EVENT REVIEW – Tiësto – Dreamstate SoCal – 2025
Tiësto’s Triumphant Return to Trance at Dreamstate SoCal 2025
Words by Kaiulani Newhouse
On November 22, 2025, one of electronic music’s most transformative moments unfolded at the Queen Mary Waterfront in Long Beach, California.
Tiësto, the Dutch superstar who helped bring trance to the mainstream before pivoting to commercial dance music, closed out Dreamstate SoCal’s tenth anniversary with a full trance set that honored his roots and reminded fans why he became a legend in the first place.
The Anticipation Builds
The anticipation for Tiësto’s trance return had been building throughout 2025. Earlier in the year, he had teased fans with “In Search of Sunrise” performances at EDC Las Vegas and Day Trip Festival, offering glimpses of the trance maestro that millions had fallen in love with decades ago. But Dreamstate SoCal 2025 promised something more complete, more meaningful: a full set dedicated to the genre that made him one of the world’s most recognized DJs.
As the festival’s final night approached, the energy among attendees was palpable. This wasn’t just another headliner closing out a festival. This was a homecoming, a pilgrimage back to the sounds that defined an era and shaped countless lives. For many in the crowd, Tiësto’s early trance work represented their introduction to electronic music, the soundtrack to transformative moments in their youth.
A Journey Through Time
When Tiësto took the stage to close out Dreamstate SoCal 2025, he delivered a masterclass in trance music that spanned his legendary catalog. The set was a carefully curated journey through the tracks that made him an icon, each one carrying the weight of history and emotional resonance.
“Traffic” thundered through the speakers, its driving bassline and euphoric breakdown transporting thousands back to the early 2000s. The crowd erupted as the familiar melody washed over them, hands shooting into the air, bodies moving in unison. It was more than nostalgia; it was a rekindling of something essential.
Then came “Adagio for Strings,” Tiësto’s baroque-inspired masterpiece that remains one of trance’s most emotionally powerful tracks. As the classical strings built tension before exploding into electronic euphoria, the crowd experienced something rare in modern dance music: a genuine sense of transcendence. This was the track that had played at raves, festivals, and clubs around the world, a cultural touchstone that connected generations of trance lovers.
“Flight 643” followed, showcasing Tiësto’s ability to craft progressive trance that balanced melody with energy. The track’s soaring synths and emotional depth reminded everyone why trance music earned its name, literally putting listeners in a trance-like state of musical bliss.
The “Silence” That Spoke Volumes
Perhaps the most emotionally charged moment came with Tiësto’s legendary remix of Delirium and Sarah McLachlan’s “Silence.” This track, which helped define the trance sound of the late 1990s and early 2000s, carries profound significance for the trance community. Its haunting vocals paired with euphoric production created a perfect synthesis of emotion and energy.
As the familiar opening notes began, something remarkable happened throughout the crowd. People embraced. Strangers hugged. Tears flowed freely down faces illuminated by stage lights and smartphone screens capturing the moment. Some sang along to every word, their voices cracking with emotion. Others simply closed their eyes, letting the music wash over them, processing years of memories compressed into a few transcendent minutes.
This wasn’t just a DJ playing a popular track. This was a collective catharsis, a moment of genuine emotional release that demonstrated the power of music to move people in ways that transcend the physical act of dancing. It was the kind of moment that reminds us why people travel hundreds or thousands of miles to attend music festivals, why they invest time, money, and energy into these experiences.
More Than a Performance
What made Tiësto’s set at Dreamstate SoCal 2025 particularly special was its context. In recent years, Tiësto had become better known for his commercial success in big room house and pop-influenced EDM. He had performed at Super Bowl LVIII, reached new audiences, and achieved mainstream success that most DJs could only dream of. His evolution was both celebrated and mourned by long-time fans who missed the trance pioneer.
This performance represented an acknowledgment of that history and those fans. By dedicating a full set to trance at Dreamstate’s tenth anniversary, Tiësto wasn’t just playing old tracks for nostalgia’s sake. He was honoring the community that supported him from the beginning, the genre that gave him his foundation, and the musical movement that continues to thrive even as dance music trends come and go.
The set also served as validation for the trance community itself. In an era when electronic music often prioritizes viral moments and commercial appeal, Dreamstate has remained steadfastly devoted to trance in all its forms. Tiësto’s return and the emotional response it generated proved that there’s still tremendous power in music that prioritizes emotion, melody, and journey over simple drops and anthemic hooks.
A Fitting Finale
As Tiësto’s set concluded and Dreamstate SoCal’s tenth anniversary drew to a close, the atmosphere at the Queen Mary Waterfront was electric yet tender. People lingered, not wanting the moment to end, still processing what they had just experienced. The conversations that followed were filled with superlatives and emotion, fans trying to articulate something that perhaps can only truly be understood by those who were there.
The performance proved that great music is timeless. Tracks that Tiësto produced fifteen or twenty years ago still resonate with the same power today, perhaps even more so given the perspective that time provides. These weren’t just songs; they were memories made tangible, emotions given form, connections crystallized in sound.
For Dreamstate’s tenth anniversary, there could have been no better closing act. Tiësto’s trance return at the Queen Mary wasn’t just a highlight of the weekend or even the year. It was a landmark moment in dance music history, a bridge between eras, and a reminder of why trance music has endured for decades and will continue to inspire future generations.
The Legacy Continues
As fans departed the Queen Mary in the early morning hours, many carried with them renewed faith in the music they love. Tiësto had reminded them why they fell in love with trance in the first place, and in doing so, had written another chapter in his own legend.
The performance also sent a powerful message to the broader dance music community: you can evolve, experiment, and explore new sounds while still honoring your roots. There’s room for both commercial success and artistic authenticity, for mainstream appeal and underground credibility.
For those who witnessed Tiësto’s trance return at Dreamstate SoCal 2025, November 22nd will be remembered as the night the master came home. It was a night of tears and triumph, of memories and magic, of silence that spoke volumes and music that said everything that needed to be said.
