Germany: Mayday ‘22 “30 Years” in Dortmund
Before EDM festivals started popping up everywhere and electronic dance music swept the world over, there were two original rave festivals that started in Germany in 1991 – Love Parade and Mayday. Love Parade sadly no longer exists, but Mayday still prospers, and it was back this year after a 2-year COVID hoagies. This year, the festival celebrated its 30-year anniversary (which technically was last year). A mega large covered arena in Dortmund got transformed into an amazing sound and light show that had to be seen and heard and experienced to be believed in. In 2022, Mayday went back to its classic roots in the more underground Berlin-style techno: none of the big commercial mainstream deejays were present, but the crowd was wound up by the equally impressive roster of new generation of deejay stars of the darker house and rave scenes – Amelie Lens, Kobosil, Lilly Palmer, as well as idols like Dubfire, Joris Voorn and Monika Kruse, plus some hardstyle names like Frontliner or DJ Mystery. This was my third Mayday experience (after ‘11, and ‘17, and a totally different, more classic techno feel, perhaps like the original ones in the 1990s).
