Ultra Music Festival – Miami Edition

It’s supercalafragilistic ULTRA!

I’m super psyched to have a guest post today by none other than Roxy, my awesome star of an assistant! I asked Roxy to write up a little intro into Ultra because 1) she went 2) I’ve always been curious because I’m often in Miami when the festival is going on 3) it’s likely I’ll be attending Ultra in Croatia in July so I wanted to know a bit more about what I’d be in for!

Thanks Roxy for this amazing “what to expect” insight into Ultra Music Festival!

The Ultra Music Festival is a showcase for some of the most amazing EDM (electronic dance music, if you don’t already know) DJ’s, artists, and performers. Each show “brings it” and leaves you wanting more. The scope and number of shows Ultra offers is fantastic and will leave you sprinting around trying to see as many as you can. The production and staging at Ultra is phenomenal and will shock and even amaze you. This in combination with the suburb music offers you a mind-blowing experience. From the intense mixes and performances to the lasers, lights, fireworks, and other special effects, Ultra exceeds expectations.

By the Numbers

This 15^th anniversary for the Ultra Musical Festival in 2013 amped up the volume. The festival was over two weekends this year – a first for the event, and had a total of 330,000 attendees.That’s about 167,000 people each weekend. Tickets ranged from $150 for early bird tickets up to about $1500 for a VIP ticket to both weekends. Over 200 new and world-famous artists, performers, and DJ’s took the stage in the middle of downtown Miami at Bayfront Park for a combined 32 hours a weekend.

People. So. Many. People. 

It is a world-famous electronic music festival, so yes, be prepared for the masses of characters you’ll be sharing your experience with. Spring breakers, high schoolers, ravers with their fur boots and mesh, internationals toting their countries’ flags, bros, EDM die hards, and people of all ages just looking for a good time are who you’ll be rubbing elbows with- or more so who will be invading your personal bubble. Don’t get me wrong though, it’s a festival and meeting all kinds of people is part of the fun! We met a bunch of internationals (80 different countries were represented!) running around with their countries flags. My friend expanded her candy collection with the help of several rave girls. For those of you who do not know, a candy is a beaded bracelet, basically like the ones you made in kindergarten, and you can exchange candies through, I guess the best way to describe it is like a handshake. But it is all about PLUR (peace, love, unity, respect), and it’s like a mantra for raves and the like, so if you see people with lots of beaded bracelets that’s what’s going on. We also met bros of all ages and even a New York fashion blogger. I will caution, however, that Ultra has no age restriction (which I would strongly urge them to reconsider) so beware of the inappropriately dressed 14 year olds with acne and braces that may cross your path.

Watch Where You’re Standing!

As with anything, it’s all about the people you’re with who make your experience, so choose your spot wisely when enjoying a show. Having some drunk 6ft tall guy behind you constantly jumping into you and spilling his beer all over you gets annoying. Many times it’s the luck of the draw, but I would recommend trying to situate yourself on the sides – people come and go and are in and out pushing past you everywhere – but less so on the side of the crowd. I like to be in the crowd with everyone around me as excited as I am, but not too far in as I’m a big fan of personal space and also I’m only 5’2. Someone’s fist pump usually ends with an elbow to my head. But there is usually lots of space at each stage area during the day, so if being in the crowd isn’t your thing you can certainly hang out in the back where there’s lots of room and you can even sit (if you dare). If you really love your space and are looking for a great view, I would highly recommend getting a VIP pass. For some of the big shows, especially the main stage performances, being elevated in the VIP section would certainly be worth it if you can afford it!

Wait? Which Stage Again?

This year, there were seven stages throughout Bayfront Park. The walk from stage to stage is short, only a few minutes tops, so rushing from stage to stage to see the next act on your list isn’t too difficult. One thing to mention is that the names of the stages change each day. My friends and I didn’t realize that and were scratching our heads trying to figure out where to go.  Eventually we realized that it was the same stage they were just calling it something different. On Saturday we were at Ultra Europe, and then next day the same stage was Ultra Chile. Unnecessary and confusing; especially for those under the influence. Not really sure why they changed the names, but I will tell you without the help of my Ultra Music Festival App we would have been lost! The main stage has some of the biggest performers, but I thought the experience at some of the other stages, specifically Ultra Europe and the Megastructure, were far better. There were smaller crowds and the atmosphere was much friendlier. Also having the LED screens overhead was fun and having the smoke fill the space was cooling and had great effects. We were lucky enough to see Tiesto and Alesso, two of my favorites at the megastructure stage on Sunday.

