Dom Dolla sets Australian electronic music record with sold-out Marvel Stadium homecoming in Melbourne

Dom Dolla has reached a new career milestone in his hometown, turning Marvel Stadium into the site of a record-breaking night for Australian electronic music. On September 24, the Melbourne-born DJ played to around 60,000 people at the sold-out stadium, making it the largest solo electronic dance music concert ever held in Australia. The show also marked the world premiere of a new stadium production created specifically for the occasion, adding another layer to what was already his biggest headline performance to date. For an artist who first learned to DJ in Melbourne clubs, the scale of the night showed just how far his career has progressed over the past few years. With record ticket sales, major international shows and now a hometown stadium record, Dom Dolla has added another major achievement to an already significant period in his career.

The Record-Breaking Marvel Stadium Show

At Marvel Stadium, Dom Dolla had the kind of setup that matched the size of the night, with 60,000 people watching a hometown show created on a scale he had never played before in Melbourne. His set brought together some of his best-known tracks, including Saving Up and Miracle Maker, with newer releases and unreleased music heard throughout. Clementine Douglas also joined him on stage for Miracle Maker, turning one of his biggest records into a live moment for all those who were lucky enough to be in attendance.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by domdolla💿.jpg (@domdolla)

A new production was created specifically for the show, combining large visuals, lasers and flames across the stadium while the music stayed at the centre of the performance. RONA. B2B DJ JNETT, Torren Foot and Green Velvet were also part of the lineup, adding to the overall excitement of the show before Dom’s headline set. More than anything, the show showed the scale his career has now grown and been recognized in Australia, with a Melbourne artist who started out playing clubs now filling Marvel Stadium for a record-breaking hometown performance.

From Melbourne Clubs to Stadiums

Over the past few years, Dom Dolla has seen a meteoric rise in his career. His 2024 national tour sold around 170,000 tickets across four cities, followed by two sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden in New York and his first Australian stadium headline show at Allianz Stadium in Sydney. Those milestones already showed how far his audience had grown before Marvel Stadium added another major chapter to that story.

Beyond the touring numbers, Dom Dolla has also seen major growth on the music side of his career. His catalogue has passed 1.5 billion streams, while four ARIA Awards for Best Dance/Electronic Release and the inaugural ARIA Global Impact Award in 2025 added to his recognition at home. That same year, he held a 10-week residency at Hï Ibiza and made his film soundtrack debut with No Room For A Saint featuring Nathan Nicholson for the F1 movie. In 2026, new releases including Addicted to Bass (Dom Dolla Relapse) and Don’t Worry Baby with Tiga continued that progress alongside another year of major headline shows.

With a new Australian record now added to his growing list of achievements, Dom Dolla heads into the next stage of his career with plenty still ahead. His audience continues to grow across Australia, the US and Europe, while new music and major headline dates keep pushing his career forward. After playing to 60,000 people at Marvel Stadium, the question now is not whether he can go bigger, but where that next step will take him.

UNTOLD X wasn’t just a festival, it was a four-night celebration of music, unity, and pure magic in Cluj, Romania.

We just got back from UNTOLD X and honestly, it was unreal. Our team’s first time in Romania and it couldn’t get any better than this. Four straight nights in Cluj with over 470,000 people from all over the world, and every night felt bigger than the last.

Post Malone kicked off his European tour, and the whole stadium was packed singing along. The start of the show with ‘Texas Tea’ to the pyro and energy during ‘Rockstar’ and the closing with ‘Congratulations’ was something to remember for ages. The country rockstar persona definitely suits him.

Armin van Buuren gave us a three-hour marathon set that turned into this massive love letter to the crowd, he even walked down into the audience under a sea of phone lights, waving the Romanian flag while wearing the Romanian football team jersey. Goosebumps.

The Avicii tribute with Sandro Cavazza was as emotional as it could get. When he sang ‘Without You’, tens of thousands of people sang along and the whole place lit up. It felt like everyone was united in that moment.

The lineup was stacked. Garrix blew us away with his special set and the fireworks at the end of his set with ‘High on Life’ were unforgettable. Tiësto did a special extended set just for the 10th anniversary. Don Diablo premiered his new show concept for his upcoming tour. And then you had the special act, Salvatore Ganacci turning the stage into a living room and Alan Walker with his cinematic visuals and an energetic set.

Alok brought team of dancers and the whole set was probably the highlight of the festival. The visuals, the production, the music and the crowds energy were just unmatched.

It wasn’t just about the mainstage either. The Galaxy stage had heavyweights like Dom Dolla, ARTBAT, Adriatique, and Black Coffee, proper house and techno journeys that went late into the night. The festival had so many different vibes, from chill daytime sets in the park to full-on raves at night.

What really stood out though was how much UNTOLD leaned into the experience beyond the music. There were food stalls, games, fashion corners, even a special kids’ area and a sensory space for kids with neurodiverse needs. They even brought in cancer survivors from Youth Cancer Europe to meet artists, it really felt like a community, not just a festival.

