EZoo Music Festival Guide: Maximize Your eZoo Experience

Welcome to the ultimate EZoo Music Festival Guide, your passport to an unforgettable electronic music adventure! As the beats drop and the crowd comes alive, we’re here to ensure you navigate this epic festival with ease. Whether you’re a festival veteran or new to the scene, this EZoo Music Festival Guide unlocks the magic, music, and mayhem of EZoo. Dive into the EDM world, explore the lineup, plan your festival, and create unforgettable memories.

Let’s embark on this exhilarating journey together! Bright colors, neon lights, dancing, art, music, new friendships, and memories. Welcome to eZoo!

What is eZoo?

Electric Zoo Festival (eZoo) is a large 3-day electronic music festival that predominantly takes place on Randall’s Island in NYC, as well as periodically having international locations, featuring top artists in the EDM industry. Thousands of people gather together to hear their favorite artists, meet new people, exchange Kandi, dance, and create memories! Originally starting in 2009, the festival has continued to grow with different themes each year!

What to Expect

When you first arrive, there will be a big entrance sign with several lines for entry. To expedite entry and security due to high attendance, clear security, then reach the festival’s central grounds where multiple stages are set up. These grounds feature a spacious grass area, art structures, live art, merchandise vendors, hydration stations, food options, restrooms, lockers, and a VIP lounge.

Upon arrival, explore the layout while it’s less crowded, especially for first-timers, as it becomes harder to navigate when crowded. Familiarize yourself with stage locations for easy artist transitions and set a meeting point in case of separation. Capture photos with sculptures early to avoid long lines and artist conflicts. It is also a good idea to take photos with the sculptures early on so you’re not waiting in a long line and missing your favorite artist.

As the day gets later, and more of the well-known artists begin to perform, the venue begins to fill up quickly making it a lot more difficult to switch between stages and to get a good view/spot. The festival intentionally creates the lineup by starting with new and upcoming artists slowly increasing to big, well-known artists. We initially planned a schedule based on lineups but eventually settled at one stage for a good spot, given the increasing crowd. Smaller covered stages get particularly crowded, pushing some to the venue’s outskirts. Late in the night, fatigue and rowdiness can increase, so stay vigilant.

What to Expect Inside the Festival

Throughout the festival, you have the opportunity to meet new people, form new connections, and dance classic festival dances! This is a great opportunity to trade Kandi which is a fun community-building part of festivals. I wrote a separate article on Kandi, what it is, how to make it, etc. which can be found here.

Due to a large number of people, a large amount of dancing, the heat, and the nature of the festival, eZoo has several free water hydration stations to encourage people to stay hydrated throughout the event. You’re able to fill up your hydration packs and bottles and get right back into the dancing. Security and medics are posted throughout the event to promote safety and offer assistance if needed.

Expect a substantial crowd and potential traffic congestion when leaving the festival, as everyone departs through a single exit. To minimize your wait and avoid the rush, consider leaving a few minutes before the event officially ends.

How Much Are Tickets?

Festivals offer different tier tickets with different perks and access, as well as additional ticket add-ons to help improve your festival experiences such as shuttle bus or ferry transport, rent a locker or phone charging station, drinking passes, etc. Since eZoo is a three-day festival, tickets are sold by individual day or by grouping days together. Make sure to check the line up of artists if you choose to purchase individual day tickets or group certain days together so you’re making the most out of your experience!

The more days you choose, the more the price goes up. However, eZoo offers pre-sales or ticket combo sales way in advance for those planning to attend the festival to promote ticket sales. There is a pre-sale where they sell 2 or 3-day combo tickets at a lower price, but with the risk of not knowing what artists are performing yet. Then a few months after the pre-sale, the line-up gets released and the tickets go live for individual sale. The longer you wait to purchase tickets, the more the ticket prices go up as you get close to the festival date because ticket tiers will sell out. If you know for SURE that you’re going, make sure you are ready for when the sales go live. Individual day tickets generally start at around $110 for the lowest tier and then go up from there.

We opted for individual day tickets for our first festival. With laptops ready, we bought the second-tier tickets within 3 minutes as the first tier sold out. The second tier also sold out in just 10 minutes!

How Do I Get There?

For safety and convenience, eZoo provides ticket add-ons for shuttle bus and ferry transportation, catering to attendees from all around the world. However, it’s perfectly safe and common to drive to the event and park in a nearby garage, as many people do. There are designated sidewalks and pathways leading to and from the festival. Security personnel are present to ensure safety and manage traffic as the large crowd exits the event. Please be prepared for some post-festival traffic when driving from the event.

My friends and I parked in a recommended parking garage on Randall’s Island, which was a short 10-15 minute walk from the festival. Initially concerned about walking in the city at night, we were reassured by the security personnel who ensured the safety of festival-goers leaving the event and managed vehicle and pedestrian traffic effectively.

What to Bring?

• Bringing an ID is a must, and a driver’s license is the best choice. Check eZoo’s website for a list of acceptable IDs. You won’t be allowed in without it, so avoid any inconvenience.

• An empty hydration backpack or water bottle. It is very easy to get overheated or dehydrated at festivals, so make sure you bring a water container so you can stay hydrated. As stated above, the festival has hydration stations posted throughout the event where you can refill for free. Many people will wear a hydration backpack because it’s easier to carry, to access, and it holds a lot of water which means fewer stops to the hydration station. Plus, they have a lot of pockets and space for storing what else you may need/bring to the festival.

• Your phone. Since many people carry their phones everywhere, this event is no exception. You can take countless photos and videos and easily reach your friends if you get separated.

• Back up phone batteries. One of the most crucial items I had was extra phone batteries since I was constantly taking photos and videos. While you can rent phone-charging lockers, having spare batteries is more cost-effective and convenient.

• Toilet paper. This was something I wish I bought but didn’t about. Despite seeming trivial, consider that thousands attend the festival, and the staff won’t monitor toilet paper availability. I didn’t realize this until I faced an empty restroom, forcing me to request some from a fellow festival-goer. So yes, BYOTP.

• A group pole or sign. Large groups often carry identifying signs, objects, or flags to help members locate each other in the festival crowd.

• Kandi. A big part of the festival/rave culture, Kandi is part of the PLURR community and people’s outfits. For more information, read my article here.

What to Wear

Different festivals have their own themes and style of wear. EZoo is your typical bright and wild style of wear. People go all out in costumes, usually mesh, bright colors, skirts, fishnets, etc. and in their makeup and hair which often consists of wild styling, glitter everywhere, and bright colors. If you need some outfit inspiration or tutorials, check out Pinterest or Youtube. Some people will even bring/wear glowing ropes, hoops, balls, gloves, coats, you name it!

If you’re looking for a fun festival, with wild costumes, amazing artists, and with good vibes then eZoo is for you! Not only was this my first time at eZoo, but it was also my first large EDM festival. This festival was so much fun, and so well put together that I will 100% be back next year! I learned about eZoo through a few friends and wasn’t completely sure what I was signing up for, but I am glad that I did!

As with any event, make sure to stay safe and take care of yourself, but also have fun! As someone who is new to the festival scene, these were tips and tricks that I wish I would have known before coming to the event, so I knew what to expect.

Immerse yourself in the pulsating beats, electrifying performances, and vibrant atmosphere of the festival with this EZoo Music Festival Guide. With these tips and insights, your EZoo experience is bound to be a musical journey like no other. Get ready to dance, connect with fellow music enthusiasts, and create memories that will last a lifetime at EZoo!