Trance season is back on the Long Beach waterfront. Dreamstate SoCal returns to the Queen Mary Waterfront on Friday, November 20 and Saturday, November 21, 2026, with more than 70 artists across four stages. Above & Beyond play an Anjunabeats Classics set, and ARTBAT, Enrico Sangiuliano, and Pegassi make their Dreamstate SoCal debuts.
Insomniac produces the festival and calls this its eleventh edition. Two things are new this year: a stage at the new Long Beach Amphitheater (the waterfront venue beside the ship, where Deep Purple and Kansas played in September), and Beatbox’s Art Car stage featuring local trance artists. Set times and the festival map have not been released yet. Everything else is below, pulled from the official site as of September 28, 2026.
The quick version
| When | Friday, November 20 and Saturday, November 21, 2026. 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. both nights. |
| Where | Queen Mary Waterfront, 1126 Queens Hwy, Long Beach, CA 90802 |
| Highlights | Above & Beyond (Anjunabeats Classics), Ferry Corsten + Marsh, Paul van Dyk, Infected Mushroom, Vini Vici, ARTBAT |
| Stages | Four |
| Ages | 18+ to enter, 21+ for alcohol and VIP areas |
| Tickets | 2-Day GA listed at $189.99 all-in on the official ticket page |
| Re-entry | No |
| Payment | Cashless |
| Parking | None on site. Free shuttles from the Long Beach Convention Center. |
| Official site | socal.dreamstateusa.com |
Who’s playing
Insomniac published the lineup A to Z without days or stages, so here it is sorted by lane instead. The “+” pairings are joint sets, exactly as billed.
Classics sets and big names
Above & Beyond (Anjunabeats Classics), Paul van Dyk pres The Essence of Acid, 4 Strings (Classics Set), Ferry Corsten + Marsh, BT + Matt Fax, Aly & Fila + Billy Gillies, Solarstone, Marco V, Mauro Picotto, John 00 Fleming, Dash Berlin, Andy Moor, Warp Brothers, and KEY4050 (Bryan Kearney and John O’Callaghan). Paul van Dyk’s The Essence of Acid is a brand-new live hardware show built around acid and the Roland TB-303, and its world debut is Saturday, November 21. He also played the first Dreamstate SoCal in 2015.
Dreamstate SoCal debuts
ARTBAT, the Ukrainian melodic techno duo; Italian techno producer Enrico Sangiuliano; and Belgian producer Pegassi, who blends Eurodance, techno, and trance. Techno fans should also circle Reinier Zonneveld (Live), FRANKYEFFE, and Giorgia Angiuli.
Psytrance
Infected Mushroom, Vini Vici, Astrix, Ace Ventura, Neelix, GMS, Burn In Noise, and Phaxe.
Team-ups
Alpha 9 + Ilan Bluestone, Allen Watts + Talla 2XLC, Darren Porter + Sean Tyas, John Askew + Simon Patterson, Eddie Halliwell + Judge Jules, Hannah Laing + Marie Vaunt, David Rust + Olly James, David Forbes + Mark Sherry pres Thick As Thieves, and Paul Denton + Will Rees pres Parallel Worlds.
Live sets
Aaron Hibell (Live), Mirage (Live) from Ferry Tayle + Tonks, and Reinier Zonneveld (Live). Andrew Rayel also brings his Extasia show.
The rest of the bill
A.N.I., Animato, Barakuda, BK, Chris Metcalfe, Cold Blue, Das Pharaoh, Discovery Project, JOA, KARMÅ, KAUFMANN (DE), Lee Ann Roberts, Maria Healy, MaRLo, Matty Ralph, Maximizer, NRG2000, Nu Aspect, Panteros666, Perfect Stranger, Rising Dust, Schrotthagen, Sequence Six, Shay De Castro, Sighter, Steve Dekay, Terra, TH;EN, The Rocketman, and VisionV. Early sets are where you find your next favorite producer, so get in the gates before sunset.
Know the track, find the stage
Trance names can blur together. The tracks usually don’t. A cheat sheet:
| If you know… | Go see |
|---|---|
| “Sun & Moon” | Above & Beyond |
| “For an Angel” | Paul van Dyk |
| “Punk” | Ferry Corsten + Marsh |
| “Dreaming” | BT + Matt Fax |
| “We Control the Sunlight” | Aly & Fila + Billy Gillies |
| “Seven Cities” | Solarstone |
| “Komodo” | Mauro Picotto |
| “Phatt Bass” | Warp Brothers |
| “Till the Sky Falls Down” | Dash Berlin |
| “Becoming Insane” | Infected Mushroom |
| “The Tribe” | Vini Vici |
| “Deep Jungle Walk” | Astrix |
| “Symbiosis” | Enrico Sangiuliano |
Tickets
The only official seller is Front Gate Tickets. The festival uses all-in pricing, so the number you see includes fees (taxes and delivery fees are extra). As of September 28, 2026, the official ticket page listed:
- 2-Day GA: $189.99
- 2-Day VIP: $419.99
- Friday or Saturday GA: $99.99
- Friday or Saturday VIP: $269.99
The page notes that current prices on Front Gate may differ as tiers sell out. VIP gets you into the Dreamstate Lounge, with extra seating, high-top tables, lounge furniture, and photo ops. You must be 21 or older with a valid photo ID to enter any VIP area.
Plan your night by the clock
Dreamstate runs late, and the official hours stack up neatly:
| 3 p.m. | Shuttles start running from the Long Beach Convention Center. Box office and will call open. |
| 4 p.m. | Gates open. |
| Midnight | Box office closes. The afterparty aboard the ship begins. |
| 1 a.m. | The festival ends. |
| 6 a.m. | The afterparty ends. |
| 7 a.m. | Last shuttles. |
One catch: the FAQ says you can enter until an hour before the event ends, and there are no ins and outs. Once you’re in, you’re in for the night.
