Beyond Wonderland is set to return for the 10th year on March 20th & 21st, to NOS Event Center in San Bernardino, CA. With a decade of memories, we thought it would be appropriate to take a look back at the history of Beyond, in celebration and anticipation for the 10 year run of the enticing festival.
Over the years, Beyond Wonderland grew from its early roots and saw a four year expansion of a sister festival, Beyond Wonderland NorCal/Bay Area.
The very first Beyond Wonderland was held at NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, CA on March 20, 2010 to a sold-out crowd. Notable artists on the lineup included Sander van Doorn, Paul Van Dyk, Groove Armada, Robbie Rivera, Caspa, Pendulum, and Wippenberg.
Come the second year, Insomniac decided to give Beyond Wonderland a run in Seatlle, WA in May, after another completely sold out run at NOS Center. Beyond Wonderland Seattle was held at the WAMU Theatre. Notable artists on the lineup included David Guetta, LMFAO, A-Trak, Datsik, Porter Robinson, and Gareth Emery. This marked Guetta’s first appearance in Seattle.
On March 17th, 2012, the third annual Beyond Wonderland was a huge success, with another completely sold-out show at NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, CA with a special showing of A State Of Trance 550 with artists such as Armin van Buuren, Gareth Emery, Aly & Fila, Arty, Shogun, John O’Callaghan, Sied van Riel, and Fei Fei. Other artists on the lineup throughout the festival included Dirty South, Hardwell, ATB, Magnetic Man, John Digweed, Netsky, Sidney Samson, and Steve Aoki. This year marked the first year of Beyond Wonderland being expanded to Beyond SoCal and Beyond Bay Area.
One September 29th, 2012, the first Beyond Wonderland to be held in Northern California was located at the O.co Coliseum parking lot in Oakland, CA. The lineup included artists such as Alesso, Sander Van Doorn, ATB, and Thomas Gold, Justin Martin, Tokimonsta, & RL Grime.
The 4th Annual run of Beyond Wonderland saw a change of scenery, moving from NOS Event Center to the very loved, San Manuel Amphitheater on March 16th, 2013, with artists such as Afrojack, Art Department, Camo & Krooked, Damian Lazarus, Delta Heavy, Markus Schulz, Maya Jane Coles, W&W and more.
The second Beyond Wonderland Bay Area was held in Mountain View, Northern California, at the Shoreline Amphitheatre on September 28th & 29th, 2013, and was the first Beyond event to span two days. Roughly 40,000 fans attended the event for two days. The lineup included David Guetta, Avicii, Zeds Dead, Gareth Emery, Hardwell, Dash Berlin, Tiesto, Calvin Harris, Benny Benassi, Carnage, and Datsik and more.
2014 Southern California missed Beyond dearly as the festival only ran in Mountain View on September 20th & 21st. The event returned to Shoreline Amphitheater. The two day event saw artists such as Above & Beyond, Aly & Fila, Cedric Gervais, Crizzly, Dada Life, Dieselboy, Doctor P, Justin Jay, Kaskade, Mat Zo, Paul Oakenfold, Showtek and more.
Over 60 acts performed March 20th & 21st, 2015, at San Manuel Amphitheater, and estimated 70,000 attendees over the weekend. The lineup included artists such as Benni Benassi, John Digweed, Carl Cox, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Dotcom, Green Velvet, Joseph Capriati, Sub Focus, D-Block and S-Te-Fan or DBSTF, and more. This run of Beyond was the first to offer camping options at the festival, after a very successful Camp at Nocturnal Wonderland the year before.
The 4th Beyond Wonderland Bay Area returned to Shoreline Amphitheater September 26 & 27, 2015 with artists such as Calvin Harris, Tiësto, Loadstar, Knife Party, and Yellow Claw.
In 2016, the 6th Beyond SoCal was held at the San Manuel Amphitheater (Now Glen Helen Amphitheater) and offered a new format, curated stages by Bassrush and Dreamstate. The campgrounds grew and featured new interactive features. This year brought the announcement of the end of Beyond Wonderland Bay Area, along with EDC Puerto Rico, in effort to “focus on exploring new cities and enhancing the experience at some of our other festivals,” as stated by founder Pasquale Rotella.
The 7th run of Beyond Wonderland SoCal was held at Glen Helen Amphitheater, and brought with it the “Endless Sea” theme, featuring an aquatic atmosphere throughout the festival with art pieces and performers. The next year Insomniac decided to move Beyond back to the NOS Center, and no longer offered camping. 2018 saw acts such as Tiesto, Kayzo, and Chris Lake.
2019, the 9th run of Beyond Wonderland SoCal returned to the NOS Center once again to see first day tickets sell out in less than 24 hours. With performances from Deadmau5, Rezz, ZHU, Rusko, Seven Lions and many more, the festival returned to its Alice in Wonderland aesthetic that has become a staple of the Beyond Wonderland series.
Make sure you don’t miss out on this years massive return to the NOS Center.
Insomniac has also just announced Beyond Wonderland Monterrey, which will be held in Nuevo Leon, Mexico April 25th-26th, 2020. This will be the fourth run of Beyond Wonderland in Mexico! Check out the lineup below!
