Written by Jen Fall
Photo Credit: Tiesto
Confession time. I’m one of those older lady ravers who remember Tiesto back when he produced and played trance. (Yes this really happened, look it up). When Prime Social Group honored me with covering his recent College Tour show in Indianapolis I was thrilled, because I had not seen him since Freaky Deaky last year. I brought his biggest fangirl I know with me and off we were to what would be the second Tiesto set we would share together.
Prime Social Group is on fire with festivals like #Fest, and the expansion of their Breakaway Festival in several cities this past early season. Bringing local talent like Slushii, Tiesto, and soon Galantis to several Midwest cities has solidified them as a major player in the promotional EDM community. Having attended several of their early events I was impressed with the one night event, and the positive experience that I have grown to expect from PSG.
We arrived just in time for Slushii to hit the decks. I had seen him in snippets moving from stage to stage in my regular festival life, so was excited to see what style he would play to warm the crowd up for superstar DJ Tiesto. We were blessed with a set that was so multi-genre, from dubstep favorites, his original tracks and even a Whitney Houston remix. He absolutely took the theme and ran with it, with snippets from college favorites that kept the crowd moving while his visuals were enhanced with feel-good bright colors and his logo clearly emblazoned, flashing through the crowd like effervescent waves of optimism. Instant gratification was had by all. There was something for everyone in his set.
Once I mingled, hit the ladies room, and met two younger ladies who were at their first ever Tiesto show, I heard the pounding of the music and made my way back out to the stage area. Pan Am Plaza is a beautiful venue. It is reminiscent of an early 2000’s warehouse venue, (Yep, I’m from that era). The sound, visuals, and lasers were all on point. Tiesto played a wonderful EDM mainstage set that shows that he has continued to become a huge influencer in the electronic music scene. He has adapted to continue his popularity long after most genres have fallen out of favorability, and then returned again. They don’t call him the godfather of EDM for no reason. We even got our trance, (there may or may not have been tears) with his mega hit “Adagio for Strings.” Having never heard him play this live before, it was exactly what this #trancefam member needed. I was up front when my girl texted with the excited “OMG TRANCE” message. It was an unexpected surprise that moved me. Tiesto, if you are reading this, THANK YOU! We all in the fam would give our right arm to see a “Classics” set, but we applaud you for continuing to push the boundaries of electronic music. I can’t wait to see what he does next.
Tickets for Tiesto’s Club Life College Tour are selling quickly and are likely to sell out. To purchase for his upcoming dates (including stops in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania), visit www.primesocial.com.
Want to follow me on my festing year? Want to squad up? Send me an email at [email protected], Follow me on Facebook at Jennifer Dawn Fall, and Instagram @basicbitchery for travel updates!