What’s better than icy cold beers and banging electronic music with the cool highland winds brushing the sweat as you dance the night away? Well, this is exactly what went down at Heineken Refresh 2025!
Over the weekend (21st June 2025), Heineken Malaysia revived its annual “Heineken Refresh” in Resorts World Awana, Genting Highlands for a day filled with genre-blending beats, icy cold beers and that cold highland air. The event brought over 10,000 attendees as the venue was packed with strangers all under the same love of rediscovering music.
As you enter the grounds, you’re greeted by the ticket redemption booth, where attendees can retrieve two wristbands: one that permits entry into the event and another, a light-up wristband that changes colours with the push of a button. What differs from this year’s “Heineken Refresh” from its predecessors is that the event allows a special two-way communication for attendees to feel included in the set, in which the crowd would get to decide what beat the next drop would be, whether it be Techno, Hard Dance, House or even K-pop!
We honestly enjoyed this feature during the event as you’re filled with a sense of camaraderie within the crowd, as people rush to change their wristband colours to the genre of their choice. However, no losers here if the genre of their choice was not chosen, as the organisers aim to bridge the gap between genres and introduce as much variety to the music as possible.
Opening the event were the two hypnotic twin DJs, Beautiful Mistakes, with a colourful mix of house and techno in their set. Where the drops remain exciting and it’s peak time electric, the crowd were on their feet despite its low show at the beginning of the set. As the sun began to set and the air grew chillier, local techno icon Jovynn, with a face-to-face set with Ann Jo, took over the reins to ramp up the BPM for a hard techno set.
With two powerhouse DJs playing b2b, attendees expected an ultra-feminine, bold, industrial and downright gritty track selection, which they served from the start to the end of their set. Handing over the stage to BLINK, as he sets a new experimental sound, reminiscent of the club scene, where everything goes. The flow of his set was energetic and uplifting, mixing hardstyle and fengtao, which kept people bumping and singing along.
As expected from the headlining acts, HYO and ZEDD, the crowd had fallen silent as BLINK ended his last song and the lights dimmed for the next act. As a summary, HYO’s electronic set was one to remember, where people came to only see ZEDD, and HYO had won favours that night. She starts with a complete choir ensemble as she plays her first track, Girls’ Generation’s “Into The New World”, erupting cheers from fellow SONEs in the crowd. Her entire set was pedal to the metal, well, somehow, as she delivers track after track of bangers, which felt more like a story than a concert. With a final goodbye, HYO ends her set with another Girls’ Generation track, “FOREVER 1”, an uplifting goodbye to an amazing set.
With pyrotechnic shows of fire and confetti, it was finally time to witness the main headliner, EDM icon ZEDD. As anticipated by everyone, his performance was nothing short of magical. His onstage performance was both visually and audio appealing, playing into the Tomorrowland vibes with his blast-to-the-past set. A wave of nostalgia immediately hit as he opened with “Alive”, rippling waves of cheers from attendees.
His track selections were mostly his popular tracks, such as “The Middle”, “Stay The Night”, and “Beautiful Now”, playing heavily on the nostalgic feel. We’re not complaining, it was an eclectic experience. Ending his set, Zedd says his final goodbye to Malaysia, vowing to come here more often for shows. A scenic view of fireworks and confetti erupts as Zedd closes his set with “Clarity”, ending the night.
The experience was nothing short of memorable as this year’s “Heineken Refresh” lineup had attendees enjoying all genres of music under one event. Venue-wise, the cold air and ample space helped a lot; however, over-crowding could be an issue if security was not in order. Vendors for food had reasonably priced options for all to enjoy while sipping on Heineken beers, and there were ample amounts of restrooms to be used.
Key takeaways from the event were the lack of hydration points and the price of water was upsold, as well as the muddy ground due to the rain, which could have been a hazard for the crowds of people in attendance. Overall, “Heineken Refresh 2025” was a memorable experience of a shared love of music that unites people together. With its stellar lineup and appropriate venue, we believe that this year might just be the best one yet.
Alyssa Gabrielle contributed to this article.
