Alesso at Governors Island: How to celebrate your 21st birthday241987 451351271576497 1635729966 O

Alesso at Governors Island: How to celebrate your 21st birthday

July 7th was the hottest day New York City has seen this summer with temperatures flirting above 100-degrees. It was also Alessandro Lindblad’s 21st birthday, and in the dance music world, that meant one thing — a monster celebration. Last summer, Alesso joined his mentor Sebastian Ingrosso at Pacha NYC to play an unidentified track that would become “Calling.” This summer, he took another leap towards maturation — both as an artist, and as an adult — selling out New York’s greatest summer venue and throwing the birthday party of the year.

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Sell out NYC’s most popular summer venue, party with thousands

Governors Island is the ultimate destination for summertime dance music in New York City, but prior to Saturday, it had yet to sell out. When news broke that Alesso would be celebrating his 21st birthday at the rave-paradise, it was obvious that this would be the season’s biggest event, and tickets sold out without a problem. Last summer, the likes of Avicii and Steve Angello sold out Governors, and in 2012, Alesso has joined the club. The island appeared to be at capacity during Carl Kennedy’s opening set while it was still a blazing 100-degree afternoon. By the time Alesso took the decks, it was clear this was the party of the summer. How many people can say they partied with 4,000 friends on their birthday? We now know one.

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Round up the perfect crew, opening acts get the party started

What would a headliner be without his supporting cast? For his 21st, Alesso called on Arty and Otto Knows to open the party. The summer’s record-breaking heat didn’t stop the youngsters from warming up the crowd as they exceeded expectations and laid down the groundwork for a wild night. NYC has rarely had the chance to see Otto Knows, so the crowd was pleased to hear him drop his remix of “Kick Out The Epic Motherfucker” and “Million Voices.” Arty was another story, and played the unanimous favorite set of the night as he spun an hour of dance-madness. The party had been raging hours before the birthday boy even showed up – it was his 21st after all.

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Bring the entertainment with full force, confetti, balloons, and CO2 are a must

Made Event fell short of production and amenities for Governors Island earlier this summer, but redeemed themselves a week later with slight upgrades. For Alesso’s special night, Pacha was responsible for the party treats, and the nightclub powerhouse delivered over-the-top entertainment. For one, the sound system trumped any arrangement we’d seen this summer, with towering speakers that stretched deep throughout the venue. There was certainly no shortage of eye candy; CO2 blasted throughout the tent all night, a balloon drop rained atop heads, and the grand finale featured a never-ending shower of confetti. All the strings were pulled to make this birthday a full-blown celebration.

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Drop unreleased tracks, giving is better than receiving

As you may have expected, Alesso dropped “Pressure, “Calling,” and his remix of “Titanium.” However, those were used to close out the night. What was dropped within his set was a mixture of bootlegs like “Paradise” with “Nillionaire,” never-left-behind party tracks like “Tung” and “Atom,” and best of all, unreleased material.

The brand new tracks gave his set a breathe of fresh air, and he set that tone when he opened up with “Clash.” His next unreleased track is still unnamed, but known infamously for its bootleg with REM’s “Losing My Religion,” and once put on display for New York, gained instant anthem recognition. Steve Angello’s future-banger “Yeah” and Sebastian Ingrosso’s highly anticipated Tommy Trash collaboration were also mixed in before Alesso previewed more of his own material. Towards the end of his set, Alesso dropped his own future releases; the vocal edit of “Years” and his Dirty South assisted “City of Dreams.” When Alesso should have been receiving gifts, he gave these treats to his fans instead.

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Sound like your dream birthday party?

The 21st to top all 21st’s. No, it wasn’t a blurry night out in vegas, but it was a unification of thousands of fans that came out to celebrate with one of the most popular producers in dance music. Like any other birthday party, the theme was an awesome time – no margin of error, no place to complain, only atmosphere and music that made for an unforgettable night. Alesso found the formula for a great celebration, and hopefully others will follow suit in celebrating like a true electro-star.

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