie Marauda.
Day 2 was no different in continuing the positive atmosphere of Insomniac’s illustrious event. During the day ATLiens made attendees break a sweat during their fun and evil set. As the sun began to set Apashe provided a masterpiece of a set at Cheshire Woods that reached epic proportions. He played his rework of Darth Vader’s iconic theme song “Imperial March” and blew dancers’ minds with a concoction of classical trap music.
If someone ever got lost all they had to do was look out for their group’s green frog hat to reconnect with their family. If they wanted to stay lost Porter Robinson‘s set was the perfect spot to fill their body with warmth as he played his ‘Nurture’ album. By the end of the night, it was time for the live performances to come to an end. Attendees proceeded to return to their campsites to rage and dance for one last time.
The end of a festival is always one of the saddest parts of the festival season. Tears run rampant as friends take down their camping gear, and whisper I love you as they hug their friends goodbye. It can be hard to leave our coveted communities and return to the real world. However, the friends we made, and the memories we will come to cherish, make it all worthwhile.
Whether it was your first time or fiftieth time at the Gorge Amphitheater, Insomniac without a doubt gave us a special experience this year. For now, remember that our home and community will always be there for us when we need it.
Until next year, make sure to check out the Instagram for Beyond Wonderland Gorge to relieve this year’s key moments. Finally, you can purchase your tickets for 2023 here, and start planning your return home.
