This past weekend saw the legendary A State of Trance brand return to the UK for a special Steel Yard performance.
Armin van Buuren delivered his spectacular record label purpose by showcasing a variety of star-studded DJ’s on Liverpool’s famous docks.
Joining Armin on stage were: Aly & Fila, Alpha 9, Estiva, David Gravell, Orjan Nilsen, Purple Haze and Ruben de Ronde.
Onto the review:
18:30pm
Having spent an eventful evening in Liverpool’s city centre, I walked the long and winding route to the festival site. The security were really strict upon entry and searching bags. It was freezing cold, so naturally I went straight into the arena to keep warm amongst the crowd.
David Gravell was on when I entered the arena and played a mixed set of trance. I wasn’t too focused on it, because of three factors: 1) I was catching up with friends. 2) It was cold and 3) I was manoeuvring through the crowds to take some nice photo’s.
19:00pm.
Orjan Nilsen was next, and I continued to catch up with friends. I also went outside to have a look around, from the merchandise stand to the festival rides.
20:00pm
Time for the main DJ I came to see: Aly & Fila. I only wished they had played more than an hour, because their set was superb (as always). Pure uplifting sounds of Trance, plus the techy-side of FSOE Clandestine. A real warm-up to their Brighton event which is next Friday.
21:00pm
A resurgence in the Trance scene followed and it was my first time seeing Sander van Doorn play under his alias, Purple Haze. His set was interesting to say the least, in that it wasn’t the style of Trance I’d normally associate with Sander to play, but it was still a good experience.
I was mostly chatting to the FSOE Team whilst Aly & Fila was having photo’s taken with eager fans.
22:00pm
The final act of the event was Armin van Buuren. His set started out with the ‘ASOT850 Anthem’ and featured tracks such as ‘Fallout’, ‘Billion Stars Above (FSOE Release)’ and Bryan Kearney’s track ‘All Over Again’. There was a lot more fireworks and CO2 cannons in the set compared to the others previously, but this is expected as he’s the main and final act of the event.
I stood at the right side to start with, before moving back near the control deck to get a feel for the visuals and production value of the SteelYard.
00:00am.
The event finishes, and everyone makes their way out of the venue. The words ‘Thank You Liverpool’ adorn the screen behind the stage, and some fans take photo’s.
Another surprise was that Armin actually came down to the crowd, and was quickly taking selfies and photos with the fans afterwards. This was a lovely gesture. Thanks Armin.
I left the event feeling happy, yet cold having just witnessed another SteelYard event (I also did Eric Prydz earlier in the year), and made my way back to the car to drive to the hotel.
A successful event, and roll on Brighton this coming Friday with Aly & Fila all night long!
Armin van Buuren delivered his spectacular record label purpose by showcasing a variety of star-studded DJ’s on Liverpool’s famous docks.
Joining Armin on stage were: Aly & Fila, Alpha 9, Estiva, David Gravell, Orjan Nilsen, Purple Haze and Ruben de Ronde.
Onto the review:
18:30pm
Having spent an eventful evening in Liverpool’s city centre, I walked the long and winding route to the festival site. The security were really strict upon entry and searching bags. It was freezing cold, so naturally I went straight into the arena to keep warm amongst the crowd.
David Gravell was on when I entered the arena and played a mixed set of trance. I wasn’t too focused on it, because of three factors: 1) I was catching up with friends. 2) It was cold and 3) I was manoeuvring through the crowds to take some nice photo’s.
19:00pm.
Orjan Nilsen was next, and I continued to catch up with friends. I also went outside to have a look around, from the merchandise stand to the festival rides.
20:00pm
Time for the main DJ I came to see: Aly & Fila. I only wished they had played more than an hour, because their set was superb (as always). Pure uplifting sounds of Trance, plus the techy-side of FSOE Clandestine. A real warm-up to their Brighton event which is next Friday.
21:00pm
A resurgence in the Trance scene followed and it was my first time seeing Sander van Doorn play under his alias, Purple Haze. His set was interesting to say the least, in that it wasn’t the style of Trance I’d normally associate with Sander to play, but it was still a good experience.
I was mostly chatting to the FSOE Team whilst Aly & Fila was having photo’s taken with eager fans.
22:00pm
The final act of the event was Armin van Buuren. His set started out with the ‘ASOT850 Anthem’ and featured tracks such as ‘Fallout’, ‘Billion Stars Above (FSOE Release)’ and Bryan Kearney’s track ‘All Over Again’. There was a lot more fireworks and CO2 cannons in the set compared to the others previously, but this is expected as he’s the main and final act of the event.
I stood at the right side to start with, before moving back near the control deck to get a feel for the visuals and production value of the SteelYard.
00:00am.
The event finishes, and everyone makes their way out of the venue. The words ‘Thank You Liverpool’ adorn the screen behind the stage, and some fans take photo’s.
Another surprise was that Armin actually came down to the crowd, and was quickly taking selfies and photos with the fans afterwards. This was a lovely gesture. Thanks Armin.
I left the event feeling happy, yet cold having just witnessed another SteelYard event (I also did Eric Prydz earlier in the year), and made my way back to the car to drive to the hotel.
A successful event, and roll on Brighton this coming Friday with Aly & Fila all night long!