Armin van Buuren

Trance-forming Moments: Meeting the DJ Behind My Life’s Soundtrack

2 years ago
by Sheryl Hugill-Potts

Music has the power to heal, inspire, and uplift our spirits.

I’ve heard it been advised against meeting your heroes, supposedly because they will only disappoint you or not live up to your expectations. In my own personal experience, I’ve kind of found the opposite to be true. Connecting with celebrities I admire often deepens my respect for them. And after being privileged enough to have a conversation with my favorite DJ last weekend, I’d say I still agree with my own notion about this.

My appreciation for EDM started because of Ricky, but he didn’t immediately get me into it. Then one day I sat down on the couch to just listen and try out some new headphones I’d gotten. I remember listening to the song “Going Wrong” on Armin van Buuren’s album Imagine and thinking, “ok, I could get into this”. Then I listened to it again. And I was pretty much hooked. My interest grew as I listened to more DJs like David Guetta, Paul Oakenfold, and Paul van Dyk, but Armin van Buuren still emerged as a clear favorite.

I have continued to keep up with his work through the last maybe 15 years or so. From my initial listen of Imagine to his most recent album, Breathe In, there is hardly a song I couldn’t just sit down and listen to and enjoy. It’s not just the genre, either. I find that Armin’s music has a quality that resonates with me, helping me navigate different things in life over the last few years like anxiety from the pandemic, death of family members and friends, stress from moving several times, etc. Putting on some headphones and playing something from Armin van Buuren never fails to make me feel better and help me to relax. His music makes up the majority of what I’ve downloaded to listen to offline on my phone because when I’m flying and hit turbulence, it helps me to get through it with less anxiety. It’s no surprise that he consistently ranks as my most-played artist on Spotify’s Wrapped feature.

Ricky and I have seen Armin live several times now, including at venues such as the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom in Chicago (the night we briefly met Armin and had a short conversation with him before he politely excused himself to go play!), Marquee Nightclub in Las Vegas, Electric Zoo festival in New York, and A State Of Trance 900 Bay Area. The day we got engaged on Tower Bridge in London, we’d been at South West Four Festival to see him earlier in the day.

So getting back to this weekend, a few months ago I started thinking about the idea of having a bucket list. Ricky has one and I realized that, while I have experienced remarkable moments that a lot of people (including myself) might consider bucket-list-worthy – such as visiting the top of the Eiffel Tower, walking the Great Wall of China, and meeting some pretty famous celebrities – I had never consciously compiled a list of things I would consider my bucket list. But then I did identify a goal: to (again) meet my favorite DJ, express my appreciation for his music, and capture the moment with a photograph. I shared this idea with Ricky, who was supportive and determined to help make it a reality. We discovered that Armin would be performing at OMNIA Nightclub in Las Vegas, and Ricky reached out to a potential contact to secure our attendance at the show.

We decided to make the most of our trip to Vegas by staying at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, inspired by Ricky’s love for the city of Paris, France. Our room in the newly remodeled Versailles tower offered a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower and the Fountains of Bellagio. Friday night, we arrived at OMNIA early, eager to find the best spot to enjoy the performance. Eventually, we settled in a prime location behind the DJ booth, and a bit later, we received a text message inviting us to meet Armin van Buuren himself in just ten minutes.

Guided by John Hernandez, the Senior Manager of Artist Relations for TAO Group, we were led to a private room where Armin was enjoying his morning cup of coffee after flying in from Amsterdam. He was every bit as nice as I remembered from our previous encounter in Chicago. During our brief conversation, we talked about our engagement following his show in London, the music video he’d filmed at a remote gas station we passed on our drive to Vegas, and how he manages frequent time zone changes (he prefers to maintain his Amsterdam schedule). Again, he very politely excused himself to go play but not before we snapped a photo and I got a hug from him.

Meeting Armin van Buuren

We returned to enjoy his set from our spot in the DJ booth for the next couple of hours. I’m usually very tired by that time of the night, but the excitement kept my energy flowing. That and dancing to some amazing beats! It was an epic night, and that brings me back to my point about not meeting those you admire. Contrary to the saying that one should never meet their idols, I cannot emphasize enough the genuine, down-to-earth nature of Armin van Buuren – a testament to his enduring popularity as one of the top DJs over the past two decades. His appreciation for his fans shone through even in our brief meeting, and it was a privilege to convey my gratitude for his music’s impact on me. It was wonderful to talk with him and thank him for being basically “the soundtrack to my life”.

After the show, Armin posted a few photos from his performance on X while on his way to Canada for BOMFEST. Check it out!