[Festival] How to Buy Presale Tickets for Above&Beyond's ABGT300HK

I am DJ ACIDE.

Widely supported by longtime Trance fans as well as Progressive House and Deep House fans, Above & Beyond's 300th live edition of ABGT (Above & Beyond Group Therapy) is confirmed for Hong Kong on September 29–30 this year as “ABGT300HK.”

Honestly, I have drifted quite far from Trance lately, but ABGT being held this close to Japan is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A whirlwind trip using a budget airline might cost only ¥50,000–60,000 in total, haha. I also still listen to and buy lots of Progressive House like Grum and Fehrplay, and anjunadeep, so I decided to go.

The venue has not yet been officially announced, so this is not confirmed information, but at the moment it seems likely to be “AsiaWorld-Expo.”

I Bought Presale Tickets Right Away

The venue and times are still unknown, but I decided to buy tickets right away. If you are thinking of going, check this out.

1. Access the Ticket Sales Website Universe

Tickets appear to be sold on a ticketing site called Universe.
Some parts display in Japanese, so it feels easy at this stage.
Click the “Buy Tickets” button a little to the right of the center of the screen.

2. Enter the Access Key

It then displays “Tickets are locked” and prompts you for an access key. Enter “ABGTHK.”

3. Enter the Number of Tickets

Select the quantity from the dropdown. The amount due appears on the right.
Presale tickets cost HK$750 (¥10,575) per person, with a processing fee of HK$23 (¥324), so the total is about ¥11,000, calculated at approximately ¥14.1 per HK$1 as of May 19, 2018.

4. Enter Your Purchasing Information

Finally, enter the buyer's information.
Be careful about the order of first and last names, writing in Roman letters, and entering your passport number and email address correctly.
Incidentally, perhaps because it runs all night, people under 18 apparently cannot attend.
Once you fill in all required fields, the “Continue” button appears.

5. Enter Payment Information

Most Japanese buyers will probably use a credit card, so select credit card.
Entering the number, expiry date, and CVC in one field is a little unusual, but enter them consecutively and press “Pay Now” to complete the purchase.

6. Receive Your Tickets by Email

The tickets are sent to the email address you entered, with a PDF thoughtfully attached as well, so printing them or making them displayable on your phone should be sufficient. iPhone users can also save them to Wallet. As is common at overseas festivals, they are identified by a QR code and accompanying serial number, so do not make them visible in screenshots or on social media.

What Is ABGT?

A dance music program begun after TATW (Trance Around The World), hosted by Above & Beyond, ended. Each member takes turns hosting, introducing new tracks beyond anjunabeats and anjunadeep, followed by a guest mix in a two-part format. A livestream event is also held every 50 episodes. Previous events have captivated audiences at major venues such as New York's Madison Square Garden, Sydney's Allphones Arena, Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome, and The Gorge in the US.

Who Are Above & Beyond?

Above & Beyond, formed in 2000, is a UK-based trance music group. Its three members are Jonathan Grant, Tony McGuinness, and Paavo Siljamäki. Their Uplifting Trance, Epic Trance (Euphoric Trance) tracks and collaborations with vocalists working across various genres are well known in the trance scene. Their tracks are often played by famous DJs.

They first visited Japan on August 17, 2001 (avex rave 2001), and made nine visits from 2001 to 2003. In 2011, they released their second original album, Group Therapy, and undertook a world tour, performing in Japan for the first time in about eight years.

(Quoted from Wikipedia)

One of the most important acts leading the global Trance scene since the 2000s.
In the 2000s they composed fast-BPM so-called uplifting tracks, but changed direction around the late 2000s to early 2010s, shifting toward Progressive House and producing hits such as “Sun & Moon” and “Things Called Love”.
They also have a project under the alias “Ocean Lab”. Their acoustic musician activities have been remarkable in recent years too, proving they are true artists who go beyond dance music DJs and producers.