Summer is almost here and though to most in Southern Cali it means beach days, barbeques and bikinis, to the music lover, it means festival season is well underway. For electronic dance music aficionados, the biggest party of the summer will be at this years sold out Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas. Yet for those not wanting to brave the crowds, over-priced drinks, and slew of 18-and-over fist pumping revelers on the speedway, there are plenty of EDM shows right here in Orange County to get your fix. Once again, we've scoped out the five best dance music shows in Orange County this month to ensure you make the most of your hard earned ticket money.
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5. Caspa
Thursday, June 27th
Yost Theater
Caspa, born Gary McCann, is an internationally known DJ and producer known for bringing dubstep to the masses. Running three highly acclaimed record labels and hosting a bi-monthly night at the infamous Fabric in his London hometown, he still managed to produce a full length album this year. The Alpha Omega tour set out on an epic list of dates all over the globe and will make its way to Orange County as part of White Rabbit's Havoc Thursdays. With support from Kill Paris, Antiserum and Mayhem you can expect some delightfully disturbing spine-rattling bass music that's sure to keep the entire Santa Ana Art District awake until they shut down the club.
4. Borgore
Wednesday, June 12th
Sutra
Dubstep's bad child, Asaf Borger (aka Borgore), is the Israeli DJ/producer and rapper/singer known for his crazy antics as he is for his music. Influenced by heavy metal, his music varies as often as the chicks he poses with on Instagram, but have become staples in the EDM world. Hits like “Decisions” featuring Miley Cyrus and “Incredible” with Carnage make it impossible to not want to get down to major dubstep/electro drops. Currently on his #TURNTLIFE Spring Tour in support of his upcoming Legend EP he's going to make the swanky bottle service crowd get turned up and down right filthy at Sutra. With opening support from Carnage, the only thing missing will be the cupcake pasties you may see at EDC in support of his “bitches love cake” lyrics.
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3. Nicky Romero
Sunday, June 16th
Sutra
In just a handful of years, Nick Rotteveel–better known as the Dutch DJ/producer Nicky Romero–has achieved the amount of success than some artists hope to achieve in a lifetime. At age 24 he already has an array of Beatport number one hits such as “Iron” with Calvin Harris, “Like Home” featuring Nervo and “Symphonica.” He was the highest new entry in the DJ Mag Top 100 chart at number 17 and has even helped produce tracks for artists as big as Rihanna featuring David Guetta. As a DJ, Romero also finds himself in high demand, having toured the world at the largest clubs and festivals including stops at Ultra Music Festival and Coachella. He makes his way to OC thanks to Insomniac at Sutra in Costa Mesa. A must see for the progressive house lovers who can't make it to Las Vegas.
2. Focus 10 Year Anniversary
Tuesday, June 4th
Tapas
Celebrating 10 years of house music in OC, Focus Tuesdays in Newport Beach has a very special surprise guest DJ. Though it hasn't been officially confirmed the fact that both the big chief at Focus and Kaskade are tweeting about how many people are going to be begging for guestlist tomorrow hints that the man born Ryan Raddon is most likely the surprise guest. Kaskade recently embarked on a Redux Tour in celebration of the 10 year anniversary of his first album It's You, It's Me. With stops in San Diego and LA it's highly unlikely that the former San Clemente resident would skip OC. Focus gave Kaskade one of his first OC gigs back in his deep groovy house music hey day and it's no wonder why the night is already sold out. Regardless Josh Billings, Wobs and DJ Nonfiction never disappoint and are sure to celebrate with some real good pulsating house music beats.
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1. Paul van Dyk
Wednesday, June 26th
Heat Ultra Lounge
The German Grammy Award-winning DJ/producer Matthias Paul, better known by his stage name Paul van Dyk remains a legend in electronic dance music. Being one of the first artist to ever win the Best Dance/Electronic Album Grammy for Reflections in 2004, PvD has managed to stay in the game more than two decades since he began producing with his sixth full length artist album Evolution released in 2012. Like his album title, Dyk has developed his sound over the years to mature with the ever changing times of dance music through his label, Vandit. With a radio show on iHeartRadio's Trancid Channel and gigs all over the world (including a stand out performance at the Ultra ASOT stage in Miami), we wonder how he even finds the time to respond to all of his 800K twitter followers. This special night is sure to bring tears to the eyes of the most avid EDM fan especially if he plays “For An Angel.”
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