Electrisize Festival closed its seventeenth edition with a record 55,000 festivalgoers, over 150 artists, and eight stages in Erkelenz, Germany.

Electrisize Festival closed out its seventeenth edition this year with a record-breaking 55,000 festivalgoers, more than 150 artists across eight stages, and three full days of madness at Haus Hohenbusch in Erkelenz, Germany. Here’s my Electrisize Festival review of the perfect sunny weather, good music, incredible energy, good vibes, and that rare combination of large festival production with a truly intimate energy.

Getting There

I traveled from Den Haag in the Netherlands using public transit the whole way, one tram and two trains within the Netherlands, then a train from Venlo to Mönchengladbach, where someone picked us up and drove us to the hotel, about fifteen minutes from the festival grounds. Easy trip, and if you know me and have read previous articles, you know that’s not always the case.

That ease was no accident. Electrisize puts everything you need, from shuttle times to travel routes to the full timetable, right on their app and website, which made the whole trip feel effortless from start to finish. It’s a small thing, but it says a lot about how organized this festival is behind the scenes.

We stayed at Hotel Burg Wegberg, a castle that also happens to be a wedding venue. There was a wedding taking place while we were there, and the contrast between festival gear and wedding guests in the same hallway made for some funny moments. Breakfast was great, and the whole place had that old world charm you don’t expect to find fifteen minutes from a festival this size.

We didn’t camp ourselves (as an elder raver those days are behind me), but we walked through the Electricity Campsite and it was impressive. There was a stage right on site, a full grocery store stocked with everything including meat for the grill, and people had some serious camping setups, home away from homes. The energy over there was just as good as on the festival grounds.

Stages and Festival Layout

Electrisize now runs eight stages, and the range on offer is part of what makes it stand out. This year’s edition marked ten years of Hardsize, the hardstyle stage, and fifteen years of Tapuya, the techno stage, both getting special anniversary treatment.

The Mainstage was a set of towering spires in white, purple and orange that looked almost like a futuristic skyline, with fog and pyro shooting out between them throughout the day. Even in full daylight, with a blue sky behind it and thousands of people packed in front, the production still managed to feel massive and immersive at the same time. It’s the kind of stage design you stop and just stare at for a minute before remembering you’re supposed to be dancing.

My favorite stage of the weekend was Tapuya. The lineup was packed with artists I hadn’t heard before and loved every one of them, and Stage Producer Jan Weber introduced a new industrial concept this year that completely changed how the crowd experienced the DJ booth. The setup wrapped around the booth with different levels, so you could be right up close to some of the hardest techno on the lineup without needing VIP access at all. As Weber put it, “You don’t need VIP access to be right in the middle of the action.” And yes, there was a swimming pool backstage, something I have never seen at a festival before.

 

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Beyond the stages, the whole site was built for chilling out between sets. Hammocks and chill areas were scattered throughout the grounds, and the pop ups added a fun, unexpected layer, including a pull up challenge from XL Nutrition that humbled me. I could not even reach the bar.

 

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The Hardsize Stage brought out heavyweight names like Brennan Heart, Sickmode, Ran-D and Coone for the ten year anniversary, and by Sunday it was packed shoulder to shoulder between the old shipping containers. Coone summed up the energy afterward: “Wow, it was absolutely packed. I think they should turn the Mainstage into the Hardsize Stage next year. It was that busy. Every time I come to Electrisize Festival, I ask myself, can we make it even better than last year? And yes, it gets better every single year.”

Ten years of Hardsize was treated as the milestone it deserved to be. Throughout the weekend, MC Livid hosted the stage, one of my favorite MCs in the scene, and having him guide the crowd not only  through th weekend but through a special ten years of hard dance history set made it feel like a truly special moment. The History of Hardsize – A Year Story was a special set consisting of Crest B2B Dropixx B2B Resensed bringing us all the classics we know and love got their moment, and it was the kind of retrospective that only really lands when the person leading it has been part of the scene the whole way through.

