Last weekend, the largest Halloween festival in the world took place at the NOS Center in San Bernardino, California. With a brand new layout, a new stage, and an epic lineup, this year’s Escape Halloween did not disappoint.
Insomniac Event’s production, environment, and lineup for Escape Halloween never disappoint. The new layout included a larger Crazy Town between The Grimm, Feeding Grounds, and Wicked Woods. This helped clear up a lot of the congestion issues from past festivals. Crazy Town also featured The Butcher, which was a haunted house that included dead bodies hanging in body bags, people dressed as zombies, and the DJ stage.
It also had Poison Ivy, which was a 3D spray-painted house fitted with a DJ and a mad scientist who created test tube shots. The centerpiece of Crazy Town was the iconic flaming cathedral with the ringmaster and various carnival shows on stage. In front of Crazy Town was the new CASA BACARDI stage, which had artists like Omnon and Joshwa playing throughout the weekend.
The Psycho Circus remained in its normal position by the front of the venue. It included a poker table where people bet with kandi, performing acrobats, palm readers, and stage magicians throughout the night. Voodoo Ville was a new area added to this year’s Escape, located outside Feeding Grounds and Wicked Woods. Voodoo Ville had one of the coolest layouts of the weekend.
When you walked in there was a giant Day of the Dead skull hanging from the ceiling with a jungle theme. There was a section with a broken shed that had a dancer and someone playing a piano which was perfect for taking those perfect pictures. The DJ platform at the front of the stage pumped music and also had a bar. If you did not get a chance to at least walk through this stage, definitely check it out next year.
The festival had five main stages: The Grimm, Sewer District, Feeding Grounds, The Cauldron, and Wicked Woods. I also need to shout out the Beatbox Art Car, located outside Sewer District. Throughout the weekend, the Beatbox Art Car was going off. No matter who was playing at the main stages, the Beatbox Art Car had a packed crowd of people playing heavy bass all weekend. I found myself there headbanging, the vibes were electric.
The Grimm was larger, with the signature Grim Reaper behind the artists moving throughout the night. The lasers were mesmerizing and gave the stacked lineup the production it deserved. The Grimm hosted names across genres like Illenium, Deadmau5, Maddix, and Snakehips, giving everyone a chance to enjoy the main stage.
Sewer District was located in the speedway and housed the bassheads for the weekend. Sewer District felt like Wastelands as it was surrounded by panels and shipping containers. The pyrotechnics and fireworks here did not disappoint. Sewer District was blessed by Wooli, Level Up, Ludacris, and Adventure Club across the weekend.
Feeding Grounds was the first stage upon entering the festival, showcasing its classic spiderweb theme. Day 1 was hosted by Basscon and had artists like Da Tweekaz and Lady Faith. Day 2 was hosted by Night Trip x Insomniac Records with names like Odd Mob and Cloonee.
Wicked Woods was expanded this year, and rightfully so with names like Fatboy Slim, Pawsa, Nina Kraviz and Patrick Mason playing throughout the weekend. This dark stage was surrounded by shipping containers and was perfect for techno fans to dance all weekend.
The newest stage, The Cauldron, was hosted by Boiler Room and definitely brought the vibes. Attendees behind the DJ booth were going crazy and the crowd was going even crazier. Names like Justin Jay and Lil Texas brought the house down on the first year of Boiler Room x Escape Halloween.
Escape Halloween is a festival that all ravers look forward to every year. 2024 brought a new layout and new stages, including a Boiler Room stage and a massive lineup that exceeded expectations. From Crazy Town to the OMG production at every stage, it had all of us counting down to 2025. If you’re like me and you’re all ready to run it back, presale tickets are already available. Hopefully, we will see you next year on October 31 and November 1 for Escape Halloween 2025.
