I took my mom to IleSoniq in Montreal for her first rave. Although she went to a few festivals in her teens and twenties, I knew this would be a totally new experience for her. The lineup featured various artists, including Excision b2b Illenium, Swedish House Mafia, Svdden Death and Fisher. As someone who had never really listened to EDM before, my mom was in for an interesting weekend.

“I’m expecting it to be like the festivals I used to go to when I was your age”

Now that the festival is over, my mom admits that modern-day fests are not like anything she had previously seen. One of the biggest differences she noticed was the fashion. Festival fashion is so important to the scene today, and it gives people the chance to express themselves in a judgment-free zone. At IleSoniq, it felt like everyone was wearing mesh or vinyl. These trends were styled in so many fun and unique ways! I wore the Its My World Vinyl Skirt in neon pink and got so many compliments! Although I didn’t wear any mesh, I saw quite a few ravers looking absolutely stunning in mesh pants like the Sweet Thing High Waist Mesh Bell Bottoms.

The second thing that surprised my mom the most was the dancing. The headbangers and shufflers did not disappoint at IleSoniq, and my mom noticed. She said that the free-spirited dancing “was part of what made [her] like it so much.” She even got into a little headbanging at Subtronics, and who could blame her? He killed it.

“People weren’t there just to have fun themselves, they wanted to share it with you, even if you were a stranger to them”

As most ravers know, there are no strangers at festivals, and we are all best friends for the weekend. My mom was amazed by how many people came up to us to compliment our outfits, ask us to dance, or just to say hi. They were always stoked to find out we were mother and daughter. Everyone was extremely welcoming and did a great job hyping my mom up for her first rave!

“When Swedish House Mafia began their set, I forgot my uneasiness completely and just became one with the crowd”

My mom ended up liking the music a lot more than either of us expected. Swedish House Mafia was her number one, followed by Louis the Child. I guessed correctly when I assumed house would be her top genre, but I was shocked when she said that three of her favorite artists were Subtronics, Sullivan King and Svdden Death. She did say that bass music was “tedious after a few minutes” and “all sounded the same.” As a dedicated headbanger myself, I’ll let it slide because if you don’t know what you’re listening for, dubstep can definitely seem repetitive at times.

Overall, my mom had an awesome time at her first EDM festival. She said she would love to do it again, so don’t be surprised if you see her headbanging to Subtronics or singing along to Louis the Child!