If you’ve been feeling that pull toward long builds and hands-in-the-air breakdowns lately, you’re not alone. Trance had real, named slots on 2026 lineups, and one big trance weekend is still ahead of us.
The Quick Answer: Trance festival sets in 2026 showed up on big bills, from EDC Las Vegas to Ultra Miami to Dreamstate SoCal. Above & Beyond were on the EDC Las Vegas lineup, ilan Bluestone was booked for EDC and Beyond Wonderland SoCal, and Dreamstate SoCal (November 20 and 21 in Long Beach) is stacked with the classics.
- Above & Beyond are on the EDC Las Vegas 2026 lineup (May 15 to 17), and they headline Dreamstate SoCal with an Anjunabeats Classics set
- Dreamstate SoCal runs November 20 and 21 at the Queen Mary Waterfront in Long Beach, with Ferry Corsten playing a b2b with Marsh and ilan Bluestone playing a b2b with Alpha 9
- EDC’s quantumVALLEY stage was booked with trance names including Gareth Emery, Paul van Dyk, Darude and Paul Oakenfold
- Ultra Miami (March 27 to 29) had an A State of Trance takeover for the brand’s 25th anniversary
- This isn’t a big-room revival. It’s melodic, progressive, and sits neatly between house and melodic bass
Why trance works on a festival lineup
Okay so here’s my theory, and it’s just that, a theory. Melodic bass (Seven Lions, Said the Sky, ILLENIUM) trained a lot of festival kids to love emotional drops and vocal breakdowns. Trance is the parent genre of that feeling, so it makes sense that curious fans would wander toward it.
Progressive and uplifting sets also scratch a different itch than a rolling house loop. Long builds, big payoff, hands up. If you’ve never done a full trance set, a festival is a great place to start.
Above & Beyond: where to catch them
Above & Beyond are on the EDC Las Vegas 2026 lineup, which ran May 15 to 17 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. They also took on Group Therapy 700 at The Gorge Amphitheatre in September, a weekend built around the 700th episode of their radio show.
The one still ahead of us is Dreamstate SoCal. They’re billed with a special Anjunabeats Classics set, pulling from the label’s mid-2000s catalog instead of their usual format. If you only know them from the newer stuff, that’s a very different night.
If you go, get there early. A&B crowds are devoted, and the front rail fills up well before the set.
Ferry Corsten and the veteran slots
Ferry Corsten is on the Dreamstate SoCal bill in a b2b set with Marsh. That’s the one I’d circle for anyone who wants the classic trance feel from a long-running name.
I couldn’t find a confirmed 2026 EDC Las Vegas slot for him, so if you see someone claiming one, double check the official lineup.
ilan Bluestone and the Anjunabeats side
If you want a starting point for melodic trance, ilan Bluestone is a good one. His stuff is emotional without being cheesy, and he sits right between the Above & Beyond crowd and the melodic bass kids.
He’s on the EDC Las Vegas 2026 lineup, Anjunabeats lists him for Beyond Wonderland SoCal 2026, and he’s playing a b2b with Alpha 9 at Dreamstate SoCal.
First-timer tip from me, real talk: give a trance set 45 minutes before you decide. The builds are long on purpose. Walking in during minute 12 and going “nothing’s happening” is like leaving a movie 20 minutes in. The payoff is the whole point.
Which stages to hunt for trance
The rundown by festival:
EDC Las Vegas. quantumVALLEY is the trance and melodic stage, and the 2026 bill there included Gareth Emery, Paul van Dyk, Darude and Paul Oakenfold.
Ultra Miami. Armin van Buuren’s A State of Trance took over a stage for the brand’s 25th anniversary this March.
Dreamstate SoCal. The purist destination. If you want zero compromise, this is it. It runs November 20 and 21 at the Queen Mary Waterfront in Long Beach.
One nice thing about trance sets: the energy is hands-up, not mosh-pit. You can actually carry stuff and dance without getting elbowed. It’s the perfect set to have your hydration pack on your back and just exist for 90 minutes. My Sojourner Hydration Pack is my go-to for trance sets because I know I’m going to stay in one spot and cry a little during the breakdown. No shame.
Rave-mom aside: trance sets are long, the emotional peaks are real, and people forget to drink water because they’re not moving as much. Sip during the builds. You’ll thank me at hour 8.
Go catch a trance set this year
Trance never really left, it just got quiet for a minute. If you want to catch an Above & Beyond Anjunabeats Classics set, Dreamstate SoCal in November is the one. See you in the crowd, probably crying during a breakdown, no shame in that at all.
