Armin van Buuren returns to Mysteryland after a decade’s absence

In the world of EDM, names like Armin van Buuren and Mysteryland seem to belong together, with both being Dutch and essential to growth within the industry for 20 years. Yet for the last decade, it seemed they were separated. But this story needs a little more history, so let’s start at the beginning.

Proudly known as the very first of its kind at the time of establishment back in 1993, Mysteryland has been a staple in the annual rave calendar for a whopping 24 years. The festival held just outside of Amsterdam, has consistently featured the world’s top performers. Starting out with a focus on the emerging Hardcore scene for which the Netherlands had gained a reputation thanks to ID&T. The company led by Irfan van Ewijk, Duncan Stutterheim, and Theo Lelie had already introduced massive events with Thunderdome, and in turn, would go on to further establish dominance with brands like Trance Energy, Sensation, Tomorrowland, TomorrowWorld, Electric Zoo and AMF.

As Mysteryland continued to grow on every possible level, the event would go on to create much-needed platforms for some of the world’s top DJ’s, including a then lesser known 24-year-old DJ from Leiden in the Netherlands, who had gained attention through his unique take on Trance, with releases like ‘Blue Fear’ and an impressive position on the DJ Mag top 100. A far cry from his now record 5-time #1 position, events like Mysteryland would prove to be an essential platform for megastar Armin Van Buuren.

The Dutch native has been touring the world in an unmatched manner, visiting every major city in Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa and the Americas. While van Buuren has regular dates in and around the Netherlands, one festival seems to have missed out, whether by scheduling difficulties or some unknown reason. But after 10 years of absence, Armin’s ever increasing fan base had the opportunity to witness his return to one of the festivals that played such a big role in his spectacular career.  Playing a set that included everything fans had come to expect, given Van Buuren’s extremely popular weekly radio show, as well as mix albums and global events that share the ASOT title. Joined on stage by Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano fans were given a performance that  was long overdue.