This was the 10th edition, and they made it clear it was both a celebration of the last decade and a teaser for what’s next. They’re already talking about “UNTOLD One” in 2026 as the next chapter. If this anniversary was any indication, it’s going to be on another level.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by UNTOLD (@untoldfestival)

The history of EDM shows how what started in underground warehouse parties is now shaping festivals, pop culture, and digital spaces alike.

In the 90s, electronic dance music, or EDM, was the underground sound of the moment. It lived in the shadows, in secret warehouse raves, abandoned fields, and dingy clubs. It was a subculture, a community built around a shared love of a repetitive beat and being an outsider. Fast forward to today, and that same sound is the soundtrack to some of the biggest festivals on the planet, a dominant force in pop music, and a key part of the world of online gaming.

There is no denying the epic story of how EDM has gone from fringe to the frontline of global culture. It’s a story of technological innovation, commercial explosion, and a fundamental change in the consumption of music. Here, we consider the shifts in EDM since its roots in the 90s rave culture, and the forces behind its seemingly unstoppable rise.

From Secret Raves to a Global Movement

Because early EDM was sort of secretive, the scene was super underground. The vibe was the PLUR culture: Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect. Raves were illegal parties, their locations divulged on fliers and via whispered telephone calls. The music was raw and diverse, and it was broken up into tribes like techno, house, trance, and jungle. The DJs were legends within it, and unknown outside of it. Individuality became secondary to the collective experience of the music and the dance floor.

The first of these followed as the sound began to go mainstream in the late 90s/early 2000s. Acts like The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, and Daft Punk came along. They began to receive attention in film and television commercials, and their music videos were played on MTV. For the first time, this electronic sound was being exposed to the general public, not as an underground subculture but as a cool option for pop music. And it set the stage for what was to come.

The Rise of the DJ as a Rock Star

The next big shift was the DJ becoming a global superstar. In the 2010s, with the rise of bro-step and progressive house, Skrillex, Avicii, and David Guetta became household names. This new wave of EDM was bigger, louder, and more melodic. It was festival crowd ready.

This was the era of the drop. The music was built around building tension and releasing it in an explosive bass and synth crescendo. This created a shared emotional moment for tens of thousands of people at once. As a result of this, DJs were no longer just playing records; they were performers, the main attraction. They commanded huge fees, had elaborate stage productions with pyros and LED screens, and flew around the world in private jets. The anonymous figure in the dark corner of the club was replaced by a modern-day rock star.

The Festival Experience

The festivals grew as the DJs did. Small festivals like EDC Las Vegas, Tomorrowland Belgium, and Ultra Miami became weekender extravaganzas. These aren’t just music, they are total experiences! They are pop-up fantasy worlds with carnival rides, art installations, costumed performers, and high production values. This festival boom turned EDM into an industry. These are billion-dollar events and a rite of passage for millions of people. Instead of the small, local, and personal vibe of a ’90s rave, it became a big, shiny production. This combination of super festivals made EDM mainstream.

The Digital Age: Streaming, Social Media, and Gaming

The Internet played a role at each stage of EDM’s trajectory. It was essentially through online forums and file-sharing that the music got out in its early days. Finding new artists and genres is easier than ever today, with streaming services such as Spotify and Soundcloud. A new producer can create a song in their bedroom, upload it to the Internet, and it can go viral overnight, entirely without involving traditional music industry middlemen. Additionally, artists have used social media to engage directly with audiences and fans. DJs post behind-the-scenes content, new music, and shows on Instagram and TikTok. This has fostered a community and a loyal sense of belonging to the scene.

More recently, EDM has found itself as the go-to music choice for gamers. Players strap into and blast EDM; the consensus online is that it helps to “lock in” and enhances gameplay performance. This has become so mainstream that a quick search on platforms like Spotify for Gaming EDM will give you thousands of playlists that are specifically tailored to this.

Game developers have noticed this trend and incorporated it into their games. Games like Cyberpunk 2077 use the music genre heavily in their soundscape, and games like Fortnite host virtual EDM concerts with artists like Marshmello.

EDM (electronic dance music) has become increasingly integrated into niche gaming scenes, like the iGaming industry. Video slot developers often feature EDM for its background music; Microgaming even developed a game in collaboration with Deadmau5, and many other sites include the music as the background soundscape for their live dealer rooms.

These platforms understand it’s not just about having bonuses for their site—like the highly contested no deposit bonus—but also about maintaining a game library that follows and caters to popular gaming trends. In an industry where trends evolve rapidly, failing to adapt quickly can leave operators falling further behind the competition, making it essential to stay in tune with what players want.

The Sound Spreads

The big-room festival sound was the dominant sound of the 2010s. But the EDM landscape is now more diverse than ever. As the mainstream sound got more commercial, fans and artists started looking for something different. And that’s led to a big resurgence of the genre’s roots.

Today, there’s a scene for almost every subgenre imaginable. The deep, hypnotic techno and house grooves are filling clubs from Berlin to Ibiza. More melodic and emotional genres, like progressive house and trance, still have global followings. And new sounds are emerging all the time, blending hip-hop, pop, and world music with electronic beats. So, the genre never gets old and has something for almost every taste.