Having been at some of the biggest and most memorable gigs in the UAE, we expected yet another cookie cutter music-by-the-beach scene. With Thomas Gold scheduled to play at Destination Dawn on Al Marjan Island at Ras Al Khaimah, hope hung in the air.

All things considered, twelve hours of partying seemed a bit much.

Stay till 5am? No, thank you – I’ll be tucking in at 1am.

That’s what I said out loud on the way to Destination Dawn on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah on Friday. Funny that I reminded myself of it at 3am with aching feet, surrounded by a crowd that wasn’t close to quitting.

The music festival retained a festive vibe through the night and surpassed all our expectations: Food trucks, blaring music, tank tops and fedoras all around.

Hollaphonic worked the crowd expertly and with ease, like snake charmers or Ryan Gosling trying to hit on a 20-something. Warmed up and sweaty, the packed venue was ready and raring for Goldfish. We had a chance to catch up with the local duo fresh off their set:

Goldfish played with wavering tempo, mercifully letting us catch our breath and dropping the beat to bring it back up.

Then came Thomas Gold. We’d say he blew the roof off the place if it had a roof. We had a chat with him backstage before his explosive entry on-stage. Calm and collected, you couldn’t tell he’d been doing back to back flights.

Don’t Miss: So, how are you planning to get to Sensation Dubai all the way at Bab Al Shams?

Backstage with Thomas Gold at Destination Dawn:

The super talented and level-headed, Thomas Gold shares some of his pre-concert rituals and also reveals who he shares his sets with before anybody else. The German Gold also talks about how he goes about choosing which track to mix.

Backstage with Hollaphonic at Destination Dawn:

Dubai’s resident EDM prodigies, Greg Stainer and Olly Wood- Hollaphonic were at Al Marjan Island as well to get things going and they totally slayed the crowd. In high spirits after their set, we had a “10 min session” with them. Enjoy: