Part of the fun of watching Ultra Music Festival is finding out "what will happen this year."
A new track whose name no one knows yet. A guest who was never announced. A comeback that breaks a long silence. Sometimes a challenge that departs sharply from what the audience expects. Such moments are streamed from the venue in Miami and become the talk of the world the next day.
Yet it began in 1999 as a one-day event on the beach. What shaped today's Ultra was not the EDM boom alone. It is the accumulation of the music-industry people who gather in Miami, booking that took in live acts, a home for techno that it grew together with Carl Cox, and the video that carries the shows to the world.
In this article we follow the original Miami festival year by year from 1999 to 2026. The overseas expansion is woven in where its relationship to Miami is clear, and at the end we consider the reasons for its success. Ultra was not held in Miami in 2020 and 2021.
About the video: For the early years, 1999 to 2007, we could not confirm any material usable as year-by-year video, so we point to the official retrospective documentary that covers that era. The same work appears under several years, but that does not mean the footage was shot only in that year. For 2008 to 2011 we show artist videos, official reports and a film trailer; for editions from 2012 onward, each year's official aftermovie; and for the cancelled years, news footage.
Where it began: the music had already gathered in Miami
Ultra was founded by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes. The first edition was in 1999. The 1997 shown in the official brand history marks the start of the event activity that preceded it, and needs to be distinguished from the first edition as a music festival. [2][48]
In the background was the Winter Music Conference, known as WMC. In spring in Miami, DJs, labels, promoters and others gather, and parties are held in clubs and hotels too. Placing a large outdoor event in that period had a meaning that went beyond drawing a local crowd. [3]
People who gathered from many places discover new music and performers and take those impressions back to their own cities. Ultra can be thought of as having grown within this existing traffic of music. Later streaming extended that traffic onto the internet.
However, WMC and Ultra were not the same organization from the start. There was a period when distance arose over the timing of the events, and it was in 2018 that the Ultra side acquired WMC through an affiliated company. [2][3][24]
1999–2005: from the beach to the city, widening the range of music
1999: the first Ultra, one day on Miami Beach
Paul van Dyk, Armand van Helden, Rabbit in the Moon, LTJ Bukem and others performed at the first edition, which drew more than 7,000 people. Trance, house and drum and bass stood side by side at the same event. [1]
▶ Official retrospective film "20 YEARS OF ULTRA — EPISODE 1: THE BEGINNING" — a work released in 2018 that covers 1999 to 2001. [4]
2000: the last year on the beach
In the second year Sasha, John Digweed, Roni Size and others joined. According to DJ Mag's retrospective, attendance more than doubled from the first edition. This year was the last held on the beach. [1]
▶ Official documentary looking back at the early years, Episode 1 — the same work as in the 1999 entry.
2001: to Bayfront Park
The venue moved to Bayfront Park downtown. It is a place, still emblematic of Ultra today, where the waterfront sits next to high-rise buildings. The character of the host site changed from a beach party to an urban festival. [1][4]
▶ Official documentary Episode 1, which also covers the move to Bayfront Park
2002: an early expansion period, with Carl Cox joining too
Paul Oakenfold, BT, Deep Dish and others were on the bill, and Carl Cox also made his first appearance this year. This is a separate event from the later birth of the arena dedicated to Carl Cox. [1][3]
▶ Official retrospective film "EPISODE 2: DANCE MUSIC ARRIVES" — a work covering the expansion of the early 2000s. It is not a record of 2002 alone. [5]
2003: Underworld's live show is added
Underworld performed. Not only DJs but also live acts with playing and singing grew in presence. [3]
▶ Official documentary looking back at the early 2000s, Episode 2
2004: a crossroads of trance, techno and dance-rock
The lineup this year includes Tiësto, Paul van Dyk, Sasha and John Digweed, along with a DJ set by The Chemical Brothers, live performances by LCD Soundsystem and The Rapture, and 2manydjs. [6]
▶ Official documentary Episode 2, covering the expansion of this era
2005: a place is made for Carl Cox
The Carl Cox and Friends arena began. [8] What matters is that Cox moved from the stage of joining as one of the performers to the stage of having a space in which to develop his own view of music. [7] However, co-founder Faibisch recalls that Carl Cox's tent was born in the year The Prodigy first performed (2006), so the year differs by source. [48]
The lineup that year also includes Paul van Dyk, Tiësto, Armin van Buuren and Ferry Corsten. [59] While big names of trance gathered, an arena bearing Cox's name became a destination for audiences who came for different music.
