There’s a reason why Dreamstate has the name it does. When you walk through those entrance gates, it’s similar to walking into a fantasy land that you could only dream of. Trance lovers from around the world unite each year in Southern California at the NOS Event Center in San Bernardino, CA.
On Friday, November 22nd, I woke up with a burst of energy because I knew what was in store for me in a matter of hours. There’s nothing better than getting ready for a festival with your besties, blasting music in the hotel room, dancing and trancing about. Soon enough, it was time to hop in the uber to go rave to the grave.
Walking though the gate at the one and only Dreamstate.
For me, there was no other option than to get to Dreamstate right when the gates opened. I was excited to see Coldharbour’s mainstay, Dave Neven. The Dream Stage didn’t need a warm up because he started the night of with bangers one after another. I was delighted to hear his recent release, ‘Rapture’ to start the night. Next, I was off to the Vision Stage to catch Alessandra Roncone — who is one of the leading women in trance. After her incredibly banging set, The Space Brothers were on. These two are absolute trance legends and have been in the game longer than I’ve been alive. When they dropped Jorn van Deynhoven’s remix of their track ‘Shine’, the crowd went mental and shouted the vocals at the top of their lungs and so did I.
Next on the Vision stage was Cold Blue presenting his new album, ‘Winter’. And I guess there’s just something about the word ‘Shine’ because that just so happens to be my favorite song off the new album and hearing it live was magical. Back to the Dream for me as Ruben de Ronde took to the stage playing plenty of tracks off his latest album, ‘Different’. Next on the stage was one of my most anticipated artists of the weekend, Giuseppe Ottaviani and boy did he deliver. He opened with ‘Slow Emotion 4’, which was the premiere of the track. His bootleg of Darude’s ‘Feel The Beat’ shook the room. But for me, when Giuseppe premiered his remix of ‘Starlight’ by Muse — that was really something special and proves that a touch of trance can make anything better. Don’t leave it to me though, give his set a listen for yourself.
Another set that I was really looking forward to was Key4050 and they raised the bar pretty high. They always put on a great show, but Dreamstate got something on another level. I still can’t get over the moment they played ‘I Love You’. Gareth Emery was up next and he played a ton of mashups that threw us for a loop. It was a trance filled set that lifted the crowds hands in the air song after song. Legend after legend took the Dream Stage by storm on Friday because Ferry Corsten took to the stage next. He didn’t come alone though, he brought Haliene along to close his set with her singing ‘Wherever You Are’. Finally, closing out the night was the Egyptian trance legend, Aly & Fila! As always, his set proved the one thing that rings true with trance — ‘It’s All About The Melody’.
A good night’s sleep was due and then it was on to day two.
After a spectacular meet and greet set up by none other than Mama Danielle, I was off to the second and final day of Dreamstate. Again, I arrived early to catch a back to back set of two amazing women in the trance scene, Ashley Smith and Maria Healy. Next up was David Forbes b2b Paul Denton, who really got things going and I was especially delighted to hear them drop ‘The Music’. After hearing a solid hour of hard hitting tech trance, I decided to take a small break and wandered over to the VIP lounge for drinks and a bite to eat. I must say, it is definitely worth the upgrade to have a bit of space and a moment of peace in all the madness. Plus, who doesn’t like to get beautified at the beauty station and make kandi for your friends at the kandi station.
After getting some much needed rest, I checked out Gabriel & Dresden with the pleasant surprise of getting to hear their recent collaboration with Ferry Corsten, ‘I Am You’. I quickly ran over to Vision to see the rest of Fables (Dan Stone and Ferry Tayle) who were playing some of trance’s best tunes like ‘Satellite’. This night was really filled with all of the best pairing of trance DJs because Craig Connelly and Factor B were on stage next and blew our minds with their mashup of ‘Black Hole’ and ‘Synergy’. Just when you think things are gonna slow down, nope! Sky Patrol (Standerwick and ReOrder) took Vision on a ride next with tons of uplifting bangers. Sean Tyas and Menno de Jong tore it up next and I’ll never forget the moment they dropped Sean’s remix of ‘Open My Mind’.
Dream on little dreamers.
Finally, it was time for me to venture over to the Dream Stage where Anjuna had taken over for the night. Above & Beyond was there laying down classic after classic and ID after ID. It really was something that couldn’t be missed and I’m so happy I made the decision to head over there. To close off the night was a brilliant b2b set curated by Ilan Bluestone and Andrew Bayer. When they opened with ‘Parallels’, I knew from that moment on that it would be a set to remember and that it was.
Sadly, the weekend came to an end all too fast, but fear not. Dreamstate is back at it with a stellar lineup in Poland on April 18th, 2020. Get your tickets here.
*Featured image via Dreamstate*
