Another exciting year has come and gone in the dance music world, bringing us to the return of the world’s premier dance music event, Ultra Music Festival 2015. We were once again summoned to beautiful Miami, Florida to cover some of the hottest acts dance music has to offer coupled with the very best of stage production, lighting and sound.
We arrived a few days early for this marquee event, excited for the stacked lineup that we have come to love and expect. With a wide variety of acts across an epic three days, we passed by the park the night before, enjoying it in its final tranquil moments before the party began Friday afternoon.
We checked in at the start of the festival and quickly bumped into Chromeo on the ultra-luxurious Seafair Yacht, where the press pit has been stationed for the past three years. We were super excited to meet them and expressed how excited we were to see their set later in the day. The weather tried to slow us down, but we plowed through and ventured out to accomplish as much as possible, hoping for the best but knowing that nothing, not even the rain could stop Ultra from being one of the greatest experiences across the globe.
Several big names had sets lined up as you’d expect, including Dash Berlin, Marco Carola and the ever growing Odesza, not to mention the Main Stage finale consisting of Afrojack, Alesso, Avicii preceding what’s come to be the traditional Tiesto closing set.
We spent the evening stationed at the Main Stage, marveling at the sights and sounds it had to offer eagerly awaiting the pyrotechnics that usually accompany the closing sets. This year’s theme seemed to resemble a Spaceship, and we’d like to think it has something to do with the fact that Skrillex was the main headliner for Sunday. It surely felt as if the stage was ready to take off with Afrojack and Alesso delivering powerful sets as the fans raved even harder as the rain started to pour down. From a distance, we watched the lights and lasers refract through the rain, literally turning the Main Stage into a “city of dreams.”
Avicii, making his return to Ultra after missing last year, came on and delivered yet another brand new, eclectic set the same way he had in the past at Ultra 2013. The new songs rang of the similar euphoria as his previous album, containing strong riffs and melodies. As the crowd listened intently to take in all of the new music, he particularly drew a huge response on his rumored collaboration with Martin Garrix, “Waiting For Love,” which also happens to feature the outstanding vocals of John Legend. Martin Garrix also played the particular song during his set a day later making a strong case for the still unconfirmed collaboration.
We were excited and looking forward to ending our Friday evening at the Live Stage with Chromeo and Royksopp, but the weather wasn’t on our side and the stage had to be shut down, forcing Odesza and Chromeo’s sets to get cancelled. We were extremely disappointed and decided to take shelter as the downpour got heavier, having to decide between Tiesto or Maceo Plex to close out our night. We made our way down to the Main Stage just as Tiesto was taking over from Avicii. The rain had finally started to subside, and we heard murmurs that the live stage might just be able to accommodate Royksopp as the last act of the day. We were ecstatic on hearing this and quickly rushed over at the prospect of seeing the legendary Norwegian duo. The duo did not disappoint one bit on the visibly damp live stage as the arpeggiated basslines rang galore till midnight.
We arose Saturday morning to the most perfect weather any festival goer could ever ask for, as an ever so slight briskness could be felt in the air paired with a mild breeze and a warm, bright shining sun. We quickly got ready and made our way over to Bayfront Park, ready to have one of those days that you think about and look forward to all year!
The day was stacked with a wide variety of performances and we were eager to check out the much anticipated and uniquely designed Resistance stage. Joris Voorn’s set was the only incentive we needed to make our way down there and a great way to start off the day. Joris played the perfect afternoon set, with highlights including “Ringo” and his remix of Royksopp’s “I Had This Thing.”
We began to hit our stride and headed over to Tommy Trash on the Ultra Worldwide Stage. Hair flying everywhere as he jumped up and down in unison with the crowd, Tommy paved the way for the onslaught that was going to hit us throughout the rest of the evening.
Fedde Le Grand was seen hanging around the Press Pit before delivering an electrifying set on the Main Stage. The Dutchman delivered a diverse set, lighting up the crowd with his eclectic selection that included sounds from Calvin Harris, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Cirez D, and Adele.
Ultra Music Festival did a great job diversifying the crowds this year, having past years’ Main Stage acts such as Eric Prydz, Laidback Luke and Krewella play on alternate stages. This offered the crowds an opportunity to explore various artists in a significantly more comfortable environment, oftentimes making it easy to spend a quick glance at another stage even during your favorite artists’ set. A few fans, however, were heard questioning the success of this move as the Mega Structure was packed to the rafters and seemed to be overflowing during Eric Prydz’s set.
