What can be said about Ultra Music Festival (UMF) that hasn’t been said a thousand times before? One of the world’s most iconic festivals, for over 20 years it’s been the centrepiece for the electronic music industry’s annual Miami excursion, first as part of the long-running Winter Music Conference, and now as the crescendo of Miami Music Week. First held on the beach, UMF now sprawls over Bayfront Park, boasting six areas and the biggest artists in the world. This year that meant headliners like trance icons Armin van Buuren and Above & Beyond, EDM dons Tiësto, Afrojack and Martin Garrix, techno titans like Carl Cox, Charlotte de Witte, I Hate Models and Joris Voorn, and huge back-to-back sets like Anyma B2B Solomun, Dom Dolla B2B John Summit. UMF’s drum & bass offering was strong this year, with DJs like Chase & Status, Andy C, LTJ Bukem, Dimension, Wilkinson and Hedex making the trip across the pond, and there was tech-house specialists like Patrick Topping and Mau P, hard dance favourites Brennan Heart and Sub Zero Project, and names like Four Tet, Ahadadream, and Skream B2B Interplanetary Criminal making sure all corners of dance music were covered. And with numerous events across the world forthcoming, there’s plenty to keep the Ultra ultras going until next March. BEN HINDLE
