By Ryan Hayes
After nearly two decades away, one of dance music's most influential artists has returned to the sound that made him a legend — and on November 28, Vancouver will become the first Canadian city to experience it.
The Return No One Expected
There are some things in dance music you simply never expect to see again. Artists change, sounds evolve, and the music that defined an era of your life can become little more than a memory for those who were there.
For anyone who came of age during Tiësto's trance era, the idea of seeing him play a full, dedicated trance set again seemed firmly in that category.
Then, in May of last year, something happened that nobody expected.
Tiësto closed out EDC Las Vegas with a special In Search of Sunrise set. For longtime fans, the significance was immediate. This wasn't simply a collection of classics; In Search of Sunrise was one of the defining series of his trance and progressive era. Hearing him return to that world on one of electronic music's biggest stages felt surreal.
But one question remained: was this a one-off?
Six months later, Dreamstate SoCal provided the answer.
A New Chapter in his Trance Legacy
In November 2025, Tiësto stepped onto the Dreamstate stage and delivered a dedicated trance set. This time, it wasn't simply about revisiting the past. Alongside the familiar sounds were a slew of new IDs, including the first appearance of Beautiful Places and the still-unreleased Lost in the Ocean.
The announcement of a new trance album followed, although that album has yet to materialize. What was clear, however, was that Tiësto had opened the door to trance again.
And it wasn't simply nostalgia driving the return. Tiësto has spoken about being re-inspired by the next generation of producers who have helped make trance feel fresh again. Rather than recreate the past, he was finding his place in its next chapter.
Trance Is Back. Full Sets Are Still Rare.
Even with trance back in Tiësto's musical DNA, his regular sets remain PRISMATIC — a genre-fluid blend of his entire career, moving from deep and atmospheric sounds to progressive, festival-ready records and everything in between.
That's what makes a true, fully dedicated trance set so rare. Outside of his In Search of Sunrise set at EDC and Dreamstate SoCal, Tiësto has delivered them at the Atomium in Brussels and most recently at Creamfields UK.
Four true trance sets. That's it.
Las Vegas. California. Brussels. The UK.
On November 28, that list gets a new country.
Vancouver is next
Dreamstate Vancouver will mark Tiësto's first full trance set in Canada since his return to the genre, and only his third dedicated trance performance in North America in nearly two decades. That's remarkable considering how consistently he's remained a presence across North America's biggest festivals and stages.
This extraordinarily rare set is happening at TRADEX in Abbotsford.
And the rest of the lineup is worthy of the occasion. Dash Berlin brings the legacy, with a catalog of trance anthems that sits comfortably alongside Tiësto's era-defining sound, while Aaron Hibell represents the genre's modern evolution with his cinematic, emotionally driven approach. With Darude, Benwal, Matty Ralp