The 2026 edition sold out with 165,000 attendees from over 100 countries, and the festival says its #ULTRALIVE livestream reached 42.5 million people worldwide. Phase 1 for 2027 leans into that momentum with a mix of returning headliners, world-debut collaborations and a handful of brand-new show concepts. You can see the full poster at the bottom.

Topping the announcement is Calvin Harris, who returns to Ultra Miami for the first time since his 2024 headlining set. The GRAMMY-winning producer built his catalog on tracks with Rihanna, Dua Lipa, Sam Smith and Ellie Goulding, and his last Ultra appearance was one of the bigger main stage moments of that year.

Ultra is also billing two rare back-to-back pairings as centerpieces of Phase 1. Marshmello B2B Subtronics will mark a world debut, pairing Marshmello’s pop-leaning melodic style with Subtronics’ heavier dubstep sound design — two artists who’ve each headlined Ultra on their own but never shared a set together. Alongside that, Boris Brejcha B2B Eric Prydz Presents Cirez D will make its U.S. debut, bringing together Brejcha’s high-tech minimal sound with the darker techno of Prydz’s Cirez D alias.

The lineup also brings back several Ultra regulars. Martin Garrix, who first played Ultra Miami in 2014 at age 17, returns for another headlining slot, and his label STMPD RCRDS will host its first festival stage takeover since 2022 in celebration of its 10th anniversary. Dom Dolla comes back for his first solo Ultra Miami set since 2022, following his 2025 B2B with John Summit under their Everything Always project. AFROJACK will perform a live set at Ultra Miami for the first time, while Armin van Buuren and Steve Aoki round out the returning headliner class.

RESISTANCE and New Show Concepts

On the techno and house side, RESISTANCE will host debut Ultra Miami stage takeovers from Mau P’s Baddest Behaviour and Adam Beyer’s Drumcode. The brand will also bring the U.S. festival debut of Miss Monique Presents BIORHYTHM, an audiovisual show built around the relationship between technology and nature, plus the U.S. debut of Nico Moreno B2B NOVAH. Additional RESISTANCE headliners include Michael Bibi, I Hate Models and Indira Paganotto.

Hard techno artist Sara Landry will present the U.S. debut of Divine Intervention, a new visual production tied to her upcoming sophomore album. Over on the Live Stage, SOFI TUKKER will headline the first-ever curated Live Stage takeover in Ultra Miami history with the debut of their live show, SOFI TUKKER Presents Animal Talk.

Phase 1 debuts at Ultra Miami also include DJ Pee .Wee (Anderson .Paak’s DJ alias), German producer BUNT., and rising house artist it’s murph. Elsewhere, Alison Wonderland and Tiffany Day will team up for their first-ever festival B2B. The roster is rounded out by festival veterans including Liquid Stranger, Boys Noize, Klangkuenstler and HOLY PRIEST, along with returning takeovers from A State Of Trance marking its 15th Ultra Miami appearance and Vini Vici’s Alteza Records hosting its second dedicated psytrance showcase.

A Surprise Artist?

Ultra also slipped in a surprise artist on the lineup poster without much fanfare. Given that the lineup is in ABC order and the logo is usually preserved, our best guess is that this is ISOKNOCK, the collaborative project of ISOxo and Knock2. The logo silhouette looks like theirs and the alphabetical order make it hard to think of anybody else it could be. Plus the number of characters also matches. What do you think?

Tickets for Ultra Music Festival 2027 are on sale now at ultramusicfestival.com, with additional phases of the lineup expected in the coming months.

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Office raves, arcade raves and a McDonald’s dance floor

HBO’s version landed on January 29, when it teamed up with Boiler Room to promote season four of Industry, its drama about young London finance workers. After an invite-only screening of episode four, fans who had applied for free invites got into a Brooklyn warehouse party with The Dare, Chicken, Kassie Krut and Justin Strauss on the decks and cast members on the floor. HBO’s marketing team told the Journal it treats these nights as content machines: the crowd in the room is one audience, and everyone who sees the footage in their feeds is the bigger one.

Spotify and LinkedIn took a different route on April 1 with an office-themed party in New York for former accountant John Summit ahead of his album CTRL ESCAPE. Spotify built the guest list from his top listeners in the city, the same superfan targeting that drives its Reserved ticketing program.

It isn’t only media companies. McDonald’s let DJ Snake turn its Champs-Élysées restaurant in Paris into a late-night rave in June 2023 to launch his signature meal and a Pardon My French capsule collection, then brought in Loud Luxury to DJ Grimace’s birthday party in Chicago in June 2025. Dave & Buster’s started hosting ticketed arcade raves at its Hollywood location in early 2023, selling more than 1,000 tickets within an hour, then rolled the format out to cities from Miami to Brooklyn with the Brownies & Lemonade crew among its partners.