New this year was the Valley of Sound Stage, born out of a fresh partnership with the Austrian festival of the same name. It brought a small, intimate feel to the grounds, representing a festival that normally takes place up in the mountains, and it was a nice change of pace from the bigger stages. The Source, a new Experience Area tucked into the festival’s green surroundings, hosted workshops ranging from DIY pearl bracelets to Root and Bloom sessions, and every single slot was fully booked.

 

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One stage I did not expect at a mostly electronic festival was Thunder, a dark, indoor stage designed to look like a house, where live rock and metal bands performed all weekend. It’s not something you see every day at a festival like this, and it added a whole different texture to the lineup.

Camp Asbach was another favorite, a bar and stage in one, built out of an actual camper van, playing tech house and deep house in a cozy, low key setting that felt totally different from the bigger stages.

 

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For anyone chasing a change of pace, the Turbo Beach Club leaned into party hits, German classics and singalongs, the kind of stage where you go to let loose to songs everyone knows.

 

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The festival design overall was full of small, thoughtful details, the kind of thing you only notice once you start really looking around. We also took a ride on the ferris wheel and got to see the Mainstage from way up high, which gave a whole new perspective on just how big this festival really is. On top of that, there were fun pop ups scattered throughout the grounds, including an inflatable dart board and karaoke.

Music

The lineup moved across house, drum and bass, hardstyle, uptempo, house music and more, and there was something for everyone.

Showtek’s set was a standout, mixing the classics like Freaks on E and FTS with a lot of new music, and the energy never let up. We all went crazy to Sandstorm and L’Amour Toujours. When I sat down with them afterward, they told me they only had an hour and felt they could have easily played ninety minutes, especially once the crowd found its groove about thirty minutes in. They also spoke about what makes the Electrisize crowd different from other festivals on this scale: “I think the location is insanely awesome. There’s like an energy here that is really unique, and I feel like with the mixed type of DJs that are here, they can enjoy any type of sound. I think it’s great because right now it’s really hard to get all your favorite artists in one place. And if you look at the lineup here, it’s incredible.”

Brennan Heart’s set was another highlight. He played Nobody Said It Was Easy, and for once I actually made it through without crying, which never happens. He also played Wake Up, one of my favorite Brennan Heart tracks, and the whole crowd sang along to Time to Say Goodbye.

One of my favorite parts of the whole weekend was discovering new artists I had never heard before. I fell in love with Ben Techy and Kotorri, and Sonciz b2b Thyrze was also awesome and completely new to me. Finding artists like that is exactly what makes a diverse lineup worth it.

Food and Drinks

The food and drink options were plentiful, and everything ran on a token system, with four tokens costing 19 euro, so one token worked out to about 4.75 euro. Here’s a sample of what was on offer, though there were multiple food areas spread across the grounds with plenty more to choose from:

• Pizza (Margherita, Salami or Caprese) — 2 tokens
• Butter chicken — 3 tokens
• Spring rolls — 1.5 tokens
• Korean chicken tenders — 2.5 tokens
• Doner kebab — 2.5 tokens
• Currywurst — 2.5 tokens
• Pulled chicken sandwich — 2.5 tokens
• Fries with mayonnaise — 1.5 tokens

My personal festival favorite, as always, was the fries with mayonnaise, worth every token. Drinks ranged from beer at 1 token to cocktails at 2.5 tokens. My favorite drink of the weekend was the 24ice strawberry daiquiri ice slushie.

Atmosphere and Organization

What sets Electrisize apart isn’t just the headliners, it’s the way the festival is built around the guest experience first. I spoke with one of the founders Michael Frentzen about how the event started back in 2009 as a small open air party for 150 people, and how it has grown, organically, into 55,000. Despite that growth, he told me it still feels familiar. “It’s family, but it’s also a word that could be negative because you can’t choose your family, it’s a family I choose,” he said, describing what Electrisize means to him. “It’s not only with the team and the crew, it’s also with the audience. If I go to the festival ground, I almost know everybody.”

