What you need to know from Day One of Ultra Music Festival 2014
What you need to know from Day One of Ultra Music Festival 2014
With 88 new acts and 200,000 people, it is hard to argue the power that Ultra Music Festival holds in today’s electronic music market. Serving as one of the United States’ top music festival, UMF has attracted fans from around the world for a weekend of Americanized electro flavor help in Miami each year. At the conclusion of March, dance music fans make their pilgrimage to Bayfront Park to see exactly what UMF has in store. We have seen many artists rise to the top of their game when facing the beautiful Miami weather and receptive crowd. This year, the festival opened with a blast. Here are our top five moments from Ultra Music Festival Day One.
Eric Prydz's set a success, technical difficulties prevent HOLO
While fans worldwide were disappointed to hear that Eric Prydz’s highly anticipated HOLO show would not be played due to technical difficulties, an Eric Prydz show rarely disappoints – and his Ultra Mainstage set was no exception. Taking the stage after a monstrous and electro-heavy set from the “Find You” superstar Zedd, the king of progressive house gave unsuspecting big-room fans a taste of what’s to come next in his career. As per usual, the Swede provided a set riddled with “ID’s” that will leave Ultra attendees craving the tracks that turned them into progressive house believers for months to come. While fans scanned the sky for the promised “largest North American holographic show,” Prydz’s confidence carried the set through.
Ultra gets serious, pulls the plug on Gesaffelstein
When Ultra Music Festival sets a deadline, it’s a hard deadline, and the midnight performance cutoff is exemplary of that. As French House mogul Gesaffelstein rocked an extremely intimate headlining set on the Live Stage, a simplistic lighting setup, appealing-yet-barebone visuals, and exceptional live composure made for a special performance that served as an excellent alternative to the big-room Main Stage closer. However, the improvisation that the foreign talent implements into his set got him in trouble as he played a few moments past his 12am deadline. As his set crept into Saturday, Ultra pulled the plug on Gesaffelstein, and after fiddling with his own setup to ensure that it wasn’t his own faulty equipment, he applauded the fans that stuck with his hard-hitting set before leaving the stage with the utmost confidence.
Carl Cox's 10th Anniversary Megastructure Takeover
While Ultra has had its fair share of repeat performers, no artist holds the UMF legacy that Carl Cox does. Dominating the Megastructure for years on end, the techno legend has returned, with his friends in tow, for the 10th year anniversary of the Carl Cox & Friends concept. While the Ibiza resident plans to play multiple sets throughout the weekend, he took to the decks alone on night one and presented a memorable, European-flavored performance. Rocking an extended hour-and-thirty-minute set, Carl filled the Megastructure to its brim, with sound, lights, and even fans overflowing into the festival walkway.
Carnage brings you #ASOC
While his sound is certainly polarizing, Carnage can undoubtedly put on a show filled with mayhem. With guests Junkie Kid, DVBBS, and Waka Flocka Flame, the Chipotle-fiend drew a massive crowd even during a headlining slot with massive competition. Titling his performance “A State of Carnage,” the Ultra Worldwide stage could not be contained by the large arch that holds its staging and lighting; the hill adjacent to the general pit was crammed with fans bobbing to the festival-trap beat. With multiple track premieres and tunes that have finally been identified through Carnage’s tendency to jump on the mic during his sets, #ASOC was a massively entertaining success.
Tiesto brings out Icona Pop, closes out day one
A day packed to the brim with dance music’s finest talent came to a close with the world-trotting Tiësto dominating the crowd. No stranger to the Main Stage, the Dutch legend brought a set crafted with its high production value in mind. An energetic set combined with high fan participation, plenty of pyrotechnics, and a fireworks show to be reckoned with would have been enough for Tiësto to leave the stage with a solid performance under his belt. However, he had other plans in mind – in the form of a guest appearance from Icona Pop for a live performance of Tiësto’s remix to “I Don’t Care.” Closing the day in a special way, fans anticipate what Deadmau5 and Hardwell will do to on one of the world’s biggest stages when they close the festival on Saturday and Sunday.