The vampire test

Not everyone in the scene would call these raves. London DJ and NTS Radio host Toshiki Ohta told the Journal that brands risk looking vampiric when they take from rave culture without giving anything back, and that earning a place takes years of steady support. The brand he held up as having done it was Red Bull, which he credited with “quite a significant financial and cultural contribution” to dance music.

Red Bull’s 28-year head start

Red Bull Music Academy started in Berlin in 1998 as a traveling bootcamp for up-and-coming producers and DJs, counted Flying Lotus, Nina Kraviz and Objekt among its alumni, and ran for more than 20 years before it shut down along with Red Bull Radio on October 31, 2019.

The brand never left the festival grounds. At Coachella, the Red Bull Mirage returned for its second year in April as a three-story, 20,000-square-foot hospitality space with DJ sets, a club looking out on the Quasar stage and Nobu omakase on reservation. At Ultra, Red Bull is hard to miss anywhere in Bayfront Park. Past editions have brought custom Red Bull booths wrapped in its blue, red and yellow graphics and a big blue Red Bull tent, and in March this year it was the official energy drink, running a two-story bar by the main stage with a VIP viewing deck up top plus a shipping container bar. Its tents and bars are a fixture at Canadian festivals too, from VELD in Toronto to FVDED in the Park in Surrey.

It also throws its own. Red Bull teamed up with Brightline in 2024 on NEXT STOP: ULTRA, a train takeover with DJ sets from Orlando to Miami. On June 20 this year, Red Bull Midsummer ran daytime events in New York, Tokyo, Mumbai, Vienna, Berlin, London and Los Angeles, linked by a live broadcast over 28 hours. Lineups were built with local promoters and collectives, putting FISHER, Jyoty, DJ Seinfeld and TOKiMONSTA alongside homegrown acts.

Celsius powers Breakaway

Celsius took the newer route of attaching itself to one festival brand and growing with it. It signed on as presenting sponsor of Breakaway for all 10 tour stops in 2024, then renewed for 2025 as Breakaway expanded to 12 cities, adding a Celsius Vibe House with games and sampling, hydration stations and pre-show fitness classes with festival DJs. Breakaway’s 2026 run grew again to 14 cities, presented once more by Celsius. Three straight years as presenting sponsor while the tour keeps adding markets is about as clear a sign of a partnership working as the festival business offers.

Lululemon runs it back with John Summit

Lululemon has its own dance music tradition in Vancouver. SeaWheeze, the half marathon it launched in 2012, finishes with a Sunset Festival, and after the last in-person race in 2019 and two virtual pandemic editions, it went dark for years. It returned this August with John Summit headlining the Sunset Festival at Brockton Oval in Stanley Park, and lululemon says nearly 10,000 runners from 24 countries took part while 15,000 people came out for the party.

Summit and lululemon had been building toward that for a while. In September 2025, he joined a lululemon community run at The Vessel in New York that ended with a surprise DJ set on the High Line, and a month later he soundtracked a lululemon sunrise HIIT class in Boulder hours before playing to more than 50,000 people at Folsom Field. At his Experts Only Ski Weekender in Whistler in March, lululemon ran Mat Pilates, yoga and sound bath sessions at the Audain Art Museum, and the two now sell a co-branded Experts Only // lululemon tech tee built for running, training and skiing.

BeatBox puts DJs on its art car

BeatBox started in 2012 at the University of Texas at Austin, took $1 million from Mark Cuban on Shark Tank in 2014, and built its brand at festivals, showing up at more than 300 festivals and live events in 2025. Its BoomBox Art Car rolls through Insomniac festivals, including EDC Las Vegas and HARD Summer this year, and it returns for two nights at Escape Halloween on October 30 and 31. For Dreamstate SoCal 2024, it ran a DJ casting call through Insomniac’s Discovery Project that gave selected unknowns a set on the art car, festival passes and $500 toward travel. That’s the kind of detail that separates sponsoring a rave from feeding one. Anheuser-Busch agreed in December 2025 to buy 85% of BeatBox for $490 million.

Ghost goes all in on Insomniac

Las Vegas-area energy brand Ghost made the biggest single bet of the group. In May 2023, it signed a multi-year deal to become the exclusive energy drink at every Insomniac festival and event, debuting at EDC Las Vegas with a glow-in-the-dark Wide Awake Watermelon can and bars along Rainbow Road. More EDC flavors followed, including Electric Limeade in 2024 and Kinetic Colada for the 30th anniversary in May, and Ghost now sits behind the bars at everything from EDC to Beyond Wonderland. Keurig Dr Pepper agreed in 2024 to buy a 60% stake in the company for $990 million, so the budget for this kind of presence isn’t going anywhere. By Ohta’s measure, Ghost is three years into a test Red Bull has been passing for nearly three decades.

