Paul van Dyk will debut his new live concept The Essence of Acid at Dreamstate SoCal 2026, bringing the fully immersive show to the Queen Mary Waterfront in Long Beach, California on Saturday 21 November. The date marks the worldwide premiere of the production and the launch of a forthcoming world tour.
North America’s largest trance festival, run by Insomniac’s Dreamstate brand, will host the first outing of a live electronic setup built around hardware rather than a conventional DJ booth. Van Dyk will perform exclusive new material, acid focused compositions, live reinterpretations of selected catalogue tracks, and familiar records rebuilt specifically for the concept.
The Essence of Acid explores acid as an influence across electronic music, putting the Roland TB-303 alongside synthesisers, drum machines, sequencers and effects. Lighting, screens, lasers and stage elements are designed to develop in tandem with the music, with the visual language drawing on the Boutique Series of TB-303, TR-808 and TR-909 hardware plus imagery inspired by circuitry, oscilloscopes, waveforms and analog electronic production.
Dreamstate SoCal 2026 takes place on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 November. Two day and single day GA tickets, plus 21+ VIP, are on sale now.
Paul van Dyk’s connection with Dreamstate dates back to the festival’s first edition in 2015, when he played the inaugural Dreamstate SoCal. Acid is already part of his catalogue, including ‘Acid’ with Chicago house pioneer DJ Pierre, ‘ACID TRAXXX’, and the solo cut ‘Filthy Acid’. The new show takes that sound out of the studio and into a dedicated live performance.
The concept continues his recent push into immersive live formats after the CORE360 debut in New York, a 360 degree open to close set built around instruments and controllers. Dreamstate, which focuses on the history, evolution and future of trance, is positioning The Essence of Acid as a fit for that brief, celebrating the sounds that shaped trance culture while backing the artists defining its present.
Paul van Dyk presents The Essence of Acid at Dreamstate SoCal on Saturday 21 November 2026.
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