UMF - Summer Festival Guide

Miami, FL – USA (December 17, 2015) With just three months until it touches down at Bayfront Park in Downtown Miami, Ultra Worldwide’s flagship event ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL announces the electrifying Phase One lineup for its eighteenth annual edition, taking place on March 18, 19 and 20, 2016.

The grand master of EDM and savage stage production is back with its phase one line up. Miami Ultra 2016 displays some of the best in electronic dance and house music there is to offer. Miami Music week which leads up to absolute madness contained within downtown Miami, running from Tuesday the 15th of March to the early hours of Monday the 21st of March. With Miami Ultra Festival firmly placed as the grand finale starting on Friday the 18th of March.

This coming year The Prodigy are set to headline and no doubt rock an unforgettable and truly unmissable set, as well as the return of the Australian Drum & Bass getup Pendulum also currently known in recent years as Knife Party. Often credited for the global popularisation of the genre, fans can expect to witness a raw, high-octane live experience. The Ultra regular but always exciting return of Carl Cox after his final year of Space residency in Ibiza. showcasing his decades of DJ experience to his immersive Carl Cox arena and 12th year at Ultra Miami. The main stage at Ultra, which is broadcast round the world through UMF TV carries with it the faces of Avicii and Hardwell. Two names that bring energy, excitement and new music hurtling into everyones summer to come.

No one can deny Armin Van Buuren and Tiesto’s live performances and links with production quality have bought so many people to tears as they stand side by side, with people they have only just met in a crowd 50 thousand strong. The Bedroom DJ Martin Garrix has gone from strength to strength since his first appearance on the MainStage back in 2014 and will bring with him the love and admiration of his fans, that will no doubt give goosebumps those lucky enough to be attending Miami Music Weeks Ultra Festival 2016.

Afro Jack, the Giant of EDM music is hitting the main stage this coming 2016. With his continued success in 2015 and collaborative efforts with David Guetta, Niki Minaj a set from this music machine is not to be missed.

As ever, ULTRA will also be welcoming a huge array of the finest, most in-demand DJs on the planet. Headlining the festival across a broad selection of stages this March will be previously mentioned Afrojack, Armin Van Buuren, Avicii, Knife Party, Tiësto, Hardwell, Martin Garrix, Carl Cox. as well as David Guetta, Dubfire, Eric Prydz, Jamie Jones, Kaskade, Kygo, Loco Dice, Maceo Plex, Marco Carola, Seth Troxler, DJ Snake, and Zedd.

In a momentous nod to the festival’s very roots, the headline act for ULTRA’s very first edition, which took place on the sands of Miami Beach in 1999, will also be returning for their landmark reunion. None other than Rabbit In The Moon will be showcasing their visionary interpretation of psychedelic trance, house and breaks, as Ultranauts young and old prepare to witness a true slice of history.

Having made its Miami debut at the 2015 edition of Ultra Music Festival to critical acclaim, the RESISTANCE stage will be returning to Downtown Miami this March, bigger and better than ever before. After welcoming ‘The Afterburner’ in 2015, the 2016 RESISTANCE stage will transform into an entirely different beast dubbed ‘THE SPIDER’. Once again powered by UK Production Company Arcadia Spectacular, the 50 ton, 20m tall Spider structure is constructed from fully recycled materials and shoots flames up to 50 feet in the air while requiring an incredible 45 people to operate it!

Ultranauts will also witness an extra spectacle each day with the ‘Arcadia Landing Show’. A brand new addition to RESISTANCE this year, The Landing Show will see the Spider come to life, elevating the energy across the area to peak euphoria. Uniting a stunning range of creative elements and all the Spider's special effects, the show features interactive aerial performances, abductions, mechanical mayhem and breathtaking pyrotechnics as the Spider makes first contact. For further information on RESISTANCE watch the new trailer here and head to resistancemusic.com

Ultra Music Festival takes place during Miami Music Week and is an 18+ event. As Easter falls on the usual dates, next year’s edition will take place on March 18, 19 and 20, 2016. General Admission and VIP tickets are currently on sale priced at $324.95 and $1,249.95 respectively. Early Bird and Payment Plan tickets have now sold out so act fast to avoid disappointment. For further details and ticket information, head to ultramusicfestival.com

WATCH THE PHASE ONE TRAILER

With many more acts to be announced heres the full line up for 2016 Phase One.

ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL PHASE ONE LINEUP

Headliners

Afrojack

Armin van Buuren

Avicii

Caribou

Carl Cox

Chet Faker

David Guetta

Destroid

Dubfire

Eric Prydz

Hardwell

Jamie Jones

Kaskade

Knife Party

Kygo

Loco Dice

Maceo Plex

Marco Carola

Martin Garrix

Miike Snow

Nero

Pendulum RETURNS

The Prodigy

Purity Ring

Rabbit in the Moon LIVE Reunion

Seth Troxler

DJ Snake

Tiësto

Tycho

Zedd

Support

Alison Wonderland

AlunaGeorge

Aly & Fila

andhim

Andrew Rayel

Apollonia

Art Department

Carnage

The Chainsmokers

Duke Dumont

DVBBS

Fakear Live

Fedde Le Grand

Felix Jaehn

Galantis

Guy Gerber

Hot Since 82

Icona Pop

Jackmaster

JAUZ

Joris Voorn

Joseph Capriati

KSHMR

Laidback Luke

Lee Foss

Marshmello

The Martinez Brothers

Mind Against

Nic Fanciulli

Party Favor

Patrick Topping

Robin Schulz

Sam Feldt

Slander

Snails

SNBRN

Tchami

Technasia

Thomas Jack

Thugfucker

Vicetone

W&W

Yellow Claw

It was the Summer Festival Guide's first time at Miami's Ultra Music Festival and after last years amazing show and live video streams we were quite exicted to be there. Some of the biggest acts in the world play together at elbow's distance away at multiple different beautifully crafted stages. Miami Ultra has a range of different environments to excite and encourage your music pallet. The Iconic Main Stage has to be the most impressive but with stages like the live Amphitheatre and smaller stages like the UMF radio stage surrounded in Palm trees and lit with the glow of the high rise apartments surrounding BayFront Park there is something for everyone.

It was incredible to see how buzzed the locals and people attending the festival were yesterday. Just like being part of the live video stream but watching it from the ground rather than helicopter or flying in by speedboat down the coast. The main stage filled very quickly starting with The Chainsmokers known for their sweeping record “SELFIE” seen all over the internet and through apps like VINE and Instagram.

ShowTek and LaidBack Luke played early in the afternoon after doors opened at 3PM and the main arena quickly filled. Some of the most daring outfits and Slinky style EDM costumes covered in friend share beads to exchange to people they come into contact with were proudly on display and is something that is ingrained in Electronic Dance Music (EDM) now. Appearances from Sean Paul and Major Lazer was a surprise, performing songs from 2002 “Gimme the light”

Miami Ultra festival looks best during the dusk hours of the evening as light drops and the vibrancy of the stages is know to all Miami. The sun sets through the skyline and projects an orange glow over the main crowd arena area, Projectors light up the Intercontinental Miami Hotel overlooking the Bay Front. Big names one after the other hit the stages all round, causing the crowds to go insane and hustle to see their favourite artists. The energy is infectious and the fire and CO2 cannons create an incredible universe to saturate your senses, bouncing hands, one man in a wheel chair lifted to the crowds, the energy is that of the festival, electric!

Being Miami, you can only expect great weather and Friday & Sunday this year both had a massive amount of sun, and left many feeling a little red in the mornings after, UMF (Ultra Music Festival) are very health conscious and during set changes at the main stage they do remind people to pace themselves and to drink plenty of water.

News which hit everyone on Saturday afternoon projected through the UMF App was that Avicii who was set to play as the headline act on day two (Saturday Night) was in hospital and was to be replaced by the bright eyed trickster DeadMau5. Avicii suffered from health issues after he had been in pain again after initially seeking medical advise days before. Tim Bergling (Avicii) needed to return to hospital because the pain became too much to carry through his set Avicii is now set to have his Gall Bladder removed in a low risk surgical operation.

Replacement Joel Thomas Zimmerman aka DeadMau5's set that Saturday made for more music news, after trolling on Martin Garrix and his number 1 single “Animals” and replacing the drop with “Old McDonald had a Farm”. With the hook on repeat, Deadmau5 came out from behind the desk to cheer on the crowds. Zimmerman was extremely enthusiastic about how much he enjoyed “that” song.. (referencing “Old McDonald” instead of “Animals” by Martin Garrix).

Playing through on Saturday and Sunday on the live stage know as the Amphitheatre, organised by Live Nation acts like Dizzee Rascal playing “Bonkers”, Example “All the wrong places”, Chase and Status and Basement Jaxx played to which compared to the UK and Europe where they would normally be surrounded by thousands of people. This intimate stage seated around 500 this meant you could get up close and personal with your favourite rapper or DJ.

Still to come was the ever popular and quirky Mr David Guetta coming on penultimate Sunday at 9:40PM smashing an entrance with “My Freedom” and introducing the crowd to a new track called (Ten Feet Tall Culture Code Remix which Guetta remixed for Afrojack). You can imagine this brought a serious amount of fire and raised hands! This Mix can be listened to from the Live feed recorded that night here…

HardWell was set to take the lime light for the finale of the 2014 UMF Main stage. Starting slow like an introduction to a thriller movie, the built up gave you shivers and made your hair stand on end. Starting with an unidentified mix to build up and then dropping into the familiar but harder version of “My Freedom” got the crowd energised once more. Not that Miami Ultra fans ever seem to stop bouncing and dancing, his set featured “Dare You (Cash Cash Remix)” slowing into drums and percussion mixes then the boss of base hit everyone with a remixed version of Calvin Harris & Alesso’s “Under Control” To conclude another impressive year in Miami, Hardwell ended with an incredible song “Spaceman” which was one of my highlights. As he came to the front to thank everyone for an incredible year and for sharing it with him, Ultra send the Miami crowd crazy with an impressive set of fireworks, fire and the consistent cheering of a strong global crowd. Well done Ultra Music Festival, we can't wait to get back their next year.

For those in Europe, Ultra Europe hits Croatia this July, get your tickets now!

Photography by James Bridle

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