The trance legend’s star-studded lineup of surprise guests also included Gryffin and ARTBAT
No stranger to delivering memorable live performances, Armin van Buuren pulled out all the stops at this year’s Ultra Music Festival, bringing out an incredible group of surprise musical guests during his mainstage set on Sunday.
The weekend’s most unexpected moment unfolded as Jon Bon Jovi took the stage to unveil Armin van Buuren’s unreleased remix of the legendary American rockstar’s iconic track ‘Keep The Faith’. The collaboration came to life after the DJ and producer approached Bon Jovi with the idea of blending his distinctive trance style into the timeless rock anthem, resulting in a powerful, adrenaline-inducing fusion of the their two sonic outputs. Coinciding with Bon Jovi’s 40th anniversary of the band and the renowned ‘Keep The Faith’ album, which soared to #5 on the US Billboard 200 and achieved double-platinum status, this remix adds an exciting twist to the track’s celebrated legacy.
“It’s an incredible honor to remix this track and to share the stage with Jon Bon Jovi, as I’ve been a massive fan for years,” says Armin van Buuren. “This track is different from anything I’ve ever released before, and no better place to first share it with you all than on the Ultra mainstage.”
Gryffin also made a surprise appearance during Armin’s mainstage set to perform their brand new track released on Friday, ‘What Took You So Long’, which has been highly anticipated by fans since news of a joint studio session between the two artists was shared on social media last fall. The debut collaboration symbolizes two corners of the electronic dance music world colliding as both artists return to their dance music roots.
Rounding out his star-studded lineup of surprise guests throughout the weekend, Armin van Buuren also brought out ARTBAT on the mainstage to play their recently released track ‘Take Off’. He also joined Oliver Heldens during his mainstage set on Sunday for their forthcoming linkup following their debut Armin van Buuren vs. HI-LO B2B at ASOT Rotterdam last month, as the pair teases multiple collabs in the works.
About Armin van Buuren
Armin van Buuren has long been a global ambassador for electronic music. He currently has nine full-length artist albums to his name — ‘Breathe In’ included — and continues to cultivate a massive worldwide following through his weekly A State of Trance radio show, event series and album series, reaching 40 million listeners from 80 different countries on a weekly basis. Armin van Buuren headlines tens to hundreds of shows per year at leading festivals and venues around the world, including Electric Daisy Carnival (Las Vegas, New York), Ultra Music Festival (Miami), Lollapalooza (Chicago) and Tomorrowland (Belgium) plus residencies on Ibiza and in Las Vegas. Past summer alone, he reconnected with fans through over thirty shows, including the ‘Feel Again’ shows in the Ziggo Dome, Ultra Europe, Tomorrowland, Parookaville, Creamfields, Electric Zoo and his summer residencies at Hï Ibiza and Ushuaïa.
About Armada Music
Armada Music is the biggest independent dance music label in the world. Founded by Armin van Buuren, Maykel Piron (CEO) and David Lewis, the label manages an ever-growing catalog of over 40,000 tracks, built up across twenty-plus years of specialized dance music exploitation.
Representing artists such as Armin van Buuren, ARTY, D.O.D, Eelke Kleijn, Jan Blomqvist, Loud Luxury, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Tensnake, THEMBA and Yulia Niko, Armada Music amasses more than one billion streams per month, airplay on leading radio outlets such as BBC Radio 1 and Sirius XM, and top positions in the world’s most notable charts. The label also takes great pride in major achievements such as Armin van Buuren’s GRAMMY nomination for ‘This Is What It Feels Like’, Loud Luxury and Brando’s ‘Body’ surpassing one billion streams on Spotify and breaking artists such as Lost Frequencies into global stardom.
Across offices in Amsterdam (HQ), New York, London and Laren (NL), Armada Music offers a truly global appeal to its growing roster. The label has its own club, radio studio and multiple production studios, and hosts various live formats. Producer platform Armada University, which offers educational products and opportunities, shows the label’s sustained effort to nurture the next wave of talent.
In 2023, Armada Music launched BEAT Music Fund, the world’s first dance music investment company, that acquires catalogs with the mission of honoring, representing and reinvigorating them. BEAT’s portfolio will continue to grow; in the first six months following its launch, BEAT acquired the catalogs of, among others, electronic music star ARTY, house and techno pioneer Kevin Saunderson’s KMS Records, legendary NYC-based house label King Street Sounds and chart-topping producers Chocolate Puma.
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