Festivals put brand names on the stages

EDC Las Vegas shows how deep brand programming now runs at a major festival. Alongside the BeatBox art car, this year’s 30th anniversary edition had eight art cars and side stages, and three of them carried a sponsor’s name on the sign: the Takis Zone, the Electrolit Hydration House and CASA BACARDÍ at Daisy Fields.

Hip-hop festivals sell the same real estate. When Rolling Loud set up at Camping World Stadium in Orlando in May for its only US edition of the year, its main stage was the Under Armour Stage, where headliners including Don Toliver and Playboi Carti performed. Under Armour signed on as the festival’s exclusive performance apparel partner and built a Fit For The Pit hub with recovery and fitness lounges, giveaways and limited-edition Rolling Loud x Under Armour gear.

Coachella runs its brand programming on an even bigger scale. BizBash’s roundup of this year’s top Coachella activations ran to 30 entries, from Coca-Cola’s retro Pop Shop diner to Pinterest’s phone-free space. The one with the longest run is Heineken, which marked its 23rd year as Coachella’s official beer in April, and hosting Heineken House stage at Coachella every year since 2014.

The brands that skip the party

Some of the clearest passes on Ohta’s test have nothing to do with a branded stage. Jägermeister’s Save the Night campaign, launched in 2020, has run a grant fund for nightlife projects since 2022 alongside RA and London’s fabric. The 2025 pot was €156,000 for projects built around safety, inclusion and sustainability, and Jägermeister counts more than 1,200 projects supported across over 60 countries since the campaign began. Boiler Room, HBO’s partner on the Industry night, has a long-running brand relationship of its own. Ballantine’s has backed Boiler Room’s True Music series since the mid-2010s, and the pair marked 10 years together in 2024 with 10 events across cities like London and Johannesburg plus 10 grants for local music organizations and collectives.

After the campaign ends

HBO’s marketing lead was upfront with the Journal that its parties are built to make people feel a show, not to throw a rave for its own sake. That’s an honest pitch, and a free Boiler Room night with a strong local lineup is a good deal for the people inside. The brands ravers trust earned it the slow way, through academies, grants, art car slots and festivals that kept running long after any one campaign. Whether this year’s newcomers join them comes down to Ohta’s test: who is still paying into the scene once the show has wrapped and the album cycle is over.

Watch The Dare’s set from the Boiler Room x HBO’s Industry night below.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

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The trains themselves are not part of the filing. According to Brightline’s announcement, Brightline Trains Florida LLC, the company that actually runs the Miami-to-Orlando service, will not file and “will continue to operate in the ordinary course” under its existing management. Brightline Florida Holdings LLC and AAF Operations Holdings LLC are also staying out of court. The company’s Instagram put it more simply the same day: business as usual.

What the deal looks like

The filing comes with a Restructuring Support Agreement already signed with Assured Guaranty and an ad hoc group of mutual fund bondholders. That agreement lines up $490 million in new long-term capital for the train operator: $350 million in new junior debt and $140 million in additional senior debt. The company’s $2.2 billion Series 2024 bond issue and its bond insurance stay in place, and three other bond series totaling roughly $2.2 billion remain outstanding with no reduction in principal. A bankruptcy judge still has to sign off.

Brightline pointed to 14% ridership growth and 17% revenue growth through August compared to the same stretch of 2025, and said it will keep pursuing a new station in Cocoa, commuter service in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties and an extension from Orlando to Tampa.

South to Miami

For dance music fans in Florida, Brightline has become part of Miami Music Week. In March 2024, it teamed up with Red Bull on the NEXT STOP: ULTRA train takeover, running DJ sets from Orlando down to downtown Miami, with late-night return trains through Ultra weekend. The takeover came back for Ultra’s 25th anniversary in 2025. This year, Brightline ran an $89 silent disco train from West Palm Beach, Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale on Friday, March 27, landing riders at MiamiCentral in the middle of a Miami Music Week that ran March 24 to 29, and in time for Ultra’s opening day.

The line runs the other way for EDC Orlando. Back in 2023, the Orlando extension was racing to be ready by EDC Orlando, giving South Florida ravers a way to reach the festival without the drive up the turnpike.

Long live the pwemium wounge

Brightline also handed the scene one of its most quoted inside jokes. On November 10, 2024, the Sunday of that year’s EDC Orlando, John Summit posted a TikTok from a Brightline Premium lounge on his way to the festival. His delivery turned “premium lounge” into “pwemium wounge,” the clip passed 2.5 million plays, and fans have been repeating it ever since. Summit kept the bit going too. He brought a “pwemium wounge” to the first edition of his Experts Only Festival in September 2025, and this year it became an official stage: the Pwemium Lounge, an indie dance room that ran alongside the Main Stage and Mirror Field when Experts Only returned to Randall’s Island on September 19 and 20.

With service continuing as normal, the pwemium wounge stays open, and anyone planning to ride up for EDC Orlando at Tinker Field, November 6 to 8, should not see any change to their trip.

