It’s been over a week since the very last Park n’ Rave …

…that took place May 1^st at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino and I have been trying to find the right words to accurately describe how that night went. It was an unforgettable night, filled with music that has captured my soul and healed my heart in the moments I needed it most; trance. It was only fitting that my group and I were front row center in the pink section.

Our group arrived about 45 minutes before the show started promptly at 6pm and we began to decorate our little section by putting up the flags, chairs, table and the lights, where soon after, we ordered our food and drinks. A DJ  unbeknownst to me was opening up the show with a sound synonymous to Dirty Bird. An interesting way to open the night for a trance show. But we enjoyed it nonetheless.

At 6pm, Kristina Sky came on. It was a beautiful set filled with the melodies that we all love, the ones that take us on a journey. Kristina was right when she had stated in the beginning of her set, that it was going to be an emotional one. Uplifting trance we all love, with the melodies that make us feel like we are soaring.

At 7pm Paul Oakenfold came on. This is one of the sets that really stood out to me. I was dancing pretty much the entirety of his set, taking maybe a minute or two to rest. Paul threw down a Perfecto Fluoro set, and I haven’t seen him play this well since 2016. I was over the moon ecstatic. His opening track had the melody and the hard pounding beats that make you throw your fist in the air and stomp your feet. He played a handful of great tracks from well-known labels such as Armada, Blackhole and Perfecto. I was ecstatic when he played a classic of his Southern Sun featuring the vocals of Carla Werner.

Promptly at 8pm, Gabriel and Dresden were up next and Dave Dresden took me by surprise. It was not the typical cheesy, over-played songs that you hear all the time. Dave went dark with heavy dark pounding beat with hauntingly beautiful melodies, especially the opening tracks. He played some well-known classics to include; Dakota, Sin City remixed by Cosmic Gate, System F-Out of the Blue, Motorcycle-As the Rush Comes i_O bootleg. He closed with Megamind-Taub, a Mauro Picotto remix.

Closing out the night was the legendary Aly n Fila. Fadi’s set was filled with ID’s galore and it was the uplift that the first Dreamstate in November needed. It was the driving, tech sounding, 138 uplift that we all love coming from Fadi. The ending track was none other than Somebody Loves You. I get goosebumps as I think about that moment. After a tumultuous 2020 and the start of an uncertain 2021, the meaning behind the track Somebody Loves You was a great message to share with the world – that no matter how dark it gets, there is always someone out there who loves you and cares for you and that as the world returns to normal, we’ll through it together.

Park n’ Raves provided a much-needed escape and a sense of normalcy during such a trying year being socially distant from many of our loved ones who weren’t nearby.

I can’t help but thanks Insomniac and Dreamstate for it all.

-Sharissa