Once upon a time in a Kingdom far away… there was a loving King called Melodia. He loved his home Belgium so much that he welcomed a festival called Tomorrowland to invite people from all over the world to celebrate the love of music, opening the gates of his beloved kingdom. Talented guests take the spotlight like Martin Solveig, Armin van Buuren, Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike. For three days, people from across the globe can experience the magical Kingdom of Melodia with their best friends while making new friends, seeing their favorite acts, and experiencing the madness for three days.
They say that Tomorrowland is Disneyland for Adults and it is most certainly true. Being a first timer at Tomorrowland, I was completely blown away. I keep pinching myself to make sure that this was a real experience… the details and all the hard work that went into this event inspired me to feel like I wanted to live there. Guests come from all over the world and spend thousands of dollars to experience something they can only imagine – until realizing that they've punched a golden ticket to the biggest and greatest music festival in the world. Thank you ID&T and SFX Entertainment.
The Global Journey:
“Travel within a Magical Fantasy world, uniting the People of Tomorrow.” The Global Journey packages are one of the most easiest ways to travel to Tomorrowland – and the experience is a necessary complement to feel the magical effects. These are the best services – covering your trip from every moment – all the way back home. Tomorrowland offers options for each individual to create his or her own package: a “Flight Package,” “Train Package,” “Hotel Package,” “One Day Of Madness,” or “Discover Europe.””
The Flight package was a magnificent experience. There was announcement after takeoff: “Everyone please pull down curtains, we need to be completely dark”. Suddenly all you could heard was “Hey! Hoy, Hey! Hoy!”… and music began to play, everyone turning their light on and holding their foam sticks. There was even a DJ on board to keep the party going, keeping everyone dancing while seated. This was just the initial. Safely landing, you arrive… literally. It almost feels Tomorrowland at the airport – people dressed up with decorations and holding incredible signs.
The Gathering:
On the grounds of the small town in Boom, Belgium were THREE days of madness… well, four if you were camping at “Dreamville.” Even though the camping grounds were huge, they were easy to navigate thanks to street names meticulously placed everywhere. Everyone was so welcoming and happy, mainly because they were aware of the “time of their lives” that was ahead of them. Starting off the melodious weekend with the 2015 Lineup of The Gathering, the official opening party at DreamVille with guests such as Yves V, Netsky, Coone, The Kickstarts, Mystique, and so much more.
Friday July 24, 2015 (Day 1)
The first day is always overwhelming for anyone going to a festival, especially if the festival is one of the biggest in the world and in an foreign country. Between the 16 stages and over 200 acts, it was very difficult to know your way around. It took three days to get familiar with the layout of the festival and it still can be confusing. Day 1 started off with acts like Oliver Heldens and Alesso at the MainStage – to Andrew Rayel, Aly & Fila, and Markus Schulz at the TranceAddict stage!
First time seeing the MainStage brought tears to my eyes, never having seen a stage quite like this before. Waterfalls from each side of the stage, and a platform for the King to sit so he can look down at his Kingdom and watch the magic unfold. It would be impossible to find your friends in the crowds with so many people… and forget about going up to the front. Stay in your spot all day and night to secure the front row. Foreign flags everywhere, people standing on platforms, girls on guys shoulders, it can be very overwhelming being in the crowd. All of the sets were incredible.
Additionally, over by the Carl Cox stage was the talented Nicole Moudaber – queen of Techno! She played an outstanding set – and plenty of interesting fans were socially engaging. Avicii played an magnificent set at the MainStage, following by Steve Aoki – to close day one with outrageous fireworks.
Saturday July 25, 2015 (Day 2)
Second day of madness begins with the Q-Dance Stage – which absolutely blew everyone away. The only Q-Dance stage I have ever seen was at Mysteryland USA, and this one at Tomorrowland took the crown! Atmozfears absolutely killed it, he pumped up the crowd with everyone’s favorite HardStyle beats. The “Super You & Me stage” (Opera Stage) was my favorite that day. 
Saturday is Super Hero day! DJs dress up as their favorite – with VINAII as Iron Man, Sander van Doorn as Superman, Martin Solveig as Batman, Laidback Luke as his own version of one. It's been a while since I’ve personally seen Laidback Luke but he threw down like there was no tomorrow. He gave off the vibe as ‘Im going to play whatever I want because Im at the greatest festival in the world’ and succeeded, one of the best acts at Tomorrowland. He bought the inner child out of everyone and played everything in the music world from Metallica to his own music. Everyone was dancing and going crazy for his set. Martin Solveig came on after Laidback Luke which was exquisite, he started off with my personal favorite song ‘Intoxicated’ and his newest single “+1” (feat. Sam White).
The “Super You & Me stage” was the place to be on Day 2. I Had to fly over to the Cocoon – Vinyl Only Stage for Maceo Plex which was a wonderful treat, especially if you love techno. It was a bit of a cool down from the other acts but he played a wicked set. 