Nonetheless, we were able to freely move from one stage to another, catching Kiesza on the Live Stage just in time for her hit “Hideway.” We stayed for a while to watch her perform, hitting some seemingly impossible notes while delivering an exciting and unforgettable performance to tons of fans. The Live Stage, which contained a ridiculous lineup all throughout the weekend, drew insane crowds for some of the best live performances to rival alternate East Coast Festivals. Headliners Bassnectar and Kygo delivered some of this year’s most entertaining moments to swaths of fans, and we would say this was definitely our favorite stage of the weekend!
We made our way to the Ultra Worldwide Stage for Laidback Luke, where the international phenomenon lived up to all expectations. Luke really turned up the party to the next level, as did Martin Garrix on the Main Stage, setting it up for an Armin Van Buuren set for the decades. The versatile legend delivered an entertaining and beautiful set, saving some of his more classical music for his Sunday night performance for ASOT on the Mega Structure stage.
The man who needs no introduction, Hardwell, took over the Main Stage and sent the crowd into a roar with his “United We Are vs. Don’t Stop The Madness” mashup. His up-tempo, energetic set was surely a fan favorite of the weekend, as many of the fans we spoke with “Revealed” this unanimously.
The trio formerly known as Swedish House Mafia were in attendance, delivering their outstanding performances across Saturday and Sunday nights on the Main Stage. Axwell /\ Ingrosso included new songs while befittingly bringing us back to the glory days with mashups of “Don’t You Worry Child” and “Save The World,” sending chills up and down everyone’s spine. The world class production was on display as the stage glimmered and the pyrotechnics illuminated the downtown Miami skyline.
Sunday was to be filled with surprises, as “The Voice” of Ultra (Damian Pinto) kept reminding us throughout the weekend, and it surely lived up to the hype. We arrived in time to catch Claptone at the Live Stage, taking a cue from the previous day’s mellow beginning with Joris Voorn. Claptone played a blissful sundowner set, with “No Eyes” surely putting a smile on our faces. We watched as an enormous crowd developed for Krewella at the same stage. The ladies could be seen jumping around the stage and console, pumping up the crowd with their energetic performance as they surely know how to always deliver.
It was finally time to see the much anticipated and beloved Eric Prydz at the Mega Structure. As dusk started to settle, hordes of fans came flocking from all directions, and we can’t remember seeing the Mega Structure so packed in our three years of attendance. We worked our way through the crowd searching for a good location and happened to find ourselves just by the ‘Front of House.’ We managed to get a peek inside and realized Eric had his own lighting operators and were assured we were in for not only an aural but a visual treat as well. The Mega Structure itself was reminiscent of a scene from the movie “Transformers,” as massive fixtures suspended from the ceiling and carrying lasers and LED screens began being lowered.
It was finally time for the closing headliners and we decided to split up. Kygo, who catapulted to the top over the past year and had his “ID (Ultra Music Festival Anthem)” featured in the buildup to UMF 2015 was closing out the Live Stage. He was arguably the most sought after act by the fans, with many expressing their excitement and anticipation for his performance. He set a beautiful, tranquil tone, a polar opposite from what was going on at the Main Stage yet seemingly perfect after a long, tiring weekend of dancing. As expected, “Firestone” drew huge cheers from the crowd and seemed like the perfectly mellow way to end what had been an enthralling and exhausting three days.
Just as Tiesto has come to headline the Friday night of Ultra over the past five consecutive years, headlining the Main Stage is a huge accomplishment and an honor granted to only the freshest, most exciting, eclectic DJ of the modern scene, and Skrillex surely lives up to these expectations.
Closing out the entire event, he absolutely rocked the Main Stage with a wide variety of his smashmouth, power packed sounds, ranging from his new album “Recess” and his collaborations with Jack U to dropping the classic songs that took him to the very top. Always surrounded by his friends, the big surprise was finally let out as Diplo, Kiesza, CL, P. Diddy Sean Combs, and yes, even Justin Bieber came out to party. They together livened and pumped up the crowd, lifting off with the Spaceship themed stage and bringing it down with an emotional, sentimental closing with their new hit, “Where Are U Now.” Together they brought this unforgettable event to its culmination and sent us all home with not just a big smile, but a placeholder in our hearts for the next twelve months until Ultra makes it’s return to Bayfront Park on March 18-20, 2016.
What we missed but wished we saw:
- Chromeo
- Netsky
- Odesza
- Gorgon City
- Pete Tong
- Golfish
- Big Gigantic
What we wished we saw more of:
- Bassnectar
- Kiesza
- Tensnake
- Carl Cox
Ultra wishlist:
- Calvin Harris
- Zedd
- Kaskade
- Aly and Fila
- Sick Individuals
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