If you’re an electronic music fan Ultra Music Festival in Miami is either at the top end of your bucket list or at the every least an event you’ve attended before.
Since its inception in 1999 the event has become synonymous with electronic music. Not withstanding the impact the Ultra Music company has made to the landscape since it was formed in 1995.
Then of course you take into account the sprawling success of the festival and its ever growing number of events and its attitudes towards globalization becomes truly apparent.
Ultra Music Festival has now hosted mass parties in Ibiza, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, South Korea and Croatia (and set to expand into Australia in 2014).
While the first Colombian edition is set for February of this year. Just as Johannesburg and Cape Town will both get their own events in that same month.
Such a massive expansion though couldn’t have taken place without the success of the original event.
As the home of Ultra Music Festival the 2013 and 15th Anniversary of the event took place over two weekends.
Although unlike Coachella or Austin City Limits the 2014 event will go back to its original three-day formula.
The move for its 15th birthday though does demonstrate just how much the Miami Ultra has maintained its popularity not only amongst Americans but from foreigners regardless of whether they have such an event in their home country or not.
Its audience of over 55,000 people per day only furthers this sentiment. With a slew of world-class DJs and live music dance acts booked every year in a city renowned for its electronic music Ultra Music Festival for many is the pinnacle of electronica events.
Lineup
The 16th edition of this electronic music event will be headlined by world class DJ’s such as Swedish native Avicii, serial collaborator David Guetta, Dutch producer Tiesto, Diplo, Carl Cox and Armin Van Buuren just to name a few.
Live sets will be provided by British rapper Dizzee Rascal, psychedelic duo MGMT and Sri-Lankan born MIA all of which who released albums in 2013.
Joining them will be Australian acts such as Empire Of The Sun and Cut Copy with more phases of acts to be announced closer to the festival date.
You can see the full list of who has already been announced here.
Where And When
This event will take place over three days from the 28th to the 30th of March. Ultra is held in downtown Miami at the Bayfront Park.
How To Get There
Flights to Miami can be booked through Delta Airlines, JetStar, Qantas and American Airlines amongst others. Most flights will include a stopover in Los Angeles.
The following are a list of approximated return airfares from major Australian cities that were available at the time of writing.
Adelaide: Two-stop flights are valued at around $2000 with a stopover in Sydney and LA, while three stop journeys start from $2200.
Brisbane: One-stop flights start from $2000, while two-stop journeys are valued upwards of $1800.
Melbourne: One-stop flights are valued upwards of $2000, while two-stop journeys are valued around the same price.
Perth: Two-stop flights are valued upwards of $2000.
Sydney: One-stop flights start from $2000, while two-stop journeys are valued upwards of $2200.
Depending on the location of your accommodation getting to Bayfront Park should require only minimal stress. While some punters may opt to take a taxi you can use public transport if you want a cheaper option. Just take the Metrorail to the Government Centre Station and transfer to the Metromover where you should take the Inner Loop to the Bayfront Park station.
Where To Stay
In a city the size of Miami you can of course expect numerous choices for accommodation. Although be wary that for this weekend some spots will be booked out far in advance.
Hostel wise we recommend Miami Beach International Travelers Hostel, AAE Miami Beach Lombardy Hostel, Jazz on South Beach Hostel and Deco Walk Hostel.
If hotels are more your thing there are an abundance of options near Bayfront Park that will be convenient for your stay. Some of them include Intercontinental Miami, Holiday Inn Hotel Port Of Miami, B2 Miami Downtown, Viceroy Miami and Miami Sun Hotel.
How To Get Tickets
With VIP tickets to Ultra already sold out you’re left with the only choice of GA 3 day passes.
Tickets will set you back US $400 with a $90 service fee on top of that. To add to that the delivery fee for Australian customers is another US $30.
You can purchase your tickets by following this link.
Insider Tips & Tricks/Things You Shouldn’t Miss
As Ultra veterans will tell you there is much more to this festival than just the top tier acts playing the main stages. While hitting up the Avicii’s of the festival on the main stage is a must for many, most recommend that you spend all your other time checking acts at the other various stages. It is after all a three-day event and three days in the biggest mosh pit of the entire festival isn’t always good for everybody’s sanity.
If not for a bit of relief than venture out to check out the stages that Ultra have developed. Each year they come up with interesting new areas to showcase electronic music from. For example the 2012 event had the UMF Worldwide stage to celebrate the festivals expansion into new countries, while the Carl Cox tent got rebranded for each day of the event in the same year.
Ultra usually coincides with Miami Music Week which means there are even more gigs for punters to take advantage of if they have the energy. There are also plenty of after parties (and pool parties no less) and DJ sets that will be announced around the city much closer to the festival.
Water is essential, as just like summer Australian festivals Miami can get very hot. You can take your own water bottle in and there are plenty of water refilling stations throughout the festival site.
Past attendees will no doubt attest to the toilet facilities lack of toilet paper with many suggesting that napkins from the food stalls are your next option if you run into trouble!
For more details head to the official Ultra Music Festival website.
