EDM is SLO’s Recent Music Trend - and Here to Stay

A smoky haze outlined performers on stage - spilling out their souls through the sound of music. Ten thousand music fans poured through the gates of Dairy Creek Golf Course in San Luis Obispo in May of 2024 with over 50 live acts. 

The tradition began with a dozen or so Cal Poly students in 2014 atop Cuesta Ridge from an illegally held concert, and grew exponentially and went on to become the Shabang Music Festival which celebrated its 10th anniversary.

Over a two-day period, over a dozen EDM artists - local and nonlocal - showcased the recent trend in music which has taken the industry by storm.

   Photo by Wendy Wei - Pexels

The differentiation between a fad and trend is the duration in which a genre maintains popularity; EDM (electronic dance music) has long since passed that threshold. 

EDM became popular in Europe in the 1980s before making its way to America, bringing immensely popular styles of music - particularly to younger audiences - including house music, techno, and dubstep. 

 

In San Luis Obispo, EDM is continuing to reach new heights. 

 

The median age of Americans is 38.5 years old, while that of SLO residents is just 25.2 according to the US Census Bureau, making them much more likely to participate in EDM, which is most popular among a younger audience.

 

Cal Poly won its second consecutive Up & Up competition - which is a competition among colleges of who can sell the most pre-sale concert tickets within a 48-hour period. 

The goal - to reward the most engaged EDM audiences in colleges across America with some of the most popular artists in the genre.

Other schools also finishing in the top five have a much larger audience yet sold less tickets, including Oregon, Miami University, and San Jose State. 

 

As a result of their finish in the Up & Up Competition, EDM upcoming artist Matroda, who has 2.4 million Spotify monthly listeners with hits like “Can’t Fight the Feeling,” headlined at Madonna Expo Center on October 30. 

The popularity of EDM has exploded with technology at a price that allows nearly anyone to participate in the musical revelation. 

 

Equipment and accessibility are cheaper and easier to learn than it has ever been, with a DJ starter kit available for under $200. 

 

The portability of EDM setups has also played a role - with students easily setting up everywhere from house shows to the locally famous Avila cave. 

 

As a result, more college students are learning the skill so they can be the life of the party. 

 

While shifts in gear have helped the genre’s popularity, so too has social media. Household songs have become popular through TikTok alone include “The Days,” “It Feels So Good,” and “Keep It Exciting.” 

 

Technology through social media such as AI have accentuated the pace of fads within the EDM scene - such as Mellow Man by Distinctive Motive and interactive visuals using AI beats. While in the past it may have taken producers hours to compose melodies and progressions, AI can build the framework in mere seconds.

                                                                     Photo by Gabby Tenda - Pexels

 

The local support of upcoming EDM artists has been huge. 

 

Fast-forward to May of 2024 when over 50 live acts and 10,000 fans flooded into Dairy Creek Golf Course in San Luis Obispo to be a part of the culture they have built. Over a 2-day period, over a dozen EDM artists - local and nonlocal - were on full display for the Shabang Music Festival’s 10th anniversary. 

 

Beyond San Luis Obispo, the rise of EDM has strengthened an international community of artists, with deep-rooted influences in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK. 

 

EDM has grown as a music trend in San Luis Obispo because of factors like a younger audience, digitalization of popular music, and a connected underground music scene facilitated through platforms like Discord and Instagram.