Your guide to Ultra Music Festival 2019 in Miami

March 23 will mark the 20th Ultra Music Festival, Miami’s EDM powerhouse that’s risen from a small beach rave to one of the biggest dance music festivals in the world. Ultra is international now, with festivals in Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Seoul and many more destinations—but never forget that it all started right here in the 305. So, surely Ultra has some special surprises in store for its 20th, right? If the lineup—which was announced last night—is any indication, Ultra is in for another predictably huge year. Just about every mega-DJ you can name makes an appearance in the phase one lineup: Afrojack, Axwell Λ Ingrosso, Carl Cox, Steve Aoki, Porter Robinson, John Digweed and so many more (see the full lineup over at Ultra’s Facebook page). The live stage has some surprises too, including the highly problematic but very talented Azealia Banks. And reggae fans are no doubt jumping in their sandals over the addition of the Wailers featuring Julian Marley. If all this sounds good to you, tickets are on sale now (starting at $379.95) via ultramusicfestival.com. If this doesn’t sound like your scene, you’ll want to stay the hell away from Bayfront Park from March 23 through March 25. A post shared by Ultra Music Festival (@ultra) on Dec 18, 2017 at 5:12pm PST   Want more? Sign up here to stay in the know.

On March 13, 1999, the very first Ultra Music Festival welcomed a respectable 7,000 attendees to the sands of Miami Beach. Now, two decades later, the Miami-born electronic music festival is a global phenomenon in more than 20 countries. Its worldwide attendance exceeds 1 million people. And it remains one of Miami's biggest events of the year. Next month Ultra gears up for a massive 20th anniversary in the city where it all began. The festival serves as the epicenter of a jam-packed Miami Music Week, the five-day stretch of pool parties and star-studded DJ sets that invade the city in March. We caught up with one of 2018’s headliners, Nicky Romero—whose global hits such as “I Could Be the One” have landed him on the main stage three times since his first Ultra set in 2011—to talk sound and strategy for this year’s huge rave. What do you look forward to during Miami Music Week? All the new music. Everybody prepares new songs, mash-ups, remixes—everywhere you go, you know you’re going to hear something new. I’ll probably play maybe five new songs myself at Ultra. Ultra turns 20 this year. Why does it remain such an important part of dance music culture?I think it really has to do with the fact that they keep pushing the limits. The stages look crazy, there’s so much effort put into the Livestream and they have a great variety of genres and acts. It’s just an epic feeling. It’s hard to describe, but when you perform at Ultra, you just see that everything is done right. Any

Tickets to Miami’s Ultra Music Festival have been sold out for a while now, which means there are plenty of disappointed ravers who will have to figure out some other way to get in on the fun. Luckily, as they do every year, Ultra will be streaming the entire festival for free online. Here’s how to watch. The stream will be taking place on Youtube via UMF TV (embedded below). Friday’s stream starts at noon, and Saturday and Sunday start at 3pm. And it’s as easy as that. Check out the set times to see when your favorite artist is playing. And if you happen to be in town, peep our Miami Music Week guide to see what else is going on this week.   Want more? Sign up here to stay in the know.

Anyone who drove by Bayfront Park in the last week saw the skeleton of Ultra Music Festival being assembled for the huge 20th anniversary edition of the fest. It’s so close, we can taste it. This Friday, things officially kick off, which means you’ll need to have a game plan hammered out by then. Luckily, Ultra has announced its 2018 set times with plenty of time to prepare. Axwell & Ingrosso, the Chainsmokers and David Guetta will be closing out the main stage Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. But there are seven other stages to get to know before this weekend. Check out the set times embedded below and over at ultramusicfestival.com. A post shared by Ultra Music Festival (@ultra) on Mar 16, 2018 at 11:13am PDT   Want more? Sign up here to stay in the know.

Miami Music Week is in full swing, but we still have a few days to go until the main event: Ultra Music Festival.  If you live or work in Downtown, you've probably seen the trucks pulls in, the cranes go up and the massive stages coming together seemingly overnight. What you probably haven't witnessed are the incredible light displays the festival is known for—until now. Below is your first glimpse of what festivalgoers will see come Friday, including LED panels and strobe lights. It's just a test (hence why there's no DJ booth up yet) but it's enough to get us hyped.  A post shared by Everything Ultra (@everything_ultra) on Mar 21, 2017 at 1:06pm PDT   Want more? Sign up here to stay in the know.

Steve Aoki, the mustachioed master of L.A.-based label and lifestyle brand Dim Mak, is a notorious figure in EDM. He was one of the first producer-DJs to cross over into the mainstream, thanks to high-energy compositions and onstage antics (cake throwing, anyone?). But as recently as 2004, he was standing in the audience like the rest of us, sharing a cheap hotel room and saving his cash for the shows and magic of Ultra.  Magic came not onstage but in the form of a woman strolling down Ocean Drive, wearing a “huge flowing dress, massive headphones and humongous glasses.” The stranger turned out to be Björk. “She was so majestic,” recalls Aoki. After mustering up the courage to speak to her, the two exchanged phone numbers and kept in touch. No collaborations resulted from their chance meeting but the unexpected interaction resonated with Aoki, who experienced part of what draws millions of people to Ultra every year: the opportunity to see some of the biggest names in music. In 2010, he went from being a face in the crowd to a performer, playing his first show at Ultra.  His 2017 headlining set boasts tons of surprise guests, and while he can neither confirm nor deny anything on record before the show, we have a feeling that “Just Hold On” collaborator Louis Tomlinson will make an appearance. And Aoki might just drop a new track while he’s at it. “[Ultra] is the perfect ground for experimentation, to play all your new music and get the best feedback you can from a crowd,” s