Music aside, there are a few other things worth mentioning when it comes to this particular ID&T festival. For one, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the camping situation. Last year, Mysteryland got a bit of a bad rep for being unprepared to deal with the harsh rainstorms that hit, destroying the camping, and festival site, and leaving the grounds extremely wet and muddy. While this year the weather was nearly perfect (except for two, very cold nights), I can’t exactly say that the camping situation was that great.
For one, the festival had a no re-entry rule, which is pretty common and usually not a big deal. In terms of the camping though, it was a serious nuisance. Once you entered the camping grounds, you couldn’t return to your car. This meant that you had to take everything from your car in one trip.
Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue, as most festivals have a shuttle to transport you or have the parking lot located close to the camping site. Such was not the case at Mysteryland, though. The walk from the car to the camping grounds entrance was about 20 minutes, depending on how far back you parked and how much stuff you were trying to carry. Upon entering the grounds, it was an additional 5-15 minutes to get to your actual camp site, once again depending on how far or close to the entrance you were located. To say that it was a bit of a nightmare getting in and getting settled would be an understatement, and to be quite frank, it certainly got things started off on a sour note.
There was also the problem of the distance between the camping grounds and the festival itself. The walk from where my tent was located to the festival entrance was about 15 minutes and consisted of steep hills going both up and down. Then, upon entering the gates, you were faced with another steep up hill to get to where all the stages and exhibits were. Add to this some intense heat and tired legs from dancing all weekend, and you had a lot of frustrated campers.
Thankfully, the actual camp site itself was set up quite well. Showers and washrooms were located throughout, and the main area with all the food, drinks and lockers was conveniently located and easily accessible. Speaking of food, there was a surprisingly wide variety available throughout both the camping grounds and the festival site. While none of it was particularly good and all of it was over-priced, festival-goers certainly had options, as Mysteryland provided everything from Italian food to Asian food to healthy vegan options and much more.
The good weather helped as well, as sunny, blue skies and warm temperatures kept people in high spirits all weekend and really brought the beautiful location to life. Being in a historic site such as Bethel Woods really did add to the overall atmosphere and vibe, as not only was it pretty neat to be standing where Woodstock took place, but it’s also a gorgeous setting to host a festival, with lush green trees and seemingly never-ending forests surrounding you everywhere you look.
With 50,000 people in attendance, the festival always felt busy but never full. Even for the closing sets on the main stage, it was never overly crowded and while I’m sure that might have hurt ticket sales, it was actually a nice change. We’re all so used to being jam packed in front of a stage and being shoved every which way when we go to a festival, but at Mysteryland, you actually had room to breathe, move and dance, no matter where you were or which set you were watching. Don’t get me wrong, it never felt empty, but that over-crowded feeling that plagues so many EDM festivals was nowhere to be found here.
2015’s edition of Mysteryland USA was far from perfect, and ID&T certainly has room for improvement in the coming years, but I think that most people can agree that the second outing was a definite step up from the inaugural one.
Holding the festival in Bethel Woods is an interesting move on the organizer’s part and playing up that aspect of it is certainly smart. That, coupled with the wide variety of music, really does help the event stand out as unique and quite different from most other EDM festivals. Throw in some very fitting exhibits, decorations and design, and it all comes together to create a truly special experience. If ID&T can iron out a few of the hiccups, and make the camping part a bit smoother for 2016, they could have a serious contender for best Memorial Day Weekend EDM festival on their hands.