Source: Brightline

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Ultra Music Festival 2027 is set for Friday, March 26 through Sunday, March 28, 2027, back at its longtime home in Downtown Miami. The waitlist for #ULTRA2027 is live now for fans looking to get first access when tickets go on sale.

The announcement comes on the heels of a sold-out 26th edition this past March, which ran from Friday, March 27 through Sunday, March 29 at Bayfront Park. That weekend delivered a handful of moments that are already part of Ultra lore — Skrillex popping up unannounced during BZRP’s headlining set, Swedish House Mafia turning their Main Stage slot into a festival-within-a-festival that included a rare back-to-back from Eric Prydz, and John Summit bringing out Feid to close things out on the Main Stage.

Now, ahead of the 2027 edition, Ultra is letting fans relive last year’s festival with the release of its official aftermovie, titled SYNCHRONICITY.

The film comes from Final Kid Films, the studio behind previous Ultra aftermovies, and takes a more narrative approach than a typical highlight reel. SYNCHRONICITY is structured as an emotional prologue followed by five chapters — Anticipation, Connection, Release, Surrender and Unity — tracking the arc of the festival experience from small individual moments to the kind of collective, tens-of-thousands-strong euphoria Ultra has built its reputation on. Notably, the entire film was shot with real cinematography, with no AI-generated imagery involved.

Final Kid Films founder Charly Friedrichs returns as director, creative director and main editor on the project. This time around, though, Friedrichs brought in other members of the Final Kid team as co-directors, with each one handling their own chapter of the film — a first for an Ultra aftermovie.

Ultra has held its Miami festival at Bayfront Park for over two decades, and it remains one of the anchor events of Miami Music Week each spring, drawing artists and fans from across the global dance music circuit. With the 2027 dates locked in and the waitlist now open, fans interested in early access to tickets can sign up through Ultra Music Festival’s official website. Now we wait for Phase 1 to come very soon!

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The festival, held annually in the town of Boom, Belgium, draws around 400,000 visitors across two weekends. With more than a dozen stages and hundreds of artists on the bill each edition, the scale of the operation is hard to match. That combination of production ambition and consistent programming has clearly resonated with fans globally, who turned out in unprecedented numbers to vote this cycle.

Founders Michiel and Manu Beers responded to the news: “Being voted the world’s No. 1 festival for a sixth consecutive year is an incredible honour and something we deeply appreciate. This recognition belongs to the entire Tomorrowland family: our visitors, artists, partners, suppliers and the thousands of people who work passionately behind the scenes throughout the year. It motivates us to keep innovating, keep dreaming and continue creating magical experiences that bring people together from every corner of the world.“

DJ Mag’s Top 100 Festivals poll launched in 2019 with a DJ panel selecting winners. After a Covid hiatus, it reopened to public voting in 2022 — and vote counts have climbed every year since, mirroring the trajectory of the publication’s better-known Top 100 DJs ranking.

How the Rest of the Top 10 Shook Out

EDC Las Vegas jumps back to second place following its 30th anniversary edition in May, making it the highest-ranked North American festival this year. That pushes Ultra Music Festival down to fourth, with Romania’s UNTOLD holding steady in third.

The rest of the top 10 includes Creamfields (7th), Kappa FuturFestival (8th), Glastonbury (9th — currently on a fallow year), and Germany’s PAROOKAVILLE (10th). India’s Sunburn holds its position as the highest-ranked Asian festival in the top 10. Notably, Coachella drops out of the top 10 for the first time in the poll’s history, landing at No. 12.

Three festivals broke into the top 20 this year: Austria’s Electric Love (up to 11th), EDC Orlando (16th), and Greece’s PRIMER, which jumped 23 spots to land at 19th. Mysteryland returns to the top 20 for the first time since 2022, while Time Warp and Dekmantel hold at 14th and 17th respectively.

On the country breakdown, the US leads with 15 ranked festivals — up two on last year — with new entry III Points (Miami) and the return of Beyond Wonderland (SoCal) contributing to that count. The UK and Netherlands each claim nine spots, with hard techno event VERKNIPT Festival as the new Dutch entry. UK festival Houghton takes this year’s Highest Climber award, rising 43 places to land, fittingly, at No. 43. The event, organized by fabric resident Craig Richards, has been a fixture of British underground electronic music since 2017.

Germany and Thailand both sit at seven festivals each, rounding out the top five countries. Germany’s new entry is NATURE ONE, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2025. Thailand’s addition is WHITE PARTY BANGKOK — the first dedicated LGBTQ+ festival to appear in the poll — making Thailand the Asian country with the most ranked festivals, a title it also holds in DJ Mag’s Top 100 Clubs poll.

