A world-class electronic festival experience has now wrapped up another year with the conclusion of Ultra Music Festival Miami 2023. The electronic music festival has long been known to be top of it’s class, and this year proves the standard is still held by the iconic music festival. Known for it’s flagship lineups, competitive production, and beautiful location, the energy was electric and the attitude of festival goers upbeat as folks soaked in the shows and scramble through the crowds to the next new set.
The event is the pinnacle title of the many international festivals that take place under the Ultra brand name, such as Ultra Peru, Ultra Europe, and Ultra Korea. The event has become a right-of-passage for those who fall in love with electronic music culture, at some point falling on the bucket list of virtually every raver around the world who’s ‘in the know.’
The amount of genres featured across the 7 stages was dynamic and well-represented: Carl Cox, Marshmello, Grimes, David Guetta, Maala, and dozens of other established and rising talents dished out crowd-pleasing sets. Coming from a place of personal opinion and from the feedback of those in my orbit: ISOxo, Maala, Marshmello, Black Tiger Sex Machine, Black V Neck, and David Guetta were major highlights that went down this year.
Typical festival logistics that can be tough on the attendee had a smoother than normal presence at the festival. Bathroom lines weren’t insane, lots of diverse food found around, plenty of places to relax and take a moment to chill and reboot. It’s often the little things that make or break the overall experience. Ultra doesn’t steer past the odds and ends that need tending to or replacing over the course of three days, which leave you feeling well-cared for. The amount of events like this sprinkled throughout the weekend makes it easy to stumble upon something beyond a standard DJ/producer’s set. Specials features among the lineup were Dubfire B2B Kolsh, Hi-Lo B2B Testpilot, Jauz B2B SVDDEN DEATH, among many other unique sets designed just for the Ultra audience like Grimes or the Black Tiger Sex Machine’s ‘PORTALS’ show.
One festival goer, new to the scene, Amed, had this to share about his experience:
“I felt like it was very free, I felt like I could do anything. I feel like I could be who I want to be and wasn’t afraid of judgement. The staff was chill and asking us if we are ‘OK.’ Great volume at the stages, which is a plus – best production I’ve seen at a festival. All my favorite artists played out some of my favorite songs from my personal playlists.“
On a personal level, attending the event for the first time post-COVID was yet another way to close the door on a strange era that we collectively experienced as a globe. Considering the international theme of Ultra, a sense of complete normality was inescapable, given your surroundings are consumed by so many folks from a variety of countries.
Ultra Miami is something you simply have to see to believe. If you have yet to experience what’s going on in South Florida during this time, snag your tickets now because this festival always sells out earlier than expected.
PURCHASE TICKETS FOR ULTRA MIAMI 2024 HERE
Ultra Music Festival has been around for decades starting in 1999, growing and evolving as the genre of EDM morphed and exploded between the 2000’s and 2010’s. Today, electronic music has become a mainstay genre of this generation and Ultra is there to take fans through a live journey their favorite artists love to provide. There would be a weird gap in the universe if Ultra wasn’t woven into the lexicon of what can be inhabited in this music culture. The festival has played a critical role in an uncountable amount of artists careers, from new comers just getting their big break this decade to names like Tiesto and Armin van Buuren decades earlier. Ultra Music Festival, and in-particular the long-lasting Ultra Miami event, is truly a cornerstone of the electronic world that has influenced multiple generations. All signs point to this sentiment only continuing year after year.
