When Tijs Verwest became known to the world as Tiësto, he joined a pantheon of pioneering DJs such as Sasha, John Digweed, BT and Paul Oakenfold who shepherded electronic dance music from its newbeat phase to the acid house and trance eras.
Tiësto had made a name for himself in his native Holland by the time rave culture emerged, but his adoption of the trance sound and enthusiastic endorsements from figures such as Oakenfold led him to being the first superstar DJ of the 21st century.
He remains the most well-known and likely the wealthiest DJ in the history of electronic dance music. Tiësto has endured at the top by keeping things fresh for himself and his followers, delving into pop and making stylistic pivots when he felt the need to mix things up. He’s remained prolific throughout his career, with his latest album, Drive, a result of his time away from the turntables during the pandemic.
Clubgoers who catch his Las Vegas residency at Zouk Nightclub this week will not only get to dance to tracks from Drive in all their subwoofer glory, but will likely hear his latest single, “Drifting,” which has been praised by the dance music press for its hypnotic homage to breakbeat since he debuted it at the Ultra Music Festival in South Beach earlier this year.
Tiësto is a family man now but still travels intrepidly with a state-of-the-art production that seems powered by waves of his hand. He revealed a crucial factor in his consistent success in an interview with Las Vegas Magazine in May 2022: “The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that you shouldn’t stress about anything,” he said. “Just really enjoy what you’re doing; enjoy the moments. If you worry too much about what can happen, you can hold yourself back.”
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