Pete Tong is one of dance music’s foremost pioneers. Between his Essential Mix on BBC Radio 1, he’s also a label executive and co-founded the electronic music division at WME. Now, he’s bringing his Ibiza influence to Los Angeles with a live performance of his Ibiza Classics show, performed with the Heritage Orchestra and conducted by Jules Buckley.
This isn’t the first time that this blend of EDM and orchestral has graced the Hollywood Bowl. Above & Beyond performed their acoustic show at the venue to a sold-out crowd in May 2016. But it will be the first time that Tong brings his own show to the venue, and fans are feverish.
Pete Tong Ibiza Classics began a couple of years ago at the triumphant BBC late night Ibiza Prom, where Tong worked with Buckley and the innovative Heritage Orchestra and its artistic director Chris Wheeler to pioneer a show that melded the world of dance music with an orchestra. “It resonated with people in a magical way,” says Tong.
The Proms had approached Radio 1 a few times about doing something at the event, but when they asked in early 2015 just as the station was pondering how best to celebrate 20 years of Radio 1 being embedded in Ibiza’s dance culture, everything clicked into gear. The idea was simple: classic Ibiza dance tunes but performed by an orchestra. It made sense that the station’s dance music trailblazer Tong would team up with the most exciting talents in orchestral music Jules Buckley and The Heritage Orchestra to curate and present the Ibiza classics.
Photo by Ollie Millington/WireImage