Ever since it was announced ASOT was going to return to Utrecht to celebrate 15 years of Armin van Buuren’s podcast we’ve been counting down the days. Details unfolded slowly & when the full line-up & the fact that there was going to be a special celebration and a vinyl set by Armin the excitement was complete. 30.000 people from all over the world united at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht on the 27th of February & we were a part of it. Check out our experience in the report below.
We arrived around 8:30 PM at the massive Jaarbeurs in order to be able to check out all stages quickly before it would be very crowded. The mainstage looked really massive again and consisted off loads of LED & actually had a ceiling.
Ruben de Ronde, the young side-kick of Armin’s radioshow & owner of Statement Recordings had the honor to kick off the event. We expected him to start relatively relaxed but he managed to captivate the audience from the very beginning, also thanks to the pretty cool intro.
When we decided to discover some of the other stages the design of the ‘’I’m in a state of Trance stage’’ and the ‘’Who’s afraid of 138?! Stage’’ stood out. The Who’s Afraid of 138?! Stage consisted of a kind of cube with very cool visuals and lasers. Willem de Roo was playing such an amazing uplifting set at the I’m In A State Of Trance stage that we decided to stay there for a long time. Keep an eye on this talent!
Something that we found really cool last year & wanted to check out again was the Radio Dome. It can be described as a spaceship from which Armin and Ruben de Ronde were broadcasting the radioshow LIVE to fans all over the world. A nice touch is that this area was a silent disco so if you took off your headphones you could see people enjoying Trance while not hearing any of the music yourself. We could hear the set of Khomha through our headphones & that was amazing, the melodies brought us to a higher ground.
We knew that the celebration show was coming closer and closer so decided to take things up a notch & went to check out mister Jordan Suckley on the decks at the Who’s Afraid Of 138?! Stage. That turned out to be a great decision because the stage was packed, the atmosphere was good & Jordan’s tracks were definitely uplifting.
The Celebration Show – 15 years of ASOT
One of the things we has most looked forward to.. Our expectations were really high and within the first few minutes they were exceeded. Everything went so incredibly fast & smooth that at times we didn’t really know where to look. Everything came together, lasers, stunning visuals, beach balls, confetti, fireworks and even fireworks that were motion controlled going from the front to the back of the ceiling. I haven’t mentioned the music yet & already it must sound amazing. The synchronization of the music & the visuals was top notch. We were send 15 years back in time & gradually taken back to the present. It should be mentioned that Jack, the actually voice of ASOT was present on stage & people could hardly believe that it was his real voice, awesome that he was a part of it.
Armin van Buuren was set to take over the decks & start what was supposed to be his first set of the night. He opened as we’ve seen more often with ‘Embrace’, the soundtrack of his album & the upcoming Armin Only tour. When Armin started we noticed how many flags were up, people had come from all over the world to witness ASOT Festival & Armin van Buuren made them go absolutely wild.
Gareth Emery who recently announced his third studio album called ‘100 Reasons to Live’ took over from Armin & managed to keep the crowd very happy. His style of Trance containing many vocals were sung along through a packed Jaarbeurs.
Paul van Dyk
Of course you will have read about what happened to Paul van Dyk at A State Of Trance. We aren’t going to speculate about what exactly happened or if someone is to blame. We only wish Paul van Dyk all the best & a speedy recovery and completely respect Armin’s decision to cancel his vinyl set to be with Paul who has been & still is a very important part of ASOT.
Conclusion
ASOT Festival has always been something special and this year has been even more special. The 15 year celebration show was something that we will remember for a very long time! The fact that there were 4 stages made it something for every Trance fan to enjoy. We were very happy about the sets we saw & we were able to see some talents we hadn’t seen live yet. Despite of what happened to Paul van Dyk we look back to a very accomplished ASOT Festival & look forward to next year. So.. If you want to be in A State Of Trance, this Festival is the place to be!
© Festivalling.com
Reporter: Alexander Bouten