That family feeling showed up behind the scenes too. Frentzen told the story of the Saturday night fireworks Ceremony, which was delayed by a few minutes, not because of a technical issue, but because several members of the Electrisize team hadn’t made it off the Mainstage before the fireworks safety zone was closed. “I thought, where is everyone? I looked at my phone and saw the WhatsApp message, we can’t leave the stage anymore, the fireworks safety zone is in place. So I immediately called and said, stop. There’s not going to be a Ceremony tonight if the crew can’t watch the show together. The fireworks were already armed and everything, but that was never an option for me. Not without the team.”

Co-founder Raphael Meyersieck echoed that same sentiment, calling this year “the most beautiful, best and at the same time still the most family oriented Electrisize we’ve ever had.” Even as a first timer who has been to a lot of German festivals, I felt that vibe from the moment we arrived, everyone was so nice, I felt very welcome.

Fireworks and End Shows

Every night at 22:00, Electrisize put on an epic firework display, and it was one of the best parts of the entire weekend. Fireworks, laser beams and pyro all going at once, timed perfectly to the music. Friday’s opening show hit me harder than I expected, lasers shooting through the air, fire going up into the sky, and Don’t You Worry Child by Swedish House Mafia playing as the whole thing kicked off. Even though I couldn’t understand the German being spoken over the show, I got chills.

Each night, the fireworks went off in every direction, a wild amount of them, layered with a mix of different music during the ceremony. Everything was perfectly synchronized with the lasers and fireworks, and it was clear just how much planning went into pulling that off every single night.

Overall Impression

Electrisize proves that a festival can scale to 55,000 people without losing what made it special in the first place. It has all the production value of a major festival, eight stages worth of genre diversity, big name headliners, and still, somehow, that intimate, close knit energy that Michael Frentzen and Raphael Meyersieck built the whole thing on back in 2009. Moments like Time to Say Goodbye with the whole crowd singing along are exactly why you keep coming back to festivals like this. Plans for the eighteenth edition are already underway, running August six to eight, 2027, back at Haus Hohenbusch. This was my first time at Electrisize, and it definitely won’t be my last.

Ahead of Labor Day weekend at Chicago’s SeatGeek Stadium, here are the ten artists to watch at North Coast Music Festival 2026.

Each year, over 100,000 ravers descend upon the birthplace of house music for one important mission: Labor Day weekend in Chicago. Now, North Coast Music Festival is back once again at SeatGeek Stadium to honor that cherished tradition. With EDM legends like Zedd, Deadmau5, ODESZA, and more having headlined the legendary Chicago festival, North Coast Music Festival is bringing the heat once again for its 2026 edition. Now, we’re taking a look at the biggest names to watch for at North Coast Music Festival 2026.

1. Richard Finger, Friday, The Vega

For bassheads everywhere, Richard Finger isn’t just another EDM DJ meme, they’re a dubstep movement. Making their claim to fame off 2024 SoundCloud IDs, the anonymous DJ duo has since taken the dubstep scene by storm, playing at some of the biggest festivals and venues the dance music scene has to offer. Now, Richard Finger brings their iconic act to NorthCoast’s “The Vega” stage on day one.

2. Jigitz, Friday, The Stadium

There may be no faster-growing genre in dance music right now than UK garage and speed house—part of that growing genre: the Brooklyn-based phenom known as Jigitz. With shows featuring live ballerinas and inflatable tube men any car wash would envy, Jigitz has paved his own creative and captivating brand in the UK garage scene. In fact, his energetic and one-of-a-kind live performances have quickly cemented Jigitz as one of EDMHouseNetwork’s rising stars to watch in dance music. Now, Jigitz brings his high-energy production and electric live show to North Coast Music Festival, ready to rock the main stage “Stadium” crowd.

3. Porter Robinson, Friday, The Shipyard

Ask anybody to list off the most visionary artists in dance music history, and nine times out of ten, Porter Robinson is near the top of that list. With genre-defining records like his 2012 progressive house hit “Language,” and his 2016 Madeon collaboration “Shelter,” Porter Robinson has cemented himself as one of EDM’s all-time great musical minds. Now, Porter Robinson brings his unique sound and die-hard fanbase to North Coast Music Festival 2026 – promising a show you just won’t forget.

