Ultra Music Festival Delivered Yet Another Unforgettable Experience In 2024

Ultra Music Festival Miami was everything we expected and then some. This year’s return to Bayfront Park was nothing short of a magical experience, with some of the hottest names in electronic music performing at the iconic event. With huge name artists like Calvin Harris, Armin Van Buuren, Hardwell, Eric Prydz, Peggy Gou, Fisher b2b Chris Lake, Zeds Dead, Chase & Status, Hedex, Mersiv, Wooli, Sub Focus, Andy C, Bou, Tape B, and many, many more, it was hard to expect anything less than an unforgettable weekend, even the headbangers were eating at UMF 2024! Not only was this lineup jam-packed with talent, but witnessing these massive DJs live in the middle of downtown Miami brought us on a journey like none other.

Although Miami encountered some unexpected weather issues on Friday and Saturday, leading to the pushback of some set times, the fest did a great job still giving those artists a chance to showcase their sets. HIHF guest mix alumni and the masterminds behind recent viral bass anthems like “Flip It” and “Front To The Back,” Levity’s set, was up in the air after the rain affected the festival’s opening time. Rather than canceling their sets, Ultra gave them 30 minutes after doors, still allowing them to play and giving back to those attendees who have been wanting to get a chance to see this massively ascending star trio. This truly proved Ultra’s dedication to their attendees and was a true ‘for the people’ move from one of the biggest and best in the business.

Despite the weather setbacks, ravers were met with an absolutely stacked lineup. This year, the festival hosted seven stages, ranging from heavy bass to techno to house, even live performance-centric.

For us, the Worldwide Stage was home bass. It mainly focused on trap and bass acts, like RL Grime B2B Knock2, Dimension, Eptic, Jon Casey, and more. Needless to say, there were tons of massive, memorable moments across the weekend, no matter what stage you were at.

Dimension brought out Alison Wonderland to premiere their recent collab “Satellite.” RL Grime and Knock2 put on an absolute clinic of a performance. They even brought out ISOxo, and the three premiered their monstrous unreleased collaborative banger, dubbed simply RL GRIME x ISOKNOCK. 

Peggy Gou made her Ultra debut at the Resistance stage’s Megastructure and Calvin Harris made his first Ultra appearance since 2013.

This year was also a milestone for mainstream dubstep, as Excision played his prehistoric, headbanger-friendly sounds to the Ultra mainstage crowd. This set was full of original dubstep anthems and showcased IDs from the best and brightest up-and-coming producers within the bass scene. He even got his friend and collaborator Illenium to pop out and surprise the roaring sea of headbangers.

We definitely must mention two standout debut B2B performances: the uber-talented producers Kill The Noise and Bro Safari with their Kill Safari project and the masterful pairing of the ethereal sounds of Madeon and San Holo. Both sets of artists are the perfect match for one another and they really showed that mix of energy in full force to their tens of thousands of fans in attendance.

Our favorite moment was from EDM legend and Ultra Music Festival veteran Armin Van Buuren. The trance maestro brought out Rock and Roll icon Jon Bon Jovi during his set, alongside additional appearances from ARTBAT and Gryffin.

Ultra’s award-winning sustainability program Mission: Home played a big part behind the scenes of this year’s festival. They partnered with Clean Vibes to keep the grounds clean and waste sorted. They also partnered with Replenysh, a platform that focuses on full traceability and assures all the collected recyclables were truly recycled back into the appropriate region’s domestic supply chain.

Ultra Music Festival doesn’t just reside in Miami, the Goliath event producers host festivals across the globe like in Abu Dhabi, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, Columbia, Beijing, and tons of other massive cities. Next up is Ultra Hong Kong, this September 14th. You can register for tickets here.

This past weekend, Ultra just hosted a race week event with the return of their underground concept, Ultra Resistance. The week featured performances from Hidden Empire, Mathame, and even a four-hour set from industry legend and UMF favorite Carl Cox.

Will you be headed back to Miami Music Week in 2025? We certainly will. Between this always-iconic festival and the events across the week, it continues to be one of the premiere dance music events in the country.

All photos courtesy of the Ultra Media Team & Alive Coverage

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