Our History

How it all started

Allan Hardenberg and David Lewis have been active in the Dutch dance scene since its very beginning. In 1997, the two entrepreneurs organized events such as Armin Only, Tiësto Solo and "Three DJs in a Boat". Seven years after they started their collaboration, Armin van Buuren, Maykel Piron and David Lewis founded Armada. With this company, Armin Only became more successful and new concepts such as Armada Night, A State of Trance and Famous were developed.

Hardenberg and Lewis decided to start their own independent event agency and founded ALDA. It originated in 2007 and has since then been operating from Amsterdam. Armin Only, Best Of Both Worlds and A Day at the Park were productions during the early years. Eventually, the event portfolio would extend with events like Electronic Family, Citymoves, various Armada concepts and other event nights during Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE).

In 2011 and 2013 ALDA was nominated for the International Dance Music Awards (IDMA) in the category Best Event Promoter Worldwide. Besides that, the A State of Trance concept has won various awards throughout the years.

Since 2015 ALDA has continued its expansion across several countries. At the end of 2015 ALDA announced that it had opened a second location in Hong Kong. One year later, ALDA Germany opened the doors of its new office in Hamburg. Here, the company engaged in a collaboration with CTS Eventim, with plans to take the electronic dance music scene in Germany to the next level. In 2017, this collaboration resulted in a brand-new event called New Horizons.

Right after this successful partnership, a new collaboration began at the end of 2018 with Insomniac (part of Live Nation Entertainment). Pasqualle Rotella (CEO)’s Insomniac operates as an event organizer within the United States. Through this collaboration, worldwide coverage is created for ALDA and Insomniac, with support from the partners and local promoters. Both parties see the advantages of the collaboration, which has made it possible for them to extend their reach worldwide and follow their growth ambitions.