4. Fisher, Friday, The Stadium

When Fisher steps onto “The Stadium” stage for day one of North Coast Music Festival 2026, he will instantly become one of the biggest names in dance music history to ever do so. Ever since the Australian pro surfer turned tech house legend released “Losing It” in 2018, it’s been off to the races. One hit after another complimented by one of the most infectious personalities in all of EDM, Fisher has cemented himself in the hearts of dance music fans everywhere. Now, Fisher will look to close out night one of Chicago’s biggest EDM weekend of the year, bringing the tech house heat to the house music capital of the world.

5. Marie Vaunt, Saturday, The Shipyard

Friday at North Coast Music Festival may be for the house heads, but Saturday is for the hardcore s***. Marie Vaunt is bringing the energy with nonstop acid techno … and that’s just the beginning. With techno legends like Charlotte De Witte spinning her tracks to close the Tomorrowland main stage, Marie Vaunt has taken over the techno scene. Now, Vaunt will look to bring the energy to North Coast Music Festival… taking Chicago into a heavenly nightmare of techno rhythm.

6. ALLEYCVT, Saturday, The Stadium

Continuing Saturday’s trend of electric female talent, ALLEYCVT takes over the North Coast main stage as one of bass music’s most meteoric rises. Fresh off the back of big-time performances at Electric Forest, the Las Vegas Sphere, and Tomorrowland: Belgium, now ALLEYCVT is set to take over North Coast Music Festival with a dubstep performance like no other.

7. Levity B2B Tape B, Saturday, The Vega

Levity and Tape B are two forces to be absolutely reckoned with in the dubstep genre… and now they’re joining forces for their Summer Program tour. Playing in venues all the way from Bonner, Montana, to Brooklyn, New York, the two iconic dubstep groups have taken the EDM scene by storm in 2026. Now, bassheads can rejoice in all their wook glory, as Levity and Tape B bring their electrifying back-to-back act to Chi City for North Coast 2026.

8. BUNT., Sunday, The Stadium

BUNT. has become synonymous with what it means for an EDM DJ to truly connect with their audience. Categorized by interactive 360 stages, emotional anthems thousands can all sing in unison, and the biggest venues in dance music, BUNT. has created a live experience you just have to be there to understand. Now, the German speed house sensation is back and taking over the North Coast main stage for the very first time.

9. Tchami, Sunday, The Vega

Born in Paris, France in 1985, Tchami has since spent his life single-handedly pioneering the future house genre in EDM. Tachmi first gained global attention in 2013 with his massive original single “Promesses,” before co-producing tracks for pop music queen Lady Gaga on two different albums. Tchami now makes his rounds to Chicago for Labor Day 2026, bringing all the grooves needed for the final day of North Coast Music Festival 2026.

10. Illenium B2B Slander, Sunday, The Stadium

What better way to close out North Coast Music Festival 2026 than with a bass music trio as classic as it is iconic. Illenium and Slander have both cemented themselves among the absolute pinnacle of melodic bass music, bringing a match made in heaven whenever they go back-to-back. It all started in 2019 when Slander released their iconic remix of Illenium’s “Good Things Fall Apart.” Ever since, the two have been inseparable, marked by iconic B2B sets and performances to never forget. Now, the Chicago-born melodic bass legend and Los Angeles duo are closing out North Coast Music Festival the only way they know how: in absolutely breathtaking B2B fashion.

With all the legendary acts set to be brought to North Coast for its 2026 edition, it’s worth wondering… who are you most itching to see?

How electronic music, rhythm and repetition support focus for people with ADHD through songs, DJs and festivals

Ever wondered why certain EDM songs, DJs and festivals are so hard to get out of your head? For some people with ADHD, that pull can come from the way a song gives the brain a steady rhythm to follow, a vocal hook to remember and enough small changes to keep attention on it without feeling scattered. It can also show up through artists like Avicii, Martin Garrix, Illenium, Armin van Buuren and Skrillex, or major festivals like Tomorrowland, EDC Las Vegas and Ultra Miami, where a song, set or festival moment becomes tied to memory, routine and personal meaning. A 2024 study in Communications Biology found that music with controlled rhythmic modulation supported sustained attention during cognitive tasks, with stronger effects among participants who reported greater attentional difficulties. Although the researchers did not test house, techno or trance as treatments for ADHD, their findings open a wider conversation about why rhythm, repetition and continued musical change can make electronic music especially engaging for some people with ADHD.

