Ok, so I like electronic dance music, more specifically Trance. When I started in the 1990's, the US was a bit behind in that department.
Still, with San Francisco and San Jose nearby, I've had some opportunities to see some great EDM/Trance DJs. Back in the early 2000's, they sadly played club music in the US that was nowhere close to the hits they had composed and were known for, but over the years, as Trance started becoming more popular, those DJs finally started playing their good tunes in the US too, and maybe from 2004 on, it's only been getting better. Popsicle Halloween 2004 was really the beginning of great music parties in the San Francisco Area, and thankfully things have gotten even better since then
As a matter of fact, after another 10 years (2015 and beyond) the good news is that Trance has grown quite a following in the US, and places like the SF Bay Area, and while Trance has been declared dead a few times in the last 10 years, it's still going strong here.
Trance Family SF is definitely strong in the area, we've been getting more big trance parties every year, including many top DJs that come visit us what feels like every other week now (as of 2018-2019), and through those events, I made many friends in Trance Family SF. Thanks to you all.
Over those years, I got the chance to meet a few of my favourite DJs, including Armin more than once, and my last hobby has been to work on lights for my shirt and pants (version 3) and (version 4)
After having good fun at beyond wonderland socal last year, I went back this year and it was definitely fun again. This time, we stayed in Ontario since it was a lot cheaper and taking the shuttle wasn't so bad (even if friday LA traffic sucks). All in all, staying in Ontario was not a bad choice given the limited ok hotels in San Bernardino.
shuttles were well organized overall
Show starts early-ish at 17:00, due to 02:00 curfew, lots of sun :)
Festival Grounds
Beyond wonderland is known for its beautiful decors. This year did not disappoint either:
Great to see sunset:
and of course, looks great at night, and fun to play with the decors:
People
One thing Insomniac really does well is the amount of costumed perfomers. Fun to take pictures with them:
And other fun things :)
People still did a great job bringing their own costumes:
it was cold, not sure how people came wearing almost nothing :)
some tried harder than others :)
Fun pictures with friends:
Day #1
Day 1 was random "not trance" day, so went to see random DJs at random stages ;)
Actually we did have Audien on the first day, nice set with tight mixes:
Also Tiesto happened, it was actually an ok set.
Then left a few minutes early to make it to the shuttle line back before it got too long:
Video of Day #1:
Day #2
Day #2 was the trance day at Cheshire Woods:
Checking out mainstage before the crowds got there:
And on Dreamstate Day, we of course had a Trancefamily Meetup:
Waiting for the night, as always :)
kids, don't forget :)
Great to get a few more pictures with favorite DJs :)
even Ulrich :)
And just like that, it was 02:00 again, and time to go home (or back to the shuttle):
Thanks to insomniac for organizing all of this and all the people who participated with costumes and good vibes.
Video of Day #2:
Should you go? Would I go Back?
If you can, yes. For me? yes, probably (except for the conflict with Miami Music Festival)
Decors are just fantastic, along with the many theme appropriate performers. That's the best part about Beyond Wonderland
Like other insomniac festivals, like EDC and Dreamstate, all the staff truly cares and goes all out. MAny small details that get sometimes missed elsewhere, are usually flawless
Security is more than reasonable as usual, thank you
San Bernardino is not the best city ever, but there are only so many places such festivals can be held, especially with a 02:00 curfew. It works for me, and having shuttles to other cities, was a good idea.
17:00 to 02:00 is 2x 9H with as much nighttime as sound restrictions will allow. Plus, if you really wanted, there was an afterparty.
6 stages is more than I would normally want, but totally different music, so conflicts were not really an issue
Trance was a bit on the light side this year, actually for me the lineup was weaker than last year's but givne all the above, still had a fantastic time.
Is it worth flying across the world for? I would go to EDC first, and then Dreamstate for the music (despite lesser decors and costumes compared to BW), but if you are able to fly there, it's definitely a fun festival to attend.
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