Another year, another Ultra Music Festival. We here at Crossfade always make the annual pilgrimage to Ultra land. And from one UMF to the next, there is a lot of stuff that’s not-so-shockingly new. Or as Deadmau5 might screech: “It’s the same fucking thing every year!” Inevitably, though, there’s also…
If you’ve got ears, Ultra Music Festival is a pretty fun time. But if you’ve also got eyes, it’s amaaaaaaaaazing. Basically, this sprawling EDM fest is a phantasmagoric fun parade starring famous people, nearly naked ladies, the beefiest of beefcakes, the kandiest of ravers, and the most ridiculously costumed of…
At every single musical gathering, there is an enclave of pretty ladies ready to party. Now, unlike the country gals at a Willie Nelson concert or even the MILFs squabbling for a seat at a taping of the X Factor, Ultra Music Festival features fine-ass females of the very undressed…
We’ve all seen them. They’re gorgeous, perfectly unattainable beauties with grace, poise, and loads of talent. They’re the go-go dancers of Ultra Music Festival, and they’re dressed in fantastic costumes, floating from the rafters, and charming the crowd from lofty pedestals flanked by fire and lasers. But who are these…
“Hello, my name is Giovanni Giorgio. But you can call me Giorgio,” he says before kicking off his hour-and-a-half set on the rooftop of the Gale Hotel on South Beach. Reality is, the man needs no introduction. He’s Giorgio Moroder, one of the 20th century’s most influential record producers. He’s…
What is it about Ultra Music Festival that makes the young kids go crazy? Can this year’s UMF top the twin weekends of 2013? Does it live up to the hype? What’s better: PLUR or molly? These are the hard-hitting questions that we asked the brave souls of Ultra 2014…
Winter Music Conference and Ultra Music Festival have always been the place where new dance music records, artists, and genres are broken and made. If your track catches fire at Ultra, you’re guaranteed to have the best year of your career so far. Play your cards right, and you’ll definitely…
Grumpiest Cat For a festival plump with PLUR, it was certainly odd to see a Grumpy Cat prowling amid the bubblegum-colored tutus. He was testing the saccharine smiles of kandi ravers. But nothing, not even this guy, could bring the party down with a frown. Well, maybe the stench lurking…
Beats, beauties, bass, booties, brawn, bras, and some valuable life experience. That’s what it takes to make an Ultra Music Festival, as far as a fashionista is concerned. You’ve never seen anything like the get-ups these people wear for their get-down. Luckily, you don’t need to go to Ultra to…
Muscles were so big at this year’s Ultra Music Festival. Like, they were just as huge a trend as they looked on the shoulders, chests, buttocks, thighs … You get the idea: Beefcakes ruled the EDM blowout. We couldn’t creep near the Carl Cox text without getting an exposed male…
Deep Dish With Carl Craig, Hot Since 82, and Andhim Ice Palace Film Studios, Miami Saturday, March 29, 2014 Deep Dish is officially back. And the Grammy-winning house duo’s Winter Music Conference and Miami Music Week reunion at Ice Palace Film Studios proved to be nothing but sheer perfection. “I’m…
Uhntz, uhntz, uhntz, uhntz, uhntz. There are 50,000 people partying at Ultra Music Festival right now. And they hope it will never end. But there are probably many, many, many times that number of Miami residents (especially the Biscayne condo dwellers) who are at least a little eager for the…
He is EDM’s evil stepchild. Many hail Deadmau5 as “my fave DJ!” Some refer to the King Rat as the “Troll of Trolls.” Others whisper “asshole.” For years, Joel Zimmerman, the human who wears that famous rodent helmet for a living, has been cultivating a reputation (mainly via Twitter) as…
Those who rave presumably adhere to the values of PLUR: peace, love, unity, respect. While attending Ultra Music Festival, we wondered if the fans’ philosophical perspectives were broader than those four words. And also, had they, in their PLUR-verse, uncovered answers to existence’s most puzzling questions? Were they simply nihilists…
Ultra Music Festival is nothing if not gnarly. The beats are gnarly, the people are gnarly, the portable toilets are gnarly. It’s stank-face city, bro. But even more than the sight of no toilet paper, it’s those dirty beats — dutch, dub, or otherwise — that make us twist our…
Whoa! Bro! You got boobs! For the last couple of years at Ultra Music Festival, male ravers have rocked increasingly explicit, sometimes anatomically correct, and often innuendo-emblazoned tees, resulting in many LOLs and WTFs. Some are funny. Others are gross. And others still are straight-up creeeeeepy. We’ve carefully tracked the…
Once ridiculed as the hilariously embarrassing accessory of choice for fat American tourists, the fanny pack is now a practical piece of party gear for hot, young EDM fanatics. At music fests such as Miami’s Ultra, it has become a ubiquitous carry-all for scantily clad ravers with no pockets. Easy,…
Much like the actual weather in this era of global warming, the emotional climate at Ultra Music Festival’s live stage is wildly unpredictable. The fans might love it. They might hate it. It’s always tough to predict. But the fervor and size of the audience often mirrors the enthusiasm, though…
We all know the words to the song. But is Rihanna telling the truth? Is it really possible to find love in a hopeless place? Ultra Music Festival can sometimes seem to be as hopeless a place as any for finding a true connection. You’re lucky just to find toilet…
If you think rave culture is about the music or drugs, you’re so very wrong. Above all, it’s about the look. And at a rave: the freakier, the finer. Year after year, fans of EDM and friends of Molly help the culture evolve with their fashion choices at Miami’s Ultra…
Only 48 hours to go? Well, hell … It’s time to pack ten parties onto tonight’s plan. From the Deep Dish reunion at Ice Palace to Boys Noize and crew in Wynwood, Maceo Plex and Miami’s own Danny Daze at Trade, and inumerable other Winter Music Conference and Miami Music…
Avicii has canceled his Ultra Music Festival headlining set. Last night, the Swedish superstar also nixed a show as part of his Avicii Hotel takeover of the SLS before before being rushed to the hospital after he “got sick,” according to a member of his team. And now the fest’s…
