FW26: VRDJs Spinning Beats with Soaring Jets
A connection of virtual reality DJs from opposite sides of the world highlight a VRChat specific genre of entertainment
The meeting of Eastern based MYSTIC and Western based [TEMPO] is one of many international community highlights of VRChat Flight Week 2026. Here in a place where flight is easy to access and aviation experiences are diverse, DJs spin live music with aircraft crossing the sky in ways we imagine them within our mind's eye.
With many DJs and flight focused organizations having met one another, we feel like now is the time to describe this uniquely VRChat type of entertainment. Skyward Flight Media writers 'Psyren' and 'Ribbon-Blue' dive into this subject, provide a short history and give their individual thoughts on the two most well known organizations related to this genre of entertainment: MYSTIC and [TEMPO].
What Is VRDJ x Flight?
Written by Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza
Within VRChat there are many types of solo DJs and DJs that belong to specific groups. These organizations host live shows on their own schedules featuring real people setting up their DJ equipment and software for live performances to other VRChat users. Dozens of users gather to enjoy the music, dance and talk to one another. It has a real club feel to it!
Certain groups and individuals took this to the next level by incorporating aircraft using the SaccFlight system to provide airshows alongside their live music. Imagine a live musical performance with amazing airshows and/or laser light shows. Now increase that to ten as there is no real world aviation organization to restrict what those shows can be like. While there is not a universally accepted term for this, it can loosely be referred to as VRDJ Flight or VRDJ x Flight.
While this specific genre is not extensively documented, our own experience and recent research inspired by contacts we made during Flight Week 2026 has helped provide information from organizations that have incorporated this mix of genres.
Here are a few notable examples:
MONDAY RELIEF (2020)
Though the group went on hiatus in 2026, MONDAY RELIEF was a weekly DJ event held every Monday starting in 2020. Of their custom built DJ worlds, Lounge MR was inspired by international airport departure halls to reflect their organization's uniquely diverse and international community. Created sometime in August 2020, audience members or members of their staff could be given flight permission by the event host to fly a propeller driven acrobatic style aircraft. A requirement of gaining permission was the pilot of the aircraft needed to not use it maliciously, but they had to "add color to the performance". [ Source 1 ]
VR Sky Box DJ Festival (2022)
One of the earliest documented large scale Flight VRDJ events. The xR with Anything Meet Up (xRAM) group partnered with air demonstration pilots from the BlueHorizons and Virtual Reality Air Force. On November 20th, 2022, the VR Sky Box DJ Festival incorporated realistic airshow flying that both organizations are still known for, but the addition of brightly colored glowing aircraft and particles in the form of shapes trailing behind them. This was a full instance event of 80 people. They are reminiscent of performances seen in 2026. The BlueHorizons demo team hosted a VR Sky Box revival event on February 27th, 2023. [ Source 2 ]
Flight Club (2025)
"Flight Club" is a publicly accessible world by NecroNeko, a DJ known for being a major part of the Goth DJ scene in VRChat years ago. As many of these types of worlds are only accessible during scheduled events, being able to freely access this one is notable. This world has a surreal setup of a monolithic glass cladded DJ booth attached to a fallen B-17 Flying Fortress, surrounded by eldritch monster portals, mysterious pyramids and many aircraft. It is a good place for any DJ to spin beats and let people explore with aircraft. This open venue was an inspirational space for some DJs in the VRDJ x Flight scene.
[TEMPO] Fly Boys LOVE Jungle
Written by Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza
[TEMPO] VR is the leading organization combining live music and flying aircraft. This American based group does not have a set team of pilots. Instead, their DJs spin pumping electronic beats while the audience is free to jump into high performance aircraft and take to the skies any way they see fit.
The leader of this group, Utami Hasegawa, uses the tagline "fly boys LOVE jungle" to describe how their music is made for combat focused pilots to fly their missions with electronic dance music playing in the background. The genres of music commonly associated with their organization are jungle, drum n' bass and Toonamicore is a mixture of their signature sound.
Video: the controlled chaos of a Tempo Flight Night event.
Across the many publicly accessible worlds that [TEMPO] presents, their experiences range from traditional DJ venue settings to combat inclusive scenarios with a DJ booth at the heart of the action. From player vs player combat between hot shot pilots battling one another to loose team based combat where players fly together to destroy air defenses, sink Destroyers and steal aircraft from Sci-Fi aerial fleets. There is even a combat support aircraft with a DJ booth built into the airframe as though it is one of the many flight systems necessary for combat operations.
