Since the very first Mysteryland back in 1993, the festival has been a playground to ‘Celebrate Life’, the tagline that has become synonymous with the world’s longest running electronic music festival.
Mysteryland is so much more than a festival, it feels like walking into a fairy tale. Everywhere you look there is something to surprise you, from the Psychedelic Farm to the Paardenrave (Horserave), an intimate wild west fantasy hidden in the trees, to the nude beach, and the Holy Peepshow Bingo, which is the wildest game show we’ve ever seen! We were surprised at every turn we took.
Mysteryland attracts 125.000 visitors over the weekend from nearly 100 nationalities, a festival this size needs to cater to a wide variety of musical styles. They definitely accomplished this with 15 stages scattered around the gorgeous Haarlemmermeer festival grounds and more than 300 artists performing over the weekend. The event started on Friday when the campers settled into their tents or the luxurious glamping options in the Mysteryland resort. Those who came early got the party started early with the likes of Sosa and Nic Fanciulli kicking off the Elrow stage.
We arrived on Saturday at noon to enjoy a nice lunch with the Mysteryland team and then we headed to our main stage of the day, Drumcode. The impressive stage hosted a great line up including Space 92 and Joris Voorn. Before closing out our night with the label boss Adam Beyer, we rested our legs and soaked in the sun for a beautiful Sofa Session with Hannes Bieger, who played a lovely live set that felt like a real treat in the intimate setting. We then hit the Joy stage, a new addition this year, for some Archie Hamilton vibes before returning to the Drumcode stage.
As day turned into night the view was incredible from the hill where we danced. The stage swirled with different visuals, lasers, smoke, and even fireworks to end the day with a bang. It was an incredible site that was easily viewed from the top of the hill, which made it easy to dance and see the entire stage without the need of getting squished in the crowd.
Saturday was so great we were easily convinced to return on Sunday for another amazing day. The weather was perfect to explore so we visited each stage but our musical highlights were favourites Âme (Frank Weidenmann) and Kölsch.
The day flew by and soon it was time to make our way to the main stage. The unique structure which had two hands holding an amazing cube that was projecting geometric visuals left us hypnotized. We knew we had to stay for the grand finale, which was a historic moment for Mysteryland. For the first time ever, on any stage in the world, 600 drones were seamlessly integrated into the entire finale. In collaboration with TWOFIFTYK DRNS, they created a revolutionary show where drones, fireworks, 3D video, and lighting came together in perfect harmony. It was gorgeous to see the butterfly take shape while Britain’s got talent, Genevieve Coté, performed her unique animal sounds, which brought together the show’s tribute to life and nature. Fireworks blazed across the horizon and ‘Celebrate Life’ was written in the sky by the drones, solidifying the message of Mysteryland.
After such a beautiful weekend which left us feeling all the wonderful festival vibes we could wish for, we are already anticipating returning next year.
In the meantime, if you want to relive the magic you can watch the closing shows of Saturday and Sunday on Mysteryland’s YouTube channel.
Thank you Mysteryland and let’s continue to always celebrate life!