How Rhythm and Repetition in Electronic Music Support Focus for People With ADHD

For those with ADHD, listening to EDM might make it easier to focus, not because the music removes every distraction, but because it gives the brain a clear pattern to follow while continuing to introduce new information. A steady beat keeps the track familiar as percussion enters, vocals return, basslines change and synth details become more noticeable, creating enough variation to maintain interest without forcing the listener to process a completely different musical direction every few seconds. House music often develops through gradual additions across several phrases, techno can carry a consistent pulse through long transitions, and trance may return to the same melody with new harmonies, vocals or layers around it. Each genre approaches that progression differently, yet all three can combine predictability with enough stimulation to help some people with ADHD remain engaged while working, studying or completing repetitive tasks.

Researchers examined a related process across five experiments in a 2024 study published in Communications Biology. Participants completed sustained-attention tasks while listening to music with different rates and depths of amplitude modulation, which refers to rapid fluctuations in sound intensity and does not mean the same thing as a track’s BPM. The team also used the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale to compare responses across different levels of reported symptoms, so the paper does not represent a study conducted solely with adults who had received an ADHD diagnosis. Participants with higher symptom scores maintained attention most effectively under a medium-depth 16 Hz modulation condition, while the version they rated as most stimulating did not produce the strongest result. EEG recordings showed closer tracking between the audio and brain activity, and fMRI results linked rapid modulation with greater activity across networks involved in attention and cognitive control, suggesting that organised changes within sound may matter more than intensity alone.

Why EDM Songs, DJs and Festivals Can Become So Personal

The science helps explain how music may first hold someone’s attention, but it does not fully account for what happens once a song becomes linked with a particular memory, emotion or period of life. Avicii’s Levels, for example, gives listeners a melodic phrase they can recognise almost immediately, while its vocal sample, percussion and synth sections keep changing the way that melody feels as the track progresses. Don’t You Worry Child by Swedish House Mafia reaches people through a different route, pairing a recurring piano sequence and chorus with lyrics that listeners often associate with growing up, loss and nostalgia. For someone with ADHD, returning to either song can offer the familiarity of knowing what comes next while leaving enough musical and emotional detail to notice something different during another listen.

Once that connection extends beyond one track, following a DJ can become part of the listener’s routine. Eric Prydz gives people long sets, unreleased IDs and several artist projects to explore, while Above & Beyond connect their music with direct lyrics, recurring visual messages and the long-running Group Therapy radio show. Trance listeners can find a similar sense of continuity through A State of Trance, where weekly episodes and milestone events provide a familiar format while introducing new artists and records. In each case, the interest grows through more than repetition: the listener has a catalogue to revisit, new music to anticipate and a clear history to follow over time.

Festivals add another layer by connecting that music with a specific stage, date and personal experience. A new ID heard during an Ultra Miami set may remain attached to the first performance where someone discovered it, while Tomorrowland gives listeners annual themes, livestreams and aftermovies that allow them to revisit particular weekends from several angles. At EDC Las Vegas, recurring stages, fireworks, art cars and festival traditions give songs a visual and social context that can make certain moments easier to remember. The study did not examine why people rewatch festival sets or follow one DJ for years, but its findings help explain a possible starting point: music that keeps attention through familiar patterns and continued change can later collect memories, routines and personal meaning around it.

For some people with ADHD, the relationship with EDM may begin with a rhythm that helps the mind stay with one clear pattern, then grow through the songs they replay, the DJs they follow and the festivals they associate with important moments in their lives. Electronic music does not treat ADHD, and no single genre will affect every listener in the same way, but the research gives credible support to the idea that certain kinds of rhythmic movement can assist sustained attention. From there, the lasting connection comes from what the music begins to represent each time the listener returns to it.