Part 2: The how to on the what to do, and where to go:

Like myself a few years ago, a great deal of you may have been dragged to a huge production such as Defqon 1, Qlimax or even to a headliner show by a hardstyle crazed friend. Or maybe out of curiosity you decided to attend a hard dance festival in the summer months to see what all of the fuss is about. Some of you may have surprisingly enjoyed yourselves, feeling the adrenaline run through your veins when you stand amongst such a lively and dedicated crowd and itching to do it all again…

Some of you have heard the catchy hardstyle beats here and there, but have no friends who particularly enjoy it – which kinda sucks. This can be difficult, you want to explore the genre but you are not sure where to start and don’t really have a partner in crime to do it with.
Well, have no fear, I am here and ready to be as informative as I can on the “how to and where to go’s of hardstyle events.”

As I am Australian, a born and bred Sydney gal residing in the continent of the EU, you will get lick or two of the very best hardstyle parties, both in Australia and abroad! It’s no doubt that the Australian scene has grown dramatically over the years and (besides the central hub of The Netherlands) has become one of the largest destinations for the hardstyle scene.

More and more new, dedicated fans are jumping onto the bandwagon and spending their nights out dancing along with many other lively individuals to hardstyle, rather than spending their nights in eating pizza and watching The Notebook.
Not that there’s anything wrong with eating pizza or watching disgustingly romantic movies, but you do realise that there is Sunday-Thursday to be a sad sack?

Well for those of you who raise their hands in favour of my critique, I will begin with my little rundown of the most loved parties that keep us talking for months on end, until the next party!

• Masif Saturdays: What else can I say but “the name says it all!” I can guarantee you that ever single Saturday night here is “Masif” indeed, with some of the biggest international names walking through the doors and absolutely tearing this place apart. Recently in the year 2014, Masif Saturdays have welcomed some absolute legends into the club to play such as Brennan Heart, DJ Stephanie, Frequencerz, Digital Punk, Chain Reaction, Code Black, TNT (aka Technoboy and Tuneboy)and Kutski. This place is responsible for throwing the most legendary festival after parties with stellar line ups such as the Bass Control 2013 afterparty and the District 7 2014 afterparty. Even when there isn’t an international on the agenda for the weekend, good times are still guaranteed at Masif every single Saturday as the talented local residents rip up the decks and keep partygoers dancing until the early hours of the morning. Sydney lockout laws? What lockouts! Well, apart from the fact you have to be inside the club by 1:30am and the bar closes at 3am, the music keeps on rolling up until 5am!

• Daydreams: If you feel like continuing the party after the hours of 5am until lunchtime, or if you feel like just simply waking up at 4am, pumping a quick coffee and beginning your day with a bang – what better place to do that than at Daydreams Day club! Also open for business every Sunday morning, Daydreams plays the finest hardstyle tunes to keep the most brutal of benders alive!

• Defqon.1 Australia: One of the most anticipated and exquisite annual events, hosted by Q Dance since 2009, this is one weekend that every hardstyle lover rosters off work from months away! Defqon 1 is not just a festival, it is a life changing experience for many and also a suitable festival for everybody as it offers a variety of different artists and different sub genres underneath the hardstyle umbrella. This is one event that is bound to sell out year after year and also entail bigger and better staging and pyrotechnics – we don’t know how it can possibly get better, but Q Dance never fails to “wow” every single visitor! For newcomers to the scene, this event is one that should be on the agenda – no questions asked!

• IQON: Also hosted by Q Dance, the first edition of IQON was held on the 20th of April, 2013, but discontinued in the year 2014. Also an absolutely outstanding festival with a mind-blowing light show and sound system, Q Dance definitely grabbed the hearts of thousands of visitors and probably converted a fair few to attend more hardstyle events in the year 2013. What else do I have to say other than “bring IQON back!

• Bass Control: Words cannot begin to describe the vibe that a combination of the beaming November sun and hardstyle brings to the soul. This absolutely huge day festival bought to you by Powerhouse Productions has been running since 2010, generating a huge success year after year. 2013’s edition bought a stellar line up including: Tatanka, Omegatypez, Adrenalize, Chris One, Da Tweekaz, Lady Faith, The Pitcher and many more! The lightshow, sound system and overall vibe at this festival is suitable for anybody and everybody and is definitely one of the highlights of every hardstyle lovers year!

• Harder Styles United (HSU) presents: Technoboy, This Is Zatox, Knockout – what else can we say! HSU usually runs their evens during the night time at venues such as Sydney’s The Metro, Home nightclub and Knockout 2014, held at The Big Top at Luna Park. Recently, HSU has also been holding events in Melbourne as the hardstyle scene is growing – catering for two Australian states, HSU never disappoints with bringing you the very best in artists and everything else! Coming up next for HSU in December is Psyko Circus, one of the most anticipated productions for 2014!

• D7: Underneath the D7 events umbrella, District 7 is a more recently designed concept which was held outdoors for the first time in 2014. Bringing every rawstyle fanatics dream line up consisting of: B-Front, Frequencerz, Radical Redemption, Korsakoff, TNT, Zany, Hard Driver and many more – this event wowed it’s visitors. If that wasn’t enough, the guys at D7 HQ recently launched a new monthly concept. Held on the last Friday of the month, D7 HQ has seen internationals such as Neilio, Kronos and Phuture Noize bang down the doors!

Those were just a few of the many Australian events going on every weekend to every year! For those of you who are new to the scene and possibly travelling to Europe, or living in Europe and are unaware of the biggest and most anticipated parties around, here is a short list of the largest and most exquisite events and productions to surprise your senses!

1. Defqon. 1 – NL
2. The Qontinent – Belgium
3. Dominator – NL
4. Sunrise Festival/Sunset Festival – Belgium *read Sunset Festival review here*
5. Q-BASE – Germany *read Q-BASE 2014 review here!*
6. Nature One Festival – Germany
7. Decibel Outdoor Festival – NL
8. Intents Festival – NL
9. Wish Outdoor – NL
10. Indicator – NL
11. Rebirth Festival – NL
12. Thrillogy – NL
13. Hard Bass – NL
14. Bassleader – Belgium
15. Masters Of Hardcore – NL
16. Qlimax – NL *read Qlimax review here!*
17. Freqshow – NL
18. Loudness – NL
19. Emporium Festival – NL
20. X-Qlusive – NL
21. XXLerator – NL
22. Reverze

So there you have it, a wrap up of the finest events and a little rundown for those who are unfamiliar with the concepts of these festivals and nightclubs. This may serve as a worthy guide of events that are worth saving your pennies for, I guess living off bread and butter is worth being able to afford a whole Dutch festival season!