Tim Norris / OC Weekly

Coachella Sahara Tent 2012

Festival season is upon us and that means not one, but two weeks of Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival with enough electronic dance music to keep aficionados fist pumping in their sleep with anticipation. With one of the biggest music events of the year just around the corner, why bother doing anything else all month? Well, for those not willing to shell out the $350 for three days or others who weren't lucky enough to score a ticket before it sold out fear not because there's plenty of EDM shows right here in OC and in LA to get your party music fix. We did all the research for you to ensure you don't miss the five best dance music shows of all genres to ensure you spend your hard earned money on the right events.

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Fabian Ortiz

Lulu and Alejandra at Ultra Music Festival

Ultra Music Festival celebrated its 15th annual edition by expanding over two three-day weekends (a la Coachella) making it the largest electronic music festival in the US and the only one in the world to take place over two weekends. Acts included some of the worlds biggest EDM names such as Tiësto, Armin Van Buuren, David Guetta, Deadmau5, Calvin Harris to non dance music artist like Snoop Dogg and Yesayer.

Overlooking the breathtaking downtown Miami skyline and marina at Bayfront Park, the festival brought over 165,000 dance music fans from all over the world - literally. The sea of participants adorned flags, shirts, hats and everything you could imagine to represent their hometowns, states and countries. Among those festival revelers was myself and my mother Lourdes whom I brought along for the ride so she could see for herself what the EDM festival craze is all about. Perhaps this adventure would bring us closer and maybe she won't think I'm so crazy for making the pilgrimage year after year to attend the biggest festivals out there. I know what you're thinking: "Wow this girl must be crazy." But in actuality it was her own adventurous spirit who wanted to join me. Perhaps it's where I get it from?

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Matt Oliver / OC Weekly

Steve Aoki with Travis Barker at Beyond Wonderland 2012

This weekend, Insomniac takes its fourth journey down the Alice & Wonderland-themed rabbit hole to Beyond Wonderland Music Festival, held at the San Manuel Amphitheater after the city of San Bernardino complained from previous wonderland events at the NOS Events Center. Don't be fooled by the new location however. If anything, it means a new venue for Insomniac's CEO Pasquale Rotella to curate into a magical world filled with art installations, performers, rides and some of electronic dance music's biggest stars including David Guetta, Steve Angello and Afrojack. For fans excited to roam the hills of the San Manuel Amphitheater and discover its new found home, we have put together a list of five must-see acts amidst all of the heavy dose of spine-rattling basslines.

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After falling in love with electro in his native Miami, Eric Estornel began deejaying in the early 90s. Like most EDM enthusiasts he later got into techno and began making house beats in 1996. He moved his family to Dallas where he made a name for himself as a local DJ, but it wasn't until he fled to the European dance music scene that things started to take off for him four years ago. He released an LP on the infamous Crosstown Rebels label and his appeal has since skyrocketed. Tonight, going by his DJ moniker Maceo Plex, the soulful, underground producer is headlining the official Insomniac Beyond Wonderland pre-party alongside Maya Jane Coles at Exchange LA and playing the Crosstown Rebels Rave stage at Beyond Wonderland Saturday only to make his way back to Miami for his Ultra Music Festival debut on Sunday!

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Alejandra Loera / OC Weekly

Laidback Luke at the Fox Theater Pomona

Laidback Luke
March 8th, 2013
Fox Theater Pomona

Last night the Filipino/Dutch DJ sensation Laidback Luke brought his signature mix of hip-hop and electro house to the Fox Theater in Pomona. Legally known as Luke Van Scheppingen, Laidback Luke has been killing it on the electronic music scene for the past 15 years. Know for his infamous Mixmash Records which continue to release hit after hit and his grand Super You & Me parties that sell out the biggest venues all over the world with it's audiences dressed in super hero get ups - Laidback Luke is one of the hardest working DJs and producers in the game who continues to amaze and wow his fans. This special Thursday night 18 and over event brought some serious dance music to the I.E. thanks to powerhouse promoters LED and Goldenvoice.

The show started at 11pm, noticeable early by EDM standards, and raged for a full two hours with in your face electro mash-ups and remixes of Luke's own originals as well as surprisingly a lot of Swedish House Mafia edits - perhaps playing homage to the 60,000 people event all of the EDM crowd will be attending this weekend at the Los Angeles Historic Park. We're not complaining however, as the vocals of of his track with SHM group mates "Leave the World Behind" echoed on the sound system we got carried away in anticipation. The crowd seemed fittingly for the Fox Theater's old school "rave" culture (this used to be the spot back in the early hey days of dance music) with kandi kids and girls in fluffies ready to get their shuffle on the packed dance floor.