Their unique concept, consistency and willingness to innovate and collaborate within this space even landed them an extensive interview with VRC DJ Live; a Western based organization that interviews DJs throughout the VRDJ scene to expand knowledge of what happens within it.
[TEMPO] not only sells their albums on distribution platforms like Bandcamp, they also sell physical copies of albums and other merchandise at select events. On YouTube long-form mixes of their original music and tracks from other artists are put together to provide engaging but not overwhelming background music for any mission a fighter pilot can fly.
On April 9th, 2026, Utami Hasegawa joined Supermaneuver - an upcoming indie flight shooter video game - as the composer of its original soundtrack. For any artist, this is a major step within a career.
I have had a great time watching this group and the career of Utami Hasegawa grow over the years. These days there is a good chance that even the backgrounds of my most intense missions on Digital Combat Simulator and VTOL VR are floating on the sound of [TEMPO].
Connect with TEMPO and Utami Hasegawa
MYSTIC: Not your ordinary VRChat music event
Written by Psyren
During VRChat Flight Week 2026, I had the great opportunity to meet various communities and groups, some due to me being a part of outreach. MYSTIC was one of those groups.
Now, the idea of a DJ playing music while jets fly around was not foreign to me as I had attended many TEMPO events. But my first interaction with MYSTIC was one to truly leave me speechless. Right after the BLUE STARS Airshow on Sunday morning Mako and Yomogi invited us (KOSMOS & Ribbon-Blue) to take a look at their new world. What we thought was just going to be a tour turned into so much more.
MYSTIC as a whole committed themselves to VRChat Flight Week 2026. Playing five shows in 14 days, including two shows friendly towards Western audience time zones. They also created a new world that was featured in the Featured Worlds list of Flight Week. Called MYSTIC˸DJ ＆ AirShow Lounge, representing Flight x VRDJ in a significant way.
MYSTIC was created by DJ Aoi, a hobbyist DJ who has a love of aviation and music. She explained that MYSTIC has one main motto, to entertain. Breaking it down, it's an audience first thought, but the first audience being the pilots and DJ themselves. Aoi is quoted in saying:
“If one is not entertained by their own performance then how is it supposed to be entertaining to the audience.”
Such simple wording, but when watching their show it's obvious how much they take it to heart. What I wasn't ready for though was the way MYSTIC operated. MYSTIC not only rotates DJ’s for each event but also their pilots. These pilots come from many different groups within VRChat. BLUE STARS to name one of them.
The main staple of MYSTIC that I was told, witnessed, and still stayed baffled about, is that the pilots follow no routine. They do not know the set ahead of time, thus they must adjust to the music with each change of the BPM. Their level of communication and creating maneuvers is next level. The precision to each beat is something I’ve never seen done before in VRChat or anywhere else. This was what left me speechless, this degree of performance. Rethinking of it just brings tears of joy and excitement. Like watching an artist at work, it was beautiful.
Yomogi explained to me a lot of the world's features and its ties to Japanese culture. The way MYSTIC showcases its bonds between different communities hangs in the hall of the world on massive banners. The stage of this world was a floating bubble in the sky. It was simple to me at first but it became the exact center of why this world spoke to me. The pilots would focus their maneuvers around this bubble. Each aircraft giving off different particle effects with neon lights of contrails. It was flashy and so eye-catching. I couldn’t not watch the way they fly. Even though parameters for the aircraft were unrealistic, that didn’t take away from anything.
Video: MYSTIC pilots during practice. As seen from the air.
Now there is also an aircraft carrier for those who would rather have a more grounded viewing experience. When talking to a couple of the pilots they told me each plane is set to their own unique settings. This strays from the standard of having the jets each be uniform. Which from getting to ride backseat and see how they coordinated is something only a few western communities do, but not to this level.
Through my VRChat experience I’ve gone to many events that were all great, but MYSTIC is the one that will never leave my number one. It's an event everyone should witness at least once. To watch poetry in motion, the absolute work of art this community works hard to provide. As a special message directly to MYSTIC… GO CRAZY!
Connect with MYSTIC
FW26 Information - #VRDJ_Mystic - VRChat Group MYSTIC.2260 - VRChat World: MYSTIC:DJ & AirShow Lounge
Special Thanks
[1] We thank Jono from Dogfight Central for initial information about MONDAY RELIEF.
[2] We thank Garman of BlueHorizons for the lead on VR Sky Box DJ Festival.
