North America’s biggest Halloween party, Escape Psycho Circus, returned to Southern California for a tremendous 16th edition this past Halloweekend, bringing top EDM artists and thousands of fans together for a scary-good time.
Friday
Friday’s Big Top stage lineup encompassed the contemporary festival direction with a curated selection of house and big room artists. Morten‘s dark, future rave direction set the scene with high energy grooves, essentially transforming the massive tent into a warehouse. His recent release, ‘Gimme Dat’ rolled through the crowd with an unmatched intensity, further asserting Morten as a main stage presence.
European favorites, Belgian duo Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike took over with an uproarious big room set, veering into higher BPM genres and including some hardstyle. As the first performers of the night to showcase the stage’s full production, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike hyped up the crowd with an incredible array of lasers and strobe lights synced up to bangers like ‘Makina Time.’
Later, at the Bassrush-hosted Sewer District, Excision closed the night with a powerful, bass-heavy set full of exciting dubstep flips and remixes of beloved tracks. Catering to a wide, festival audience, songs like Tynan’s flip of ‘Don’t You Worry Child’ delivered a much needed impact. Several classics also made the setlist, including selections from his 2015 album, Codename X.
Saturday
Consistent DJ Mag Top 5 artist, Alok, treated the audience to one of his fairly rare North American appearances and delivered a brilliant house set. His deep catalogue of upbeat originals and remixes, including his take on the widely beloved ‘Allein Allein’ brought the festival’s energy to an early high.
Galantis took over with golden era vibes balanced with unreleased records and soon-to-be club hits. A perfectly fitting mashup of ‘No Money’ with Avicii’s ‘Waiting For Love’ stood out as a fun, emotional moment, and classics including ‘You’ and ‘Runaway’ brought much-appreciated waves of 2016 nostalgia.
Star producer and social media darling, Disco Lines, proved any remaining naysayers wrong yet again with a playful, multi-genre set mixing together house and bass music and cultivating a consistent party vibe ahead of the night’s closer.
Zedd fully embraced the Halloween nature of the festival by not only taking the stage in an unbelievably detailed Master Chief costume, but also changing into Darth Vader during the set. Aside from his endless list of hits like ‘I Want You to Know’ and ‘Break Free,’ Zedd incorporated fun themes from Ghostbusters and Star Wars, and highlighted an unreleased Knock2 collaboration. Of course, a crowd-wide ‘Clarity’ singalong beautifully closed out the weekend.
Overall
Escape, logistically, felt well organized: directions to free parking and an efficient (also free) shuttle system made arrival smooth and seamless. Understandably, leaving took longer due to the crowd influx, but still felt easy with minimal bottlenecks.
The festival grounds were large and extremely immersive, with over-the-top circus themed decorations and an ever-present Halloween atmosphere. Navigation between stages and amenities presented no issues. While social media often emphasizes low-lights, in reality the overwhelming majority of attendees seemed welcoming and friendly. Plus, seeing audience and artists alike all in costume and showing off their Halloween spirit elevated the overall vibe, making Escape a truly unique experience.
Feeling left out of the fun? Escape Psycho Circus already announced next year’s event, taking place on October 29-30, 2027 with presale passes available on the official website.
