Not many electronic dance artists can pull off what Illenium just pulled off on February 2nd and February 3rd, 2024. In addition to filling the $5.5 billion dollar Sofi Stadium twice on back-to-back nights, he also played three full length sets at each show. Each set commemorated one of his previous albums Ashes, Awake, and Ascend. The first installment of this series was back in 2021 when Illenium became the first dance music artist to headline a football stadium alone in Las Vegas. The second installment was in Denver where he broke records as the largest non-festival dance music concert in North American history. He’s now brought the series’ third installment to Sofi Stadium. This is Illenium: Trilogy.           

Let that resonate. Three sets. Three sets in a single night. Three sets spanning nine years of Illenium’s career. The fans really got their bang for their buck on this one. Doors opened at 4:00 PM. They poured into the stadium and were greeted by the reverberating sounds of both Trivecta and Netsky. Both of these artists were tasked with warming up Sofi Stadium before the headliner and delivered. Netsky and Trivecta each captivated the crowd with their infectious sounds and energy and tee’d things up for the headliner.

Once the clock struck 6 PM, the lights dimmed and the crowd erupted into thunderous cheers. Illenium emerged in the center of the stadium in a pod surrounded by fans dancing their night away. Elevated platforms that I perceived to only be stages (maybe for guest appearances) revealed themselves to be housing for visual artillery that fired smoke, fire, streamers, confetti, and lasers all night. The production (powered by Insomniac Events!) was top notch. They did not hold back. On the audio side, Illenium wasted no time and jumped into seamlessly weaving together tracks old and new, each one building upon the last to create a sonic tapestry which left the crowd in pure ecstasy. 

One of the things that dawned on me throughout all three sets is this is a man of many hats. He can not only throw down a hard future bass beat, but he is able to tap into divergent music styles and reel them into a single, harmonious sound. For example, he brought out Avril Lavigne for their famous hit song “Eyes Wide Shut”. This song teeters on the edges of pop and Illenium’s signature future bass sound. Conversely, he brought out Teddy Swims to bring the R&B melodies on their collaboration track “All That Really Matters”, only to then bring out Motionless In White to perform their collaboration track “Nothing Ever Fuses” which aggressively fuses the likes of metalcore and dubstep. In addition to defying all genre norms, Illenium breaks out of the standard “DJ box” by playing drums and guitar at various points in his sets. Also, while in his DJ bag, three moments I recall clearly was when he had every person in the stadium singing at the top of their lungs to “Numb” by Linkin Park, “Cinema” by Skrillex, and “Levels” by Avicii. 

All in all, Illenium absolutely crushed his back to back nights at Sofi Stadium. The production may have been the best at a solo headline show that I have ever seen. The audio and visual experience did justice for all of Illenium’s original work and remixes all night long. Whether you love his aggressive dubstep sounds or his trance-y, angelic vibes, Illenium: Trilogy has something for you on this wild roller coaster of a show. If he does another one of these, you need to get show tickets (and maybe even some plane tickets) and go see one of these. You will not regret it.