What to Bring

If someone were to ask me what to bring to Ultra, first thing I will tell you is a camelbak. If you don’t know, which I did not prior to my Ultra prep, a camelbak is a backpack with a big water pouch in it. It has a tube and a mouthpiece to drink from while you wear it. I think it is supposed to be used for hiking. This camelbak will not only be your saving grace in times of dire thirst, but it will also save you a pretty penny and help keep up your stamina and hydration throughout the day. Ultra does not allow any outside food or water. And naturally, water bottles cost an arm and a leg and many times the long lines are exhausting enough. My friend and I shared a camelbak and the first two days we were allowed to have water already in it and enter the park which was fantastic. The security at Ultra gets stricter day by day. Friday is pretty much a free for all and as long as you aren’t obvious you can take in what you want, by Sunday though, we had to dump out our water in the camelbak before we went in, and even some horse head masks were being turned away by security. Regardless, having a lot of water on you during the hot Miami heat is great and will also make you many friends who did not think to buy their own camelbak. We were told that there would be water stations for us to fill up our camelbaks at, however the water stations only miraculously popped up on Sunday… It ended up being okay because we just filled up our pack in the bathroom (yes there is a real bathroom and yes I would HIGHLY recommend using that one throughout the day – at night not so sure if the long line is worth it). The massive amounts of body heat, Miami heat, dancing, alcohol and whatever else strikes your fancy at Ultra will dehydrate you quickly, so if you are planning on being at Ultra for more than just a few hours stay hydrated! There’s nothing worse than not being able to enjoy yourself at such a great event!

I would also suggest wearing a fanny pack. I actually enjoy the hipster trend, but I know the thought of a fanny pack horrifies some people, so a small cross body bag you can hold while walking through the crowd will do. Pickpocketing was huge (though many girls were in denial and insisted they had dropped their belongings on the ground), and so as much as a fanny pack might not be your style, I am just warning you to beware of putting your stuff in backpacks! Glow sticks, sunglasses are a must, as well as sunscreen, granola bars if you can sneak them in, travel wipes or Kleenex – we brought them for the port-o-potties and TRUST you will be wanting them, along with that some hand sanitizer, obviously your ticket and ID, cash because the ATM fees are outrageous and the line is crazy long, bring your schedule of who you want to see and what stage they are on, and last but not least bring your patience. You will encounter lines and people and more people but it is all totally worth it!

What to Wear

Pretty much anything goes at Ultra. I opted for crop tops and hot pink pants, while others opted for pasties and a pair of the free underwear you get a Victoria’s Secret and nothing else. There was tons of neon and pinnies, bathing suits, there were horse head masks, head pieces, crazy wigs, superman thongs, power ranger costumes, lots of tutus and fairy wings, even the Mario Brothers entourage, and of course some deadmau5 heads which look kind of like mickey mouse heads if you haven’t seen one before. It’s fun to get creative with what you wear! Just remember to go comfortable, its hot, you’ll be dancing, and rubbing against people for hours on end! A pair of beat up sneakers is the way to go, they may not be as cute but how comfortable can fur boots be for eight hours in the hot Miami heat?

Bringing People and Music Together

What is great about Ultra is that is brings all types of music and all kinds of people together. The diversity encompassed in such a great atmosphere is what is really amazing about the festival. Also, the DJ’s use Ultra to showcase their new music and build off one another’s energy and drive to give great performances. We saw one of Swedish House Mafia’s last performances and that alone surpassed my expectations! The crowd, the music, the visuals, it all makes for thrilling experience that Ultra maintains throughout the three days. Mark your calendars! The Ultra Music Festival will be back in Miami March 28, 29 and 30, 2014!

Roxy is Lola’s quirky yet fabulous assistant! She keeps Lola on track! Roxy has a great sense of humor, a flair for the sarcastic & can find fun anywhere. You can find Roxy on Facebook & Twitter.