Largest trance music festival A State of Trance celebrates 25th anniversary in Rotterdam

The 25th anniversary edition of the world’s largest trance music festival, A State of Trance (ASOT), opened Friday at Ahoy Rotterdam and continues Saturday. The festival, created in 2001 as a radio show by Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren, now reaches millions of fans across more than 80 countries.

Both nights are available via livestream at asot.tv and YouTube. Friday’s lineup included sets by Ruben De Ronde, Estiva, Superstrings, Aly & Fila, Ferry Corsten, Giuseppe Ottaviani, John O’Callaghan, and van Buuren himself, who performed multiple sets, including a 25-year celebration set. Saturday features Avalan Rokston, JOA, Korolova, Benwal, Ginchy, Laura Van Dam, Cosmic Gate, Armin van Buuren, Oliver Heldens, Maddix, Billy Gillies, MaRLo, Andrew Rayel presents Extasia, Richard Durand, and David Forbes.

Van Buuren, whose family is from the Rijnmond region, told Rijnmond that, “My mother is from Schiedam, so the region is not unfamiliar to me. I like coming here.” He noted that Rotterdam has been a key city for electronic music and called the festival a homecoming.

To promote the event, van Buuren performed a surprise set with DJ Tjade at a Rotterdam Kruidvat store, drawing crowds of fans and staff who joined in the festivities. He previously gave a public set at Rotterdam Centraal, previewing the festival for travelers.

Van Buuren emphasized his commitment to helping emerging artists. “I feel the pressure to help new artists,” he told Rijnmond. He created a private app group for DJs to support one another, noting the complexity of preparing sets, producing music, and managing visuals, social media, and taxes.