Crazy Auntie Ann Takes on Tomorrowland!!

6 days ago

5 min read

If there’s one thing I can say about Tomorrowland, it’s this: WOW. JUST WOW.

What an adventure, what a festival, and what an experience. So come with me as Crazy Auntie Ann heads off to Belgium with my boys for four unforgettable days of music, madness and more than a little bit of dancing!

Day One – Let the Adventure Begin!

Manchester to Brussels and yes, I LOVE FLYING! You can tell by my face in my video about Tomorrowland too.

From Brussels we jumpe on an amazing double-decker train to Antwerp (I’ve never seen a double decker train before!), where we had a little wander around and took in the sights. Antwerp is absolutely gorgeous, and it was the perfect way to start our adventure.

Our hotel was lovely, but then came a surprise waiting in our rooms from Old Spice. They had very generously sent me and my boys to Tomorrowland, and they certainly knew how to make an impression! We had a lovely Old Spice tin packed full of goodies, a hat and, most importantly… our Tomorrowland passes!

At this point, I was beyond excited. Quick shower, get ready and we’re off! We collected our wristbands, went through security and stepped into what can only be described as the Disneyland of music festivals! Honestly… WOW.

Then it was time for our first act, and I couldn't have been happier because it was one of my favourite DJs, James Hype!I was SO excited to see him live. I love his music, his vibe and his showmanship. Seeing him live was absolutely incredible.

After James, we headed towards the main stage and spent most of the evening there having the pleasure of watching Alok, Steve Angello & Hardwell.

I was completely in awe. Standing there watching all these incredible artists, surrounded by thousands of people, with the music pumping and the lights going crazy… I honestly couldn't believe I was actually there. Special shout to Steve Angello who played a brilliant set.

1am came around and it was time to head back to the hotel. I think it was about 2:30am before my head finally hit the pillow. And yep… I was smiling, excited for day two!

Day Two – Antwerp, Bingo & A Party Boat!

Day two started with another little wander through Antwerp. We explored a bit more before heading back to Tomorrowland for another day of madness. And I discovered one of the funniest things…

Tomorrowland Bingo! To get to the Tomorrowland entrance, you have to walk about 20mins through the local housing estate. They don’t let cars, buses and taxis close to avoid chaos and disruption to the locals. We found that one of the traditions for the locals was to sit outside the front of their houses, some selling water and little bits and pieces but mainly, I think, just enjoying watching all the festival-goers walking past! One house had camping chairs set up at the end of their drives. And they were playing Tomorrowland Bingo, and it was hilarious. The questions included things like:

"Who has the tightest trousers?” "Are you too old to go?”

And plenty more that had us absolutely giggling. Of course, we had to play along!

Then came another very special part of the trip, the Old Spice party boat! The boat went across the lake and we were incredibly lucky to be invited along and got to meet some of the Old Spice crew as well as some other creators. It’s not every day I get to do things like that, so that was a really lovely experience. We were made to feel like absolute royalty and were so incredibly looked after. But the best part for me? I got the chance to personally thank him for bringing me out to experience Tomorrowland. That meant a lot to me.

We were also recommended an orchestra who were doing a music set, so naturally we had to go and check them out. And Old Spice were absolutely right to recommend them, what incredible talent!

After some food, we headed back towards the main stage.

And then came Armin van Buuren with Sacha!

Seeing them perform their new song, Everlasting, live was absolutely astonishing. Then we had Dimitri Vegas, who was so cool to see live.

And finally…

Calvin Harris!

What an act to finish the night! He made it look so easy and what struck me is that there can’t be many DJs in the world who can play a 60 to 90 minute set which is made up completely of their own songs, Calvin can do that. We were on such a high afterwards. Another 1am finish, another walk back to the taxi ranks and another day of memories made. Bring on day three!

Day Three – Cake, Chaos & Crazy Auntie Ann on Stage!

Day three was all about exploring the festival. We walked around the different stages and honestly, the craftsmanship and attention to detail were out of this world. Everywhere you looked there was something incredible to see.

We saw Paris Hilton on stage, and it was absolutely packed for her set. Then came one of my personal highlights…Joel Corry – who I’m really happy to call my mate! We've been hanging out quite a lot lately, watch this space! And then he only went and brought me ON STAGE! A hug and a dance with Joel? Yep.

That absolutely made my day. Thank you, Joel! I loved seeing you play Tomorrowland, absolutely smashed it!!! I remember it was raining as Joel was due to start his set after Paris Hilton. He started playing his set and the sun suddenly burst through the clouds, it looked brilliant.

Then it was time to head towards the main stage. Lost Frequencies — WOW! Absolutely amazing.

Then came Steve Aoki… Throwing cake into the audience. I mean… I never thought I'd see the day!

Absolutely mad as a hatter — but what a show! And then it was time for the final act of the night…

Martin Garrix. Incredible. What a way to finish another unforgettable day.

Day Four – The Bit Where We Go Home…

Up early and off to the airport. And, as always, there was that horrible feeling when an incredible trip comes to an end. Everyone gets a little bit sad when it's time to leave. But wait… THIS IS TOMORROWLAND.

We arrived at the airport only to be greeted by…

A MORNING RAVE!

Yep. You read that right. A RAVE. At the airport. A Tomorrowland DJ sending us all home with good vibes! Not a bad way to start a Monday morning at 8am! And just like that, our Tomorrowland adventure was over.

My Tomorrowland Highlights.

There were so many incredible artists and moments, but there was one thing that really hit me during this trip. Watching all these incredible DJs perform, being surrounded by the atmosphere, the creativity, the production and the sheer energy of Tomorrowland, It left me with one BIG goal.