Photo: Alive Coverage
Not even torrential downpours and severe thunderstorms can prevent Ultra Miami from hosting another epic weekend for the history books. On March 22nd-24th, Ultra greeted a whopping total of 165,000 festival-goers across all three days. With over 100 countries represented amongst the patrons, the global impact Ultra has made is evident. This year marked my second time attending Ultra, and after the festival concluded I can confidently say I’ll be returning for my third.
Every year Ultra Miami caters to a one-of-a-kind festival experience full of surprises and unparalleled memories. However Mother Nature wanted to have in on the fun too, and on Friday of the festival, she surprised attendees with relentless rainfall. The unprecedented precipitation and dangerous nature of the storm forced organizers to close the gates three hours early, prompting the first emergency evacuation in Ultra’s history. The rain continued to pour overnight and into the afternoon hours on Saturday, causing the gates to open on a four-hour delay. Despite being waterlogged from the mayhem they endured the night prior, festival-goers kept their spirits high. You know what they say, “There’s always a rainbow after the rain,” and that certainly came to fruition for the remainder of the weekend.
Photo: Courtesy of Ultra Music Festival
Sadly, many artists who were at the helm of the storm’s grip were forced to cancel their performances such as Chris Lake and FISHER’s Under Construction set. But after Ultra was granted permission to extend the festival programming an extra hour on Saturday (another first for Ultra), they rescheduled some of the canceled sets, one being the most-anticipated set all weekend, Hardwell’s 10th-anniversary performance.
With the loss of Friday night, there was a continuous supply of excitement, positive vibes, first-time moments, and surprise appearances all packed into Saturday and Sunday. Among those highlights include dubstep’s leading trailblazer Excision who debuted Ultra’s Main Stage which is not commonly known to host bass artists. Sandwiched in between Hardwell and Martin Garrix, Excision made the bass community proud as he dropped hard-hitting anthems from start to finish for the global audience. He even brought out ILLENIUM for their fiery collab with I Prevail called “Feel Something.” Calvin Harris also made his fateful return to Ultra Miami for the first time since 2013. The hitmaker ate and left no crumbs as his anthem-fueled set was the grand finale of a monumental weekend.
Photo: Erin Folk
One of my personal highlights was at the tail end of Trivecta’s Live Stage set when he premiered an upcoming collaboration with vocalist Luxtides on a beautiful, melodically-driven track titled “Oceans.” Taking the award for the most unpredictable moment is Armin van Buuren when he invited rock & roll icon Jon Bon Jovi to the stage during his Sunday night Main Stage set. The pair premiered an unreleased remix of Bon Jovi’s renowned classic “Keep The Faith” which left attendees awestruck.
Ultra Miami is typically dominated by house music, but this year it appeared to be following a new trajectory.
The lineup featured a hefty representation of drum and bass acts and the bass-bouncing genre was rinsed at every single stage. Dance music legends Tiësto and Martin Garrix shocked the crowd with some drum and bass action in their sets too. Not to mention, Chase & Status and Bou’s viral hit “Baddadan” featuring IRah, Flowdan, Trigga, and Takura took the crown for “Most Played Song” at Ultra. As the festival concluded, I think it’s safe to say that drum and bass has officially made its comeback here in the US.
Photo: Erin Folk
Millions of Ultranauts from around the world tune in to Ultra’s free livestream #ULTRALIVE to watch the world-class performances and to virtually embrace Ultra’s infectious energy. This year was no exception as the stream reached more than 34 million viewers. Missed out on #ULTRALIVE this year? Many of this year's notable sets are now posted on YouTube! Relive the magic of Ultra below:
The weather was the ultimate curve ball for festival organizers, and the heroic clean-up crew worked tirelessly behind the scenes as “the show must go on.” And not only did the show go on, but it exceeded our expectations. Despite all of the weather-related complications, Ultra proved itself to be a festival by the people, and for the people.
Ultra Miami Music Festival will return March 28th-30th, 2025 in celebration of its 25th anniversary. It’s expected to be their most historic year yet so grab your tickets when they go on sale!
Photo: Erin Folk