While I was only able to attend the first day of Dreambeach 2025, I believe I was able to get a solid grasp of the festival’s strong points and its opportunities for improvement. I would readily recommend the Andalusian festival, but there are a few caveats. Notably, although Dreambeach 2025 was a well-run event that featured strong techno, house, and bass acts, the programming lacked musical coherence, with questionable headliner choices like Steve Aoki and Will Smith that felt more like celebrity bookings than legitimate electronic music curation.
Starting off with the technical production at Dreambeach 2025, I was overall impressed—particularly with the sound on day one. While there was occasionally noticeable sound bleed between stages, the volume was impressive nonetheless. The production team at the Dreams stage deserves credit for providing openers with full access to the sound system, as Lara Klart was fully enabled to crush the opening slot and set the tone for the sets that succeeded her. The AV team also delivered an impressive performance—I didn’t notice any miscues or mistimed effects throughout the night. Production was a strong point: a large LED screen behind the DJ, a ticker tape screen spanning the length of the tent, powerful spotlights, and an impressive laser array—the audience had plenty to look at. Performances appeared to proceed without any noticeable disruptions or technical difficulties; equipment technicians were quick to respond to issues on either of the duplicate sets of decks. All things considered, production was definitely a strength for the festival—openers, headliners, and closers were fully enabled to captivate the crowd.
As I only experienced the ARTCORE takeover, my thoughts regarding Dreambeach’s performance quality are fairly limited. Indira and Artcore continue to assemble some of the most exciting lineups we’re seeing in both techno and across dance music as a whole, and this stage takeover was no different. From Ben Klock’s deep hypnotic techno to VTSS’ bouncy hardgroove, every artist’s unique sound profile meshed flawlessly to support Artcore Records label boss Indira Paganotto’s unique “psytechno.” As for the performances themselves, I’m hard pressed to think of any notable instances of mixing errors or misreads of the crowd. The only minor criticism I have is the sequence of acts. Energy and intensity steadily rose starting with Lara Klart’s opening set to VTSS’ standout performance. However, while Ben Klock delivered an unsurprisingly great set, his deeper, hypnotic sound felt out of place between VTSS’ high octane bounce and Indira Paganotto’s rapid psytechno. A better fit, in my opinion, would be switching his slot for Charlie Sparks to maintain the energy going into Indira’s headlining set. A similar approach worked well at Factory Town during Miami Music Week 2025—the progression of VTSS to Indira to Dax J was seamless. Of course, there may have been logistical reasons for this arrangement (e.g., travel schedules).
Based on the lineup, genre diversity at Dreambeach 2025 was fairly comprehensive, with broad coverage across most major dance music genres: drum and bass (Sub Focus, Dimension), house (Marco Carola, Seth Troxler, Fatboy Slim), bass (Subtronics, Hol!, Space Laces), and techno (Amelie Lens, Indira Paganotto, Anfisa Letyago). Despite this, the schedule distribution of these genres was slightly inconsistent; for instance, the first two days of the festival featured ARTCORE and EXHALE, respectively, but there was little techno on day three. Although my experience at the festival was relatively limited, there were still plenty of memorable moments on day one of Dreambeach 2025. Even three weeks later I’m still thinking about Lara Klart playing her recently released remix of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Valentino mixing in Zombie Nation’s timeless “Kernkraft 400,” Marhu unleashing a hard dance edit of Ram Jam’s “Black Betty,” and Indira taking us to church by opening a track with a sample of the late Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”
Despite the language barrier, Dreambeach still had an extremely welcoming atmosphere. Whether in the crowd or roaming the festival grounds, Spanish festivalgoers were quick to introduce themselves or provide help translating. Dreambeach deserves credit for providing local talent the opportunity to close out its stages; however, the cultural identity of the festival felt diluted as a result of its emphasis on celebrity acts like Will Smith and Steve Aoki. That said, it doesn’t hurt the overall experience so much as make it feel more globally generic and commercial. Community spaces were limited as there were few areas designed for interaction and rest, but there was plenty of open turf to sit on further away from the stages.
Festival management deserves a great deal of credit for its crowd management—there was plenty of room both in the crowds and throughout the grounds. Entry and exit were smooth, bar lines were orderly, and staff were helpful despite the language barrier. Buses were also painless; times and routes were clear and provided with sufficient notice.
Dreambeach appears to have a solid approach to sustainability and other values. For environmental impact, initiatives such as the emphasis on reusable cups not only limit the use of single-use plastics, but also reduce litter and dancefloor hazards due to the price incentives in place for those with cups. With regard to waste management, restrooms remained clean throughout and there was an appropriate amount of waste bins throughout the fest. All in all, to my eye, the festival appears to serve as a platform for local Spanish artists and a source of Andalusian tourism.
Dreambeach, while not the most ambitious or innovative festival I’ve attended, nails the essentials: strong production, smooth logistics, and solid value for the price, especially when compared to similar American and European festivals. Plus, it’s worth mentioning that Almería’s beaches and restaurants offer a much needed reset after marathon nights at the festival. If future lineups appeal to you, I highly recommend attending.