We go to music events to get away from normal everyday life; to experience something new and crazy. The prospect of a festival in Montreal was particularly intriguing given that only a few EDM events take place there. The unique city environment paired with a star-studded line up (Skrillex, ZEDD, The Chainsmokers, DVBBS and many more) led us to jump at the opportunity and accept our invitation.

Some major festivals tend to charge more and fail to prepare for festival goers, but not Ilesoniq. It was well prepared for anything Mother Nature had to throw at festival goers. August is an extremely hot month and a great shortcoming of many festivals is their failure to provide appropriate accommodations for festival goers. However, Ilesoniq was well prepared for the heat with water cannons in front of each stage, mist towers, water fountain platforms and hammocks in the forest to decompress and cool down from the heat. Fake turf carpets were another helpful feature that allowed festival goers to relax while enjoying performances from various artists. Another reason this festival was great was that they had vendors selling water and fresh fruits in the crowd to keep people hydrated other ways besides just having water. There were also a variety of things for people to do like painting near the main stage, and tiles to make art which was fun.

Day 1 started with no lineup – we received our accredited wristbands and entered the festival. We walked around the festival ground to take in all the festival had to offer. We stayed at the Mainstage at the VIP section most of the day where it was very hospitable even without a cabana or booth. The ladies at the VIP section were very accommodating. We enjoyed the entire day there relaxing and watching the artists. One of the great things about the VIP section was that there was enough room for everyone to dance around without bumping into each other.

Day 2 was a little different due to the massive second day lineup, this was exemplified by the lines at the GA entrance. We had to take a different entrance from the rest of the General Admissions people. This time we stayed at SCÈNE LA VIE BUDLIGHT for the first half enjoyed a little bit of Trance watching Ilan Blustone. One of the great moments we witnessed was Ilan Bluestone bringing out Jason Ross and Andrew Bayer while throwing down one of the best sets we’ve ever seen. The rest of the day we stayed in the General Admission section of the mainstage SCÈNE OASIS FIDO enjoyed Snails, BTSM (Black Tiger Sex Machine), Yellow Claw, DVBBS, and Skrillex.

Overall this was one of the most well planned festivals that we have ever been to. Refreshingly, this festival pedestalled the interests of festival goers. All the stages, themed décor, activities, and the different genre of music, made this festival one to remember. We would definitely recommend this festival as one of the best EDM festivals that we have been to this year.