Armin van Buuren Jean-Michel Jarre debuted their brand new track “Stardust”, one perfect set after the other. To finish off Day 2 had to end with the MainStage, other previous festival goers always say to end your day with MainStage. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike were outrageous with their epic set, they fired up the crowed with everyone’s favorites like ‘Tremor’, ‘Louder’ (Acapella), and also introduced to some wild mashups such as ‘Cool Tremor’ (Martin Garrix Mashup) and ‘Ping Pong’ with an (Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike Mammoth Edit). Also playing their most recent popular song called ’The Hum’ – sampled from the movie The Wolf of Wall Street, although my chest was bruised from constantly doing ‘The Hum’ it was worth it. Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike also released their newest collaboration with Ne-Yo called ‘Higher Place’ – huge MainStager song. ‘Higher Place’ lyric video
The end of day 2 was highlighted by the incredible duo Axwell Λ Ingrosso. The rain came down but the sun was shining and so were we – when Axwell Λ Ingrosso set the MainStage on fire with a vibrant set – releasing some new music such as ‘Think About It’ feat. Richard Archer & Karin Park, and ‘Dark River’. However, there was plenty of flavor and variety in their set as well: some old school music with Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ and some Swedish House Mafia of course… There was a mashup of ‘Save The World’ with “One” and Daft Punk‘s ‘One More Time’. Also played: their “LORDE & Flume vs. Sebastian Ingrosso & Tommy Trash – Tennis Court Reload” (Henry Fong Mashup). Closing their set, ‘On My Way’ feat. Salem Al Fakir and ‘Sun Is Shining’ feat. Salem Al Fakir & Vincent Pontare. Followed, finally, by the eye-popping fireworks to close the day.
Sunday July 26, 2015 (Day 3)
A sad day to be honest, knowing that it was the final day of the madness. But everyone still made it epic in their own way. Its a bit of a cool down, with Day 3 acts kicking off with the Bakermat & Friends stage taking everyone by storm with their saxophone performance. Despite that it would not stop raining and everyone in ponchos, plus the temperature was 55 F. and 12 C. (Depending on where you came from) everyone still made their last day count.
VIP had it's perks. There was a nice warm and dry area where fans could retreat if the weather turned for the worst. The inside of the VIP rooms at the MainStage were breathtaking, like being inside an actual kigdom. They made you feel like royalty, too, with patrons offering trays of food with fruit, chocolate covered strawberries, and Dutch Friend food. All of the food was fresh and delicious.
From running around like a mad woman trying to catch all of my favorite acts on Sunday, it was nearly impossible… but I managed to see Richie Hawtin, Matador, Bakermat, Green Velvet, and Yellow Claw. Yellow Claw forced the crowd to start a giant mosh pit, from the back to the front, to side-to-side – and people were jumping around all over the place. Their energy was great, perfect for a monster festival. The rain came, too – but it didn't seem to ruin any festival goers experience.
“You must end your night at the MainStage.” Thats all you heard from other fans when you were there, so we did. Ending tonight was first Tiësto, following 3 are Legend. Tiësto who played an epic set with many surprises such as inviting Don Diablo. They premiered their new track ‘Chemicals,’ which was completely mind-boggling… a wonderful track that was perfect for the environment! For the final 30 minutes of musical madness, the genius tripod, 3 Are Legend. They played a perfect set with classic hits, even bringing Nervo to help them close their performance – followed by a spectacular firework show.
Wait! There was one more surprise: the King of Melodia delivered to the people of Tomorrowland… darkness once again. The lights went dark. Then you hear a gorgeous violinist start playing with gusto, a bright light shines on 7 year old little girl. Playing for almost 200, 000 people in front of the entire Kingdom and the people of Tomorrowland. People clapping along with the music, and tears began to fall. The conclusion of Tomorrowland was again finished to perfection, Live Today, Love Tomorrow, Unite Forever… and that's exactly what everyone did.
It was an overall incredible experience, making great new friends out of the experience, meeting very important people. Changing lives forever, looking at music festivals in a completely new outlook on everything about the festivals in America as well. Tomorrowland was an magnificent success once again, Thank You to everyone that was apart of the journey. Everyone who was involved made an easier and comforting wonderful epic experience happen. Even though we all came from all different parts of the Earth, even though we have a different outlook on the way one lives, it didn’t matter here at Tomorrowland. People only knew one thing and that was the love of music, it is truly a magical place. Until next time, Tomorrowland.
Top 5 Sets at Tomorrowland 2015
- Axwell /\ Ingrosso
- Martin Solveig
- Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike
- Yellow Claw
- Alesso
Photo Credits:
Lowie
Meagen Surowiecki
All photos were taken by Meagen Surowiecki or by the staff of Tomorrowland