There are eight new entries in total this year. The Highest New Entry award goes to Indonesia’s Scream Or Dance, a Halloween-focused event landing at No. 71. The other newcomers include Ultra Argentina, GMO Sonic Storm in Japan, and The Magic Of Tomorrowland — the Chinese extension of the Belgian flagship, which made its debut in 2025.

The full Top 100 Festivals 2026 list is available now at djmag.com/top100festivals.

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Following another sold-out edition in Downtown Miami from March 27-29, 2026, Ultra’s sixth annual Mission: Home program reached significant new milestones. The festival diverted over 114,000 pounds of waste from landfills while continuing to build on its track record of environmental impact.

Since launching in 2019, Mission: Home has educated over 9.1 million people worldwide, diverted more than half a million pounds of waste from landfills, and donated over 108,000 pounds of food, beverages, and supplies back to the local Miami community. The program continues to evolve each year, driving measurable change across partners, vendors, staff, and festival-goers.

Historic Zero-Emission RESISTANCE Cove Stage

The defining achievement of Ultra 2026 was the debut of a completely battery-powered RESISTANCE Cove Stage. This marked the first time a major U.S. electronic music festival has powered an entire stage using a zero-emission system, setting a new standard for sustainable festival production.

The battery system deployment avoided approximately 18,740 pounds of carbon emissions — equivalent to driving a car from Miami to New York and back eight times. Ultra developed this groundbreaking system in partnership with REVERB, the organization behind sustainability programs for major artists and festivals worldwide.

The zero-emission stage represents a significant technological advancement for the festival industry. Traditional festival stages rely on diesel generators that produce substantial carbon emissions throughout multi-day events. Ultra’s battery-powered alternative demonstrates that large-scale electronic music events can operate major stages without fossil fuel dependency.

Beyond the environmental benefits, the battery system also eliminated noise pollution typically associated with generator operations, creating a better experience for both artists and attendees at the RESISTANCE Cove Stage.

The 65 sustainability initiatives implemented across Ultra 2026 covered areas including waste management, energy consumption, transportation, and community engagement. The festival’s waste diversion efforts focused on recycling, composting, and donation programs that kept materials out of landfills while benefiting local Miami organizations.

Mission: Home’s community impact extends beyond environmental measures through food recovery programs and supply donations. The initiative reflects Ultra’s broader commitment to responsible festival production and its role as a leader in the electronic music industry’s sustainability movement.

Ultra plans to expand the zero-emission stage concept for future editions while continuing to develop new sustainability initiatives. The success of the battery-powered RESISTANCE Cove Stage provides a blueprint for other major festivals looking to reduce their environmental impact without compromising production quality.

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The complaint focuses mostly on noise levels. Residents claim Ultra has exceeded the city’s 95-decibel limit in recent editions. The lawsuit describes the experience as “overwhelming“. Still, the context matters. Ultra is not just another event. It’s one of the most iconic electronic music festivals in the world. Founded over 20 years ago, it draws around 165,000 fans across three days and regularly hosts the biggest names in dance music.

Noise complaints are not new. They have followed the festival for years as downtown Miami evolved into a more residential area. Some residents say the sound can “disrupt daily life“. At the same time, Ultra has consistently pointed to sound monitoring systems and agreements with the city to stay within guidelines. Organizers track levels at stages and nearby buildings during the event.

It is also the crowning event upon which the international, week-long event known as Miami Music Week comes to an end. Certainly, one of the most important weeks for Miami’s cultural scene and high-end, international traveling scenes and communities.

Ultra Mu

sic Festival Miami lawsuit

The economic impact also shapes the conversation. Ultra drives millions into Miami’s local economy during Miami Music Week. Hotels sell out. Clubs, bars, and venues across the city run at full capacity. For many in the industry, the festival supports jobs and fuels an entire week that keeps Miami at the center of global electronic music.

Ultra Responds To The Lawsuit

Local 10 News asked the festival for comments, and Ultra replied, we’d like to say, with style, grace, and flying colors:

For now, Ultra moves forward. The music keeps playing. And Miami, once again, finds itself balancing nightlife culture with city living.

Ultra Music Festival Miami lawsuit Ultra Music Festival Miami lawsuit

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The ever-complaining Downtown Neighbors Alliance, a group of NIMBY locals that perpetually oppose Ultra, pushed hard for another delay to the vote, asking for more engagement with locals before making a decision. Despite that, the commissioners voted to keep Ultra at Bayfront Park for 20 years. Not only that, but the new deal allows Ultra additional time for buildout and teardown, which means more intricate and impressive production and activations at the festival site.

Ultra wasted no time taking a well-deserved victory lap on Instagram, featuring a quote from Ultra’s Co-Founder and CEO. You can read it in full below. That means Ultra Music Festival is safe and secure at Bayfront Park until 2038, which is great news for dance music fans in Miami and around the world.

