Live Blog – Swelling and Sweating at Tomorrowland, Follow Netsky’s Set Live on Mainstage via VRT MAX

Reggie will play the first of three shows at Tomorrowland this year with fellow musician Mark and K in a set called “Back to Back.” They mix their skills in an exciting, powerful set with a very heavy bass sound, lasting for over an hour.

Reggie plays a lot of Milk Inc classics (“Go to Hell”, a cover of “Tainted Love”, “Walk on Water”) and opens in the first few minutes with a sample of their number one hit “La Vache”. The first singing moment comes during Silver’s classic “Turn the Tide”, which was co-written by… Reggie.

Furthermore, club classics like “Halloween” by Da Boy Tommy, “We are your friends” by Justice or “Thunderball” (with a tsa-tsa-tsa) by Bonzai One are thrown into the mix. The Library Theatre is half full, with 12,000 people according to Reggie himself. The fact that there are a lot of Belgians and Dutch is evident from the loud song “Come a little closer”.

Regi and Mark with a K know all the tricks of the show and apply them by exciting the audience from the DJ booth and shooting confetti. The last 20 minutes of the set contain songs that always do well at Tomorrowland, like the late Avicii’s “Levels” and Sia’s “Titanium.”

During the last ten minutes, the beats are blasting through the speakers at full speed. Until the closing song: “Another Love” by Tom Odell, in a thrilling home version. Earlier in the day, the song could also be heard by the Dutch duo W&W on the main stage. “Another Love” puts a lot of weapons and smartphones in the air. Whether it is one of the songs of Tomorrowland 2024 is already known: who knows.

In just a few minutes, Boris Denin, aka Netsky, will start his set on the main stage at Tomorrowland. Don’t miss a second at home either: the show can be followed live on MNM and VRT MAX.

More than 200 nationalities are represented at Tomorrowland. Traditionally, many foreign visitors bring their country’s flags to Boom.

Remarkable: During the opening ceremony, a meter-long Israeli flag was raised. This flag is allowed on the festival site because Israel is recognized as a state by the United Nations. Therefore, the Palestinian flag is in principle banned at Tomorrowland. In addition to the state flags, flags of the LGBTQIA+ community are also allowed on the festival site.

The tropical heat has no effect on the energy levels of festivalgoers on the main stage. The call to jump in typical Tomorrowland fashion, i.e. 8 counts “left-left” and 8 counts “right-right-right”, is followed even more quickly under the blazing sun.

Dutch DJ/producer duo W&W performed a set on the main stage with a medley of 90s and early aughts pop classics. From Usher, to the Sugababes, a dash of Madonna and even a Crazy Frog sample: it’s all covered.

In between all the beats, it gets quiet for a moment thanks to Tom Odell’s “Another Love.” The song from 2013 is getting a second life thanks to TikTok. The song has already caused a huge lyrical moment at Pukkelpop 2023 and Rock Werchter 2024. The chorus is also played seamlessly at Tomorrowland, before the piano ballad transitions into Darude’s classic club song “Sandstorm.” It remains Tomorrowland, of course.

5:30 p.m.: This is the exact time at Tomorrowland where the festival day officially opens with a party featuring dancers and acrobats. The spectacle is limited to soap bubbles and pink smoke shooting out at the audience from the large wall on the main stage. We’ve seen bigger things at Tomorrowland. And it must be said: it’s very hot.

There is no choreography this time, but a few dancers and acrobats in blue costumes are having fun in what looks like a boat centrally located in front of the main stage on the ground platform. “A lot has changed in our 20-year history, but our core values ​​of unity and peace have remained the same,” she added. Smartphones are flying in the air to capture the moment.

At the beginning of Tomorrowland, there was a small technical issue with linking accounts to wristbands. These wristbands allow visitors to enter the festival site and campsite, among other things. There were also issues with “team charging” for food and drinks.

According to the organization, all the issues have now been resolved. It was an IT glitch, and had nothing to do with Microsoft’s global software problems. “We alerted festival goers via a banner on the website,” says Debbie Willemsen, a Tomorrowland spokesperson.

Reggie needs no introduction to Tomorrowland. The Limburg DJ has been playing at the dance festival every year since 2009. Later at 7pm he’ll be performing at The Library with Mark With a K. “But I don’t really care where I stand,” he says in the MNM Radio studio at Tomorrowland.

The Library is one of his favorite stages. “It’s actually a second main stage, but the pressure is a little less. Although if you closed there in the evening, there would easily be 10,000 to 15,000 people there.” Plus, as an artist you have to “seriously go out of your way every year,” says Reggie. “As a DJ, Tomorrowland is Valhalla, but it’s also kind of a show-off. Everyone is giving it their best.”

Next weekend Reggie will be at the festival twice more. On Sunday afternoon (July 28) he will perform a solo show on the main stage with Mark With a K, and a few hours later he will perform a solo show at Planaxis.

New this year: DJ sets on the Mainstage can be followed live on VRT MAX. All performances between 4:30pm and the closing act can be watched here. Dutch duo W&W started their set at 4:30pm. Dutchman Armin van Buuren will close the Mainstage tonight between 11:50pm and 12:50am.

Several DJs are playing multiple sets at Tomorrowland. This includes Brussels DJ/producer Henri BFR, who makes his debut at the Library Stage at 4pm. At 9pm he’ll play his second set at House of Fortune. In anticipation of his performances, the Brussels resident has already been exploring the grounds with his dog.

Tomorrowland celebrates its 20th anniversary this summer. The first edition took place in De Schorre in Boom in 2005 for 9,000 people on the first festival day. This year, 200,000 visitors will travel to Boom every weekend. VRT NWS reveals the four success factors of the dance festival with two DJs who have been there since the beginning: pioneer Yves DeRuyter and ambassador Dimitri Vegas.

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