BIG BEATS

It’s not an adventurous lineup, but that’s not the point: The four-day Dance.Here.Now Festival is aiming for accessible dance music and an easy day in (hopefully) the sun. Grammy-winning trance superstar Paul van Dyk (July 1) has been blowing up big rooms since around the time the Berlin Wall fell; he’s still committed to dance music as a force for peace. With “Praise You” and “Rockafeller Skank,” Fatboy Slim (July 2) shuttled electronica into the world of pop. Island vibes are natural to Laidback Luke (July 3)–the Philippines-born Dutch DJ is an Ibiza veteran. Benny Benassi has worked with underground electro artists Felix da Housecat and Fischerspooner and stars like Keli$ and Chris Brown. Amid all these Europeans, Bensonhurst’s own Victor Calderone (July 4), a Pacha and Roxy vet and long-standing Madonna remixer, represents NYC alongside fellow locals Sleepy & Boo (Basic), JDH & Dave P (Fixed) and Nicolas Matar (Cielo).

July 1-4, 2011