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Shannon Nehls / OC Weekly

Tiësto's Club Life at the Staples Center

Tiësto
Staples Center
March 2, 2013
This weekend, the mega-star Dutch DJ/producer Tijs Michiel Verwest, better known as Tiësto, returned to Los Angeles via the Staples Center after his epic, soldout show at the Honda Center in 2011 for 26,000 electronic dance music fans. This marks the second time an EDM artist has played a headlining gig at the legendary venue (Kaskade brought his Freaks of Nature Tour to the Staples Center just last summer). Thanks to powerhouse promoters Insomniac Events and Goldenvoice, the College Invasion Tour brought in DJ Alvaro & Tommy Trash as the opening selectors of the evening, which sent loud basslines all the way to Figueroa at an early 6 p.m.

See Also: Why Tiësto Became an Indie-Inspired Electro Chameleon
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Matt Oliver / OC Weekly

Beyond Wonderland 2012

Festival season is less than a month away for the electronic dance music community, and with it comes the time-honored tradition of skimpy outfits, three-day ragers, pool parties and dancing until the sun comes up. Starting in March, a slew of your favorite DJs will be on tour to promote new albums and/or tracks. Add all of the amazing shows right here in OC or a short drive away, and you can find something for every dance-music palate on a weekly basis. We did all the research to find the best EDM shows this month on which to spend your hard-earned cash.

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Tijs Michiel Verwest, a.k.a. Tiësto

Tijs Michiel Verwest is more than just an electronic-dance-music (EDM) DJ and producer. He is the quintessential originator of the iconic brand Tiësto, which has continued to revolutionize itself and change the game for dance music artists all over the world for almost two decades. With Grammy nominations, numerous awards, collaborations with Guess Clothing, a Sirius XM Club Life Radio Channel, the No. 1 podcast on iTunes, his own Madame Tussaud's wax statue, residencies all over the world, and headlining every major festival including Coachella's main stage, plus being the first DJ to play at the Olympic Games in Athens, as well as the highest paid DJ on the Forbes list, Tiësto has proven to be larger than life, with no signs of slowing down.

Though he suffered a minor touring setback due to back problems on his 2012 College Invasion Tour, he is making up the missed dates this winter, including a stop at the Staples Center March 2. Presented by Goldenvoice and Insomniac, this performance marks the second time a DJ will play a show at the Staples Center -- Kaskade was the first DJ to sell it out with his Freaks of Nature Tour last summer. So in honor of Tiësto's Los Angeles comeback (he was last in LA in 2011 as a part of that year's College Invasion Tour, which hosted 26,000 fans at the Home Depot Center), we chatted with Verwest right as he hit the tour bus with fellow DJ friends Tommy Trash, Quintino and Alvaro. The Dutch artist covered everything from cultivating his sound to impromptu gigs to what's currently on his iPod.

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Shannon Nehls / OC Weekly

Jack Beats and special guest Dillon Francis

CONTROL's Four Year Anniversary Party (Jack Beats, Carnage and Whiiite)
Friday, Feb. 22, 2013
Avalon Hollywood

On Friday night, we headed to Hollywood for CONTROL at the infamous Avalon Nightclub for its fourth-anniversary party, featuring sounds from Jack Beats, Carnage and Whiite. Ryan Jaso, who also manages several well-known DJs from Orange County and LA such as PeaceTreaty and Whiiite, has built an incredible Friday-night institution with CONTROL as one of the premier 19-and-over clubs discovering and bringing world-class DJs when it comes to electro, dubstep and trap EDM. You never know what kind of surprise guest will drop in at Avalon on this staple night, and this anniversary was no exception with Borgore, Dillon Francis, 12th Planet, Flinch, Kill the Noise, Rusko, Jillionare, Barestep, Craze to Krewella all in attendance to celebrate the milestone.

See Also:
CONTROL's Anniversary Party @ the Avalon

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Myndset

There are some local artists who are destined for the lime-light, even if Orange County doesn't always have much to offer in that regard. This is something Myndset learned early on in his career as a hip-hop DJ. At the time he went by a different moniker and played every major club in OC feeding the masses their weekly dose of top 40 and hip hop beats. He felt hip hop was getting stale and was drawn by the sounds of electronic music - something that hadn't reached the popularity it has now and which he says "feed his soul." He enrolled in OC Weekly's DJ competition to play at Ultra Music Festival in 2008 and won, landing himself a coveted spot at one of EDM's biggest festivals in the world.

"That was one of the best days of my life and such a cool experience, Myndset says. "I was like it's there for the taking if anyone wants but I can do this. So I practiced the shit out of my routine and brought out all my tricks as a true turntablist." Yet the biggest thing he gained from that experience is that you can make it as a traveling DJ (something he had always dreamed of) and the world was his oyster with hard work and perseverance.

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