A few minutes before taking the stage, Armin van Buuren was face to face with t2. "I am so happy to be back in your beautiful city. It's going to be an amazing party and I just cannot wait," said the five-time World #1 DJ. Needless to say, it was an a-m-a-z-i-n-g evening at Croma Sunburn Arena, presented by Absolut, in partnership with Rhythmbox and in association with t2. We could only wish that he would go On & On!
Held at Biswa Bangla Milan Mela Prangan, October 7 will be remembered for years to come because the "god of trance" had the crowd swooning with his electrifying performance for two hours. Armin, who was back One More Time in Calcutta after 2017, can always read the pulse of the crowd, which encouraged him to open his set with This Is What It Feels Like. After a bit of "warm up", he shifted gears and it was trance all the way. The best part of his performance was how he enjoyed himself. He sang along, interacted with the crowd and connected with the energy of the venue. “Thank you guys so much, thank you to Sunburn, thank you to my lovely crew. Guys stay safe and I will see you soon,” the DJ signed off, blowing a kiss towards the crowd.
MOOD & MUSIC
Armin whipped out his phone and turned the flashlight on while waving at the crowd, playing Someone You Loved. The message was clear: Thousands of hands went up, waving mobile phones with flashlights on. It felt like stars had descended to dance to Armin’s tunes. “Calcutta, you look beautiful tonight,” he said. We agreed.
Striking his signature pose — both hands in the air while smiling — Armin played the crowd-favourite, Great Spirit
Armin got on top of a table to wave the Indian flag while a mashup of Lose This Feeling and Blah Blah Blah played. Singing out the lyrics, dancing, clapping and jumping, there was no stopping him from giving the packed house something to cherish forever.
“Wow guys, I really missed seeing you. What energy, what an incredible night, thank you so much. Shall we do one last track? This is something completely different, something brand new. Are you ready for this?... If you are ready to dream a little dream with me, put those hands up,” he said. It was time for Little Dream, which he also performed at Ultra Music Festival 2023. The crowd experienced a confetti shower while Armin waved, blew kisses, made a heart sign and jumped. This was more than just sonic magic.
OPENING ACTS:
The mood of the event was built up and set right with stellar performances by Antimatter, Freddy, Kunal G, Pro Bros and Laura van Dam, who opened for Armin. “My slot came at a time when I had to keep the music flowing. Tapping into a new sound, my set had influences of disco and techno. Neither did I want to overpower the crowd nor underpower them. The experience of sharing the stage with Armin van Burren was surreal and what made it special was his praise and encouragement, which he gave me personally,” said DJ Kunal G.
The Progressive Brothers kept the crowd hooked with some surprise tracks, including Deva deva, the closing track. “I am a huge follower of Lord Shiva, so I wanted to bring an Indian sound to a music festival like this, and the crowd went bonkers. Calcutta is a special city for me because I was born here, so it always feels great to play here,” said Sunny Sharma of Pro Bros.
ORGANISER SPEAK:
“What an electric night it was. The people of Calcutta definitely brought their A-game in terms of energy and turnout. The atmosphere was mind-blowing. We couldn’t be more grateful to everyone involved, everyone who contributed to the success of the event... from the authorities of the venue to police support. We are delighted that everything was executed to perfection. Our focus is to keep presenting world-class artistes and such magical nights. Stay tuned,” said Dhruv Todi and Anshul Chauhan, founders of Rhythmbox.