This is a reference page: the key years in dance music from the first DJ-led parties to 2026, with a line or two on each. For the stories behind the dates, I’ve written longer pieces on the artists who took dance music from raves to radio, how it moved from underground clubs to global festivals and how the sound changed from 2010 into the 2020s.
One note on credit before the dates. House and techno were created largely by Black, Latino and gay communities in Chicago, Detroit and New York, and many of the names in the first two sections are the people who did it.
The 1970s: disco and the first machines
- 1970. David Mancuso holds the first of his Loft parties in New York on Valentine’s Day, an early model for the DJ-led dance floor.
- 1974. Kraftwerk release Autobahn. The album goes on to reach number five on the US chart.
- 1976. Salsoul releases Double Exposure’s “Ten Percent”, mixed by Walter Gibbons, the first commercially sold 12-inch single.
- 1977. Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”, produced by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, puts a sequenced Moog at the center of a disco hit. The Warehouse opens in Chicago with Frankie Knuckles as resident DJ.
- 1979. Disco Demolition Night takes place at Comiskey Park in Chicago on July 12. Disco fades from the US mainstream and carries on in the clubs.
The 1980s: house, techno and acid
- 1980. Roland releases the TR-808 drum machine.
- 1981. Roland releases the TB-303 bass synthesizer. In Detroit, Juan Atkins and Rick Davis record “Alleys of Your Mind” as Cybotron.
- 1982. Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force release “Planet Rock”, built on Kraftwerk themes and an 808.
- 1983. The MIDI standard arrives, and so does the Roland TR-909. New Order release “Blue Monday”.
- 1984. Jesse Saunders releases “On and On” in Chicago, often named as the first house record.
- 1985. Juan Atkins starts his Metroplex label in Detroit and begins recording as Model 500.
- 1986. Farley “Jackmaster” Funk’s “Love Can’t Turn Around” reaches number 10 in the UK.
- 1987. Steve “Silk” Hurley’s “Jack Your Body” becomes a UK number one. Phuture release “Acid Tracks”, and Derrick May releases “Strings of Life” as Rhythim Is Rhythim.
- 1988. A UK compilation put together by Neil Rushton and Derrick May introduces Detroit techno to Britain under that name. Acid house takes over British clubs in what became known as the Second Summer of Love.
- 1989. About 150 people take part in the first Love Parade in West Berlin in July.
The 1990s: raves, laws and the first festivals
- 1991. Tresor opens in Berlin.
- 1993. The first Mysteryland is held in the Netherlands.
- 1994. The UK’s Criminal Justice and Public Order Act gives police powers against outdoor raves and defines the music by its “succession of repetitive beats”.
- 1997. Daft Punk release Homework. The Prodigy’s The Fat of the Land enters the US album chart at number one. Insomniac holds its first Electric Daisy Carnival at the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
- 1999. The first Ultra Music Festival takes place in Miami Beach on March 13. ATB’s “9 PM (Till I Come)” tops the UK singles chart.
The 2000s: laptops, trance and bigger stages
- 2001. Armin van Buuren’s radio show A State of Trance first airs on June 1. Ableton releases the first version of Live.
- 2004. Tiësto plays the opening ceremony of the Athens Olympics.
- 2005. The first Tomorrowland is held in Boom, Belgium, for about 10,000 people. The Grammys give out their first award for Best Electronic/Dance Album, to Basement Jaxx.
- 2006. Daft Punk play from inside an LED pyramid at Coachella on April 29, a turning point for how electronic acts stage a show.
- 2009. The Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling”, produced by David Guetta, spends 14 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
The 2010s: the EDM boom
- 2010. Skrillex releases the Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites EP. A crowd crush at the Love Parade in Duisburg on July 24 kills 21 people, and the event is never held again.
- 2011. Electric Daisy Carnival moves to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Avicii releases “Levels”.
- 2012. Skrillex wins three Grammys.
- 2013. Billboard launches its Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories, Avicii’s “Wake Me Up” and Martin Garrix’s “Animals” all arrive the same year.
- 2014. Tomorrowland expands to two weekends.
- 2016. The Chainsmokers’ “Closer” spends 12 weeks at number one on the Hot 100.
- 2018. Avicii dies on April 20, aged 28.
The 2020s: shutdown and return
- 2020. The pandemic cancels the festival season. Tomorrowland runs a digital edition, Around the World, in July.
- 2021. Daft Punk announce their split on February 22.
- 2022. Beyoncé’s Renaissance and Drake’s Honestly, Nevermind bring house rhythms to number-one albums.
- 2023. Skrillex, Fred again.. and Four Tet close Coachella together in April.
- 2024. Berlin’s techno culture is added to Germany’s national register of intangible cultural heritage. On December 27, Anyma opens a residency at Sphere in Las Vegas.
- 2025. Ultra Miami holds its 25th edition at Bayfront Park from March 28 to 30. I was there. In July, Tomorrowland’s main stage burns down two days before opening, and the festival goes ahead.
- 2026. The IMS Business Report values the global electronic music industry at $15.1 billion for 2025. A State of Trance marks 25 years with a two-day festival at Rotterdam Ahoy in February.