Getting there
There is no parking at the festival grounds. The festival’s plan is simple: park or get dropped off downtown, then take the free shuttle or walk across the water.
- Free shuttles: Pickup and drop-off are at the Long Beach Convention Center, running continuously between 3 p.m. and 7 a.m.
- Parking: Public lots and street parking around Downtown Long Beach, first come, first served, and not pre-sold. The festival suggests arriving early in the afternoon to grab a spot near the shuttle and the bridge. More parking details are marked “coming soon.”
- Walking: You can get dropped off on Shoreline Drive and walk over the Queensway Bridge. The pedestrian entrance is on the aquarium side, off Golden Shore and Aquarium Way.
- Rideshare: Drop-off is in designated areas along E Shoreline Drive between S Chestnut and Pine Avenue, then ride the shuttle from the Convention Center lot. No drop-offs or pickups are allowed right outside the Queen Mary.
- Scooters: There are designated pickup and drop-off areas. Park them on grass, never in a roadway or walkway.
- Hotels: Queen Mary hotel rooms, which included in-and-outs and two afterparty passes per room, are sold out. Insomniac lists alternate partner hotels on its travel page, along with a helicopter option.
What to bring
Entry is a TSA-style search, including a pat-down and emptied pockets and bags. Pack light and pack to the rules.
- ID: A valid, physical government photo ID. School IDs, digital IDs, consular IDs, photocopies, and expired IDs are not accepted. A foreign driver’s license works only with a color copy of your passport, and it won’t get you a 21+ wristband.
- Bags: Clear bags up to 12 x 6 x 12 inches, one-gallon clear freezer bags, or a non-clear bag up to 6 x 9 inches. Hydration packs are fine if empty on entry, with no more than two main compartments plus one small one.
- Water: A reusable bottle, empty at the gate. Personal misting fans with a bottle up to 1.5 liters are allowed, also empty.
- Glow: Glowsticks, LED costumes and jewelry, LED poi and orbitals, and hula hoops are all allowed.
- Totems: Up to 10 feet, made from lightweight materials like foam or PVC, with poles no thicker than 1 inch. Decorated pool noodles get through security fastest.
- Cameras: Non-professional cameras with fixed lenses and handheld video devices under 6 inches, like a GoPro.
- Medications: Unexpired prescriptions with the physician’s prescription, in the original container with your name matching your ID. Sealed intranasal naloxone is allowed.
- A layer: It’s a late-November night on the water. Plan for the temperature to drop.
What to leave at home
The full list is on the Hours and Info page. The ones most likely to catch people:
- Over-the-counter medication. It’s on the prohibited list.
- Red light-up wands, batons, or lightsabers. Other colors are fine.
- Blankets, chairs, tents, and large umbrellas. There’s also no sitting on designated dance floors.
- Aerosols, gas masks, laser pointers, and air horns.
- Costumes that look like police, fire, security, medical, or event staff, including high-visibility vests.
- Outside food and drinks, including candy.
- Markers, pens, stickers, and flyers.
- Professional camera gear, drones, pets, and weapons of any kind.
E-cigarettes and vapes are allowed. Smoking tobacco is permitted at the event, and there may be no designated non-smoking areas.
Inside the gates
- Cashless. Credit, debit, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Android Pay are accepted. Cash can be turned into a prepaid card on site.
- Lockers are available to rent and include universal phone chargers.
- Lost and found is next to the GA lockers during the event. You can also register your phone for a custom lock-screen wallpaper that helps staff match it to you if it turns up.
- No moshing, crowd-surfing, or stage-diving.
- Zero tolerance. The festival says police work inside and outside the event, and drug laws are enforced.
Accessibility
The grounds are grass and concrete, and the grass may be wet. Wheelchairs, scooters, crutches, walkers, and canes are all allowed, and mobility devices can be charged at the Accessibility Services Hub (bring your own cords). The festival does not rent wheelchairs or scooters.
There is no pre-registration. After entering through the ADA lane, stop at the Accessibility Services Hub for a free ADA wristband, good for you and one companion. Accessible viewing areas at designated stages are first come, first served. Limited ADA parking requires a valid state placard with the credential holder in the vehicle, and an ADA shuttle runs until 5 a.m. Parts of the Queen Mary may not be accessible during the afterparty, since the ship is a historic landmark.
ASL interpretation and other communication services must be requested at least 30 days before the event through the festival’s Effective Communication Request Form. The posted deadline on the accessibility page still shows an older year, so send requests early.
Still to come
Set times, the festival map, stage assignments, and additional parking details have not been released. The festival says set times will be posted on its website, social channels, and email before the event. The 824 Journal will update this guide when they arrive.
Sources
- Dreamstate SoCal, official site
- Dreamstate SoCal 2026 lineup
- Dreamstate SoCal tickets (prices as listed September 28, 2026)
- Dreamstate SoCal Hours and Info (hours, ages and ID, bag policy, allowed and prohibited items, totems)
- Dreamstate SoCal Travel (shuttles, parking, rideshare, hotels)
- Dreamstate SoCal Accessibility
- Dreamstate SoCal FAQ (entry, cashless, lockers, cameras)
- Insomniac: Paul van Dyk to Debut New Live Concept “The Essence of Acid” at Dreamstate SoCal 2026 (September 9, 2026)
- Insomniac: Dreamstate SoCal Reveals Full Lineup for 2026 Edition (July 9, 2026)
Featured photo: Jetijones via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