▶ Official retrospective film "EPISODE 3: GROWTH AND EXPANSION" — a work covering the relationship with Carl Cox and the expansion period. [7]
2006–2011: taking in rock too, and becoming a three-day festival
2006: moving to Bicentennial Park, with The Killers also performing
The venue moved to Bicentennial Park. Alongside The Prodigy, bands such as The Killers and Hard-Fi were welcomed, and the approach between dance music and rock showed up in the lineup as well. [9][10]
▶ Official documentary Episode 3, covering the venue move and the expansion period
2007: the first two-day edition, welcoming The Cure
It became a two-day event for the first time, and The Cure performed. It was a year when the move to broaden the range of performers coincided with the extension of the schedule. [1][7]
▶ Official documentary Episode 3, looking back at the expansion to multiple days
2008: Justice, deadmau5, and the age of electro
The tenth edition. Together with Underworld and Tiësto, Justice, Digitalism, Boys Noize, MSTRKRFT and deadmau5 appeared on the lineup. [11]
▶ Fedde Le Grand — ULTRA 2008 (his own official mini-documentary) — a work released by the artist himself about his 2008 appearance.
2009: David Guetta, and an even wider audience
A lineup including Bloc Party, Cut Copy, Crystal Castles and Hercules and Love Affair was announced. While keeping the context of bands and electro, DJs who widened their points of contact with pop, such as David Guetta, also performed. [12][13]
▶ David Guetta — Ultra Music Festival Miami 2009 (his own official short film)
2010: the first sell-out as a two-day event
According to the organizers' announcement, it sold out as a two-day event for the first time, with attendance over the two days exceeding 100,000. The announcement does not say whether this is a cumulative or an actual headcount, so it cannot be read as 100,000 different people visiting. [14]
Tiësto, deadmau5, Swedish House Mafia and others performed. deadmau5 welcomed Tommy Lee and SOFI. It had become a place where artists could show new staging and collaborations in front of a huge audience. [14]
The venue that year was also used in the music video for Tiësto and Diplo's "C'Mon." In a form different from an aftermovie, the scenery of Ultra spread together with the music itself. [15]
▶ Tiësto vs Diplo "C'Mon" official music video — shot at Ultra 2010. It is not the festival's official aftermovie.
2011: three days, and "CAN U FEEL IT"
The number of days increased to three. The lineup includes Duran Duran, Underworld, The Chemical Brothers and Armin van Buuren. [16][56]
On March 27 the stage for the 500th episode of Armin's radio show "A State of Trance" appeared. Ferry Corsten, ATB, Cosmic Gate, Gareth Emery and others took part. Trance fans who normally listen to the show on radio and streaming gained a place of their own to gather within Ultra. [56]
In an interview at the time, Faibisch explained that demand from both fans and artists lay behind the expansion. The same interview also touches on the scheduling relationship with WMC. The relationship between the music events that gather in Miami in spring was not always fixed. [3]
The film made on the subject of the 2011 edition is "CAN U FEEL IT." The film was released in 2012. Here we can see a move that goes beyond a mere list of performers, delivering the excitement of the venue and the audience's experience as a single piece of video. [17]
▶ ASOT500 — Miami Video Report (Armada Music official)
▶ Official trailer for "CAN U FEEL IT — The UMF Experience" — the trailer for the film covering the 2011 edition.
2012–2018: new tracks streamed, partings and reunions, going global
2012: back to Bayfront Park, and Madonna introduces Avicii
The venue returned to Bayfront Park. The emblematic moment was when Madonna appeared and introduced Avicii. The two also had a point of contact through a remix of "Girl Gone Wild," and a huge pop star and a new generation of DJ stood on the same stage. [8][18]
The ULTRA LIVE stream and the production of the aftermovie also became points of contact with audiences outside the venue. The records of Final Kid, which handles production, also preserve that year's streaming and video work. [19]
Abroad, Ultra Korea was held for the first time in Seoul, South Korea, in August, and Ultra Worldwide's expansion into Asia began. The move to add host sites outside Miami and the move to deliver video were proceeding in the same period. [49]
▶ Official aftermovie for 2012, "RELIVE ULTRA MIAMI 2012"
2013: two weekends, the end of Swedish House Mafia, and Avicii's gamble
The 15th edition expanded to two weekends. Swedish House Mafia reached the end of their "One Last Tour" at Ultra, and drew great attention as the close before their breakup. [8][20]
Avicii's show produced an event that is remembered in a different sense. Welcoming Aloe Blacc and others, he performed "Wake Me Up" with live playing and singing. He brought music with folk and bluegrass elements, which would later lead to the album "True," onto the main stage of a big EDM festival. [51][53]
The reaction was not uniformly welcoming. For an audience expecting a DJ set to keep dancing to, a live-playing section in the middle of a 75-minute set was unexpected. [21] In response to the criticism at the time