Governors Beach Club at Governors Island has provided an impeccable backdrop for Made Event’s musical offerings this summer. The beach-side venue has played host to every DJ imaginable, from June’s Benny Bennassi and Laidback Luke, to July’s Dash Berlin and Alesso. And when we reached August, the musical madness continued with Gareth Emery and his band of trance support taking the stage this past Saturday.

The trance genre is all about peace, love and positive vibes, and there was plenty of it to go around on Saturday. Openers Ben Gold, Blake Jarrell, Jermone Isma-Ae and Zack Roth all played superb warm-up sets, each with their own twist on the “trouse” sound.  

If you don’t believe me, ask the nearly at-capacity crowd of attendees who danced the night away on the scorching, sandy ground. Can’t find someone who was there? Then ask the hundreds of fans who tuned in the the live stream of the show, making #GarethEmeryNYC an almost-instant worldwide trending topic.

Emery knew the whole world was watching, so he delivered a mind-blowing set that will easily go down as one of the best Governors Island hosted this summer. His two and a half hours behind the decks were sprinkled with original hits, crowd-pleasing bangers, and uniquely-crafted bootlegs that left my Shazam application in despair but my ears dancing with joy.

Opening with Alex Sonata’s “Kansai,” Emery set a high-energy tone for the night and let listeners know they were in for a wild ride. A seemingly effortless transition into his original track “The Saga” pleased die-hard fans and excited trance lovers across the venue. Emery continued to take us on his magical music journey with hits like Dada Life’s “Kick Ou The Epic Motherf**ker” and Porter Robinson’s “Language,” while maintaining his trance roots with Armin Van Buuren’s “We Are Here To Make Some Noise” and Paul van Dyk’s “Rock This.” 

A chilling feeling swept over the crowd when Eric Prydz’s “Allein” blasted through the speakers, rewinding our minds to last Saturday’s epic concert featuring the legendary producer. The New York City EDM scene may be large, but our tight-knit community felt incredibly connected as we smiled at each other and reminisced on last weekend’s show while throwing ourselves full-force into this weekend’s madness.

Made Event has certainly come full-circle from their first event on Governors Island three months ago, taking criticism well and adjusting what needed to be fixed. The venue has grown to flawless perfection, and we’re sad to see this wonderful summer of music come to an end. But there’s always hope - like next weekend’s double-header of both Danny Teneglia and Thomas Gold. And even further - with Electric Zoo’s beyond perfect lineup glistening in the distance.

Our summer of music may be coming to a close, but we’ll always have those picture-perfect sunsets on Governors Island when we raged the night away.