Being born and raised in Miami, and having started Ultra here in 1999, makes today incredibly special. We are deeply appreciative of the opportunity to continue producing Ultra at Bayfront Park in the City of Miami. With Ultra spanning all corners of the globe, Miami is home. Nearly three decades on, Ultra and Miami are synonymous, defining a global music and lifestyle culture.” – @russellfaibisch, Co-Founder & CEO

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Despite more than a decade in the industry, Ookay greeted the moment with the same laid-back energy fans have come to know. As we talked about his latest project type:era—released via Dim Mak—and his set during the Dim Mak takeover at Ultra Music Festival, it quickly became clear that this release represents more than just another EP. For him, it marks a new chapter creatively and personally.

“It kind of felt like the stars aligned with where my music has been heading,” Ookay tells EDMTunes. “Dim Mak has been really supportive, giving me a platform to showcase this new direction.”

The EP blends melodic bass, R&B influences, and trap elements—sounds that have shaped his career since his breakout hit ‘Thief’ Over the past few months, he and his team focused on crafting something that felt cohesive while still staying true to the sound fans know him for.

“My team and I worked really hard over the past few months putting everything together,” he explains. “We collaborated with some amazing vocalists and really refined the sound. I wanted it to lean into melodic bass, mix in some R&B elements and some trap stuff—basically all the sounds I love—but still make it feel fresh and new.”

Releasing the EP during Miami Music Week only added to the moment.

“So getting to celebrate the release during Miami Music Week is really special,” he says.

Reconnecting With What Matters

At one point in the conversation, the topic shifted to where he’s currently living. When he mentioned San Diego, I couldn’t help but laugh and tell him it sounded like a dream compared to Dallas dry weather. But for Ookay, the relocation was about more than just the weather—it was about reconnecting with the people and experiences that shaped him.

“For me, it was really important to reconnect with my friends from my hometown and my family and remember what made me fall in love with music in the first place,” he says. “I felt like I was starting to get really disconnected living in LA and being away from so many people I started this journey with..”

Moving back helped him rediscover a sense of balance.

“It helped me reconnect with who I am as a person outside of just ‘Ookay,’” he explains. “That’s really helped me on my musical journey.”

Growth in the Studio

More than a decade into his career, Ookay has seen firsthand how much his production process has evolved.

“When I first started making music, I struggled with getting sounds exactly the way I wanted them,” he says. “But over time I learned my DAW really well. I use FL Studio, so I know how to work around every part of making music now.”

With that experience has come confidence and speed in the studio.

“I don’t really have those roadblocks anymore,” he explains. “I’ve trained and honed my craft enough that I can get ideas out quickly and reach the finish line faster. Then I can sift through everything and find the songs that are perfect for the album.”

Staying True to the Original Ookay

While type:era introduces new sonic directions, Ookay is quick to emphasize that the foundation of his sound hasn’t disappeared.

“I hope fans understand that I’m still very tied into the Ookay that started around 2013 and 2014 leading into 2016,” he says. “I’m not sacrificing anything for a new sound.”

Instead, the goal is evolution.

“I still want to give fans something fresh and new—something heavy and driving—but with real substance under those records,” he explains. “I’m not focused on making something that’s just easily streamable. I want it to feel like a perfectly put together song.”

Collaboration played a major role in shaping the EP.

“Working with songwriters like Rillo, Casey Cook, and Veronica Bravo has been amazing,” he says. “It’s been really cool bringing in new writers and vocalists and hearing their take on my music.”

Looking Ahead to the Album Era

The EP also sets the stage for his upcoming album case sensitive, which will feature more of his own vocals and songwriting.

“For the album there’s going to be more of me singing and doing songwriting again,” he says.

When I asked whether performing vocals ever made him nervous, he laughed.

“No, not really,” he said. “I’ve already played Ultra with the live show a couple times, so singing and all that is something I’m used to now.”

Collaborations and Community

Another topic that excited him was collaboration. Rather than chasing specific names, Ookay focuses on building relationships first.

“I feel like I’m already starting to hit some of the collaborations I’ve always wanted,” he says. “Working with San Holo, working with Beastboi, working with Sabai… even someone like Timmy Trumpet. You wouldn’t necessarily connect our music styles, but we have such a great friendship.”

For him, the creative process is strongest when it starts with genuine connections.

“A lot of those collaborations start as friendships first,” he explains. “Then we make music and find ways to blend our styles together.”

Lessons From a Decade in the Industry

After more than ten years in electronic music, Ookay has also learned a few lessons along the way—lessons he’s eager to pass on to younger artists.

“One thing I’ve always believed in is being friendly to everybody,” he says.

For a touring artist, that philosophy extends far beyond the stage.

“I always try to make sure that when I leave a venue, everyone is happy—the staff, the promoters, the fans,” he explains. “I want to be the easiest person to work with.”

That mindset, he believes, has helped him stay grounded in an industry that constantly changes.

“I feel like I’m starting to reap what I’ve sown in kindness,” he says.

