It used to be that pop music offered this kind of live experience, while dance music existed mostly underground in dark clubs and grimy warehouses. Now DJ shows are, as the Prydz brand name promises, just as epic as their pop brethren. “It’s become an entertainment industry,” says Mark Calvert, managing director of Realtime Environment Systems, and the producer of EPIC 3.0. “Ten or fifteen years ago, we would’ve never said that a DJ would play at Madison Square Garden. Now it’s become much more mainstream and monetized. Given that situation, production values have increased drastically to give more credibility to the show.”

The Garden has long been a coveted pit stop for some of the biggest names in the popular music industry. But in the last four years, it became fair game for DJs who can draw in a throng of about 20,000 fans to fill the stands. Prydz set sights on the venue this year and took on a massive financial risk in putting together what he likes to call his “passion project.” EPIC has solidified Prydz capabilities as a DJ, but at least as importantly, it has proven out the role of computer-generated simulations at a dance music event.