Advice for the Next Generation

When asked what advice he would give to aspiring producers, his answer came quickly.

“Be kind. Be humble. Be a sponge,” he says.

He also encourages artists to look beyond electronic music for inspiration.

“Take inspiration from everywhere,” he explains. “Film, paintings, art—there are so many different creative mediums that can inspire music.”

He also stresses the importance of staying open to the next wave of artists.

“There are kids making incredible music at 15 or 16 years old purely from imagination,” he says.

The Reality of Building a Career Today

With social media now playing such a major role in the music industry, Ookay believes the biggest misconception is that success follows a straight path.

“Success isn’t linear,” he says. “Everyone’s journey is different.”

He also believes artists should be willing to show more of themselves online.

“Fans want to connect with artists on a personal level now,” he explains. “They want to see a day in the life and feel like they’re following your journey.”

In the end, authenticity matters most.

“Show people who you are,” he says. “Let them feel like they’re part of the journey.”

With type:era now released and the next album era on the horizon, Ookay’s evolution as an artist feels both exciting and deeply personal. And after spending time talking with him, one thing is clear: even after more than a decade in the scene, the passion that started it all is still very much alive.

The post [INTERVIEW] EDMTunes Chats With Ookay At Ultra Miami Music Festival 2026 appeared first on EDMTunes.

Ultra’s 2026 edition welcomed 165,000 attendees from over 100 countries, transforming Bayfront Park into a global gathering place for electronic music fans. The festival also reached a record-breaking 42.5 million viewers worldwide through the #ULTRALIVE livestream, highlighting just how far its influence extends beyond Miami.

First Impressions at Bayfront Park

Walking into Ultra for the first time was surreal. The festival takes place right in the middle of downtown Miami, and that setting gives it a completely different atmosphere compared to most festivals. Looking around, you’re surrounded by the city skyline, palm trees, and the waterfront, creating a unique backdrop that makes the entire experience feel cinematic.

Getting into the festival was also surprisingly smooth. On the first day it took about 35 minutes to get through everything—ID check, two bag checks, security screening, and wristband scanning. Considering the scale of the event, the process felt organized, efficient and impressive.

Once inside, the layout of the festival grounds made exploring incredibly easy. Moving from stage to stage felt seamless, and the crowd flow was well-managed throughout the weekend.

Sound Engineering That Stands Out

One of the most impressive aspects of Ultra was the sound design across the entire festival. Even with multiple large stages operating simultaneously, there was virtually no sound bleeding between them.

Stages like The Cove and the Live Stage were fairly close to each other, and the main stage right behind the Live stage, yet each maintained its own completely distinct sound environment. Walking between stages felt like entering a different world every time, without competing audio from nearby performances interfering with the experience.

Having attended more than 40 festivals, this stood out as one of the best examples of sound engineering I’ve experienced at a large-scale event.

Comfort, Food, and Festival Experience

Ultra also delivered when it came to overall comfort and amenities. There were plenty of food vendors and drink options throughout the park, making it easy to grab something without waiting in long lines.

The bathroom situation, something festival-goers know can sometimes be a challenge, was handled very well. The restrooms were clean, well-maintained, and easily accessible across the grounds. At no point did I struggle to find a bathroom or wait long to use one.

Security was also visible throughout the event, which helped create a safe and comfortable environment despite the festival being located in the heart of downtown Miami.

Exploring the Stages

While the Main Stage immediately stands out with its massive production and visuals, exploring the different stages around Bayfront Park ended up being one of my favorite parts of the weekend. The Live Stage offered a completely different energy from the mainstage performances and quickly became one of my favorite areas of the festival.

Meanwhile, the legendary RESISTANCE Megastructure delivered some of the most intense moments of the weekend. The production inside the structure was incredible, combining massive lighting rigs and a powerful sound system that created a true underground atmosphere in the middle of a major festival.

Inside the Megastructure I was able to catch sets from artists like Eli Brown, Boris Brejcha, Amelie Lens b2b Sara Landry, Adam Beyer b2b Joseph Capriati, each bringing their own flavor of techno to the stage.

Sets That Stood Out

One of the most nostalgic moments for me came during Alesso b2b Martin Garrix, which instantly brought back memories of the golden era of festival EDM. Hearing those sounds again felt like stepping back into the early 2010s, when many of us first discovered electronic music. The energy of the crowd during that set made it clear just how timeless those tracks still are. Even former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady pulled up to catch that Martin Garrix and Alesso’s back-to-back performance, while Farruko made a surprise appearance during Steve Aoki’s Saturday set.

Another highlight came from ZHU, whose performance ended up being one of my favorite sets of the entire weekend. I’ve been following ZHU since around 2017, so hearing some of his original tracks live was a special moment. His set blended familiar classics with newer sounds, including a preview of his new album BLACK MIDAS which is coming out in April!

Inside the RESISTANCE Megastructure, the techno energy was nonstop throughout the weekend. One moment that stood out was during Vintage Culture when he brought Max Styler for a surprise B2B creating a cool crossover moment between two artists who have both been making waves in the scene. Seeing that interaction live added another layer of excitement to an already high-energy performance.

Another memorable collaboration came from Dennis Cruz b2b Seth Troxler, a pairing that perfectly captured the groove-driven side of house music. Their set felt effortless, blending deep rhythms and playful selections that kept the crowd moving throughout the performance.

Meanwhile, Adriatique delivered one of the more atmospheric moments of the weekend. During their set, the duo surprised fans by dropping a remix of RÜFÜS DU SOL, creating one of those unexpected festival moments that instantly resonates with the crowd.

Artists like Of The Trees also brought a completely different energy to the Live Stage, showcasing the diversity of sounds that Ultra continues to bring to the festival each year.

Ultra’s Biggest Moments

Beyond my personal highlights, Ultra 2026 delivered several unforgettable moments that had fans talking throughout the entire weekend.

One of the most talked-about performances came from Argentinian producer Bizarrap, who made his highly anticipated debut on Ultra’s Main Stage. Sharing the lineup with global heavyweights like Martin Garrix, Major Lazer, Alesso, Bizarrap introduced a completely new set created specifically for the festival.

The performance blended his signature Music Sessions sound with a heavier electronic approach, creating a unique crossover between Latin and electronic music. The set reached a huge moment when reggaeton legend Daddy Yankee appeared on stage for a live performance of BZRP Music Sessions #0/66, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

But the surprises didn’t stop there. Toward the end of the performance, the BIGGEST surprise was when Skrillex unexpectedly joined Bizarrap on stage, and the two closed out the set together, turning the final moments into one of the most talked-about highlights of the entire festival.

Another unforgettable moment came during DJ Snake’s Main Stage performance, when the French superstar brought out Latin icon J Balvin as a surprise guest. The collaboration created one of the biggest crowd reactions of the weekend and showed how Ultra continues to blur the lines between electronic music and global pop culture.

Another powerful moment came when Armin van Buuren took the Main Stage, celebrating 25 years of his iconic A State of Trance brand. As one of the most influential figures in electronic music, Armin’s entrance felt like a tribute to the legacy of trance itself. Ultra has hosted numerous A State of Trance takeovers over the years, and the 2026 celebration marked a special milestone for the global community the radio show helped build. When Armin walked onto the stage, the crowd erupted, honoring a career that has helped shape the sound of electronic music for more than two decades. This followed his amazing WorldWide Stage performance from Friday night.

Meanwhile, the weekend culminated in a historic closing showcase from Swedish House Mafia, who curated what many fans described as a “festival within a festival.” Throughout their extended set, the trio brought out several surprise guests including Eric Prydz, Armand Van Helden, Boys Noize, Kelly Lee Owens, Afrojack, and MPH.

Prydz’s appearance was especially meaningful for longtime dance music fans. Before Swedish House Mafia officially formed, Prydz was often closely associated with Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso, and Steve Angello during the progressive house explosion of the late 2000s. He was the “Fourth member”. Seeing them share the Ultra stage again felt like a nod to that era and created one of the most nostalgic moments of the entire weekend.

With a tearjerking moment when Swedish House Mafia paid homage to Avicii and played ‘Wake Me Up’ by the late artist.

Another memorable closing moment came from John Summit, who wrapped up his performance with the emotional track “We Are You.” As the final notes played out, Summit surprised the crowd by jumping off the stage and into the audience, celebrating alongside fans on the dance floor. It was a fitting end to a weekend defined by the connection between artists and the global community of dance music fans.

Ultra’s Cultural Impact

Ultra’s influence extends far beyond the festival grounds. During the 2026 edition, Miami-Dade County officially proclaimed March 28 as “Ultra Music Festival Day,” recognizing the festival’s cultural and economic impact on the city.

Over the years, Ultra has helped establish Miami as one of the global capitals of dance music, especially during Miami Music Week, when artists, industry professionals, and fans gather from around the world.

A Festival That Lives Up to the Hype

After years of hearing about Ultra’s reputation, attending the festival for the first time made it clear why it continues to hold such a special place in electronic music culture.

Between the massive production, the global crowd, and the incredible variety of artists performing across the stages, the weekend delivered unforgettable moments from start to finish.

As the final sets ended and the lights faded over Bayfront Park, the Miami skyline once again framed the festival grounds just like it did when the weekend began.

Standing there surrounded by thousands of fans, it was easy to understand why Ultra continues to be one of the most iconic events in electronic music.

After finally experiencing it for the first time, one thing became clear: Ultra isn’t just a festival you attend — it’s something you experience.

The post [EVENT REVIEW] My First Ultra: Inside Ultra Music Festival Miami 2026 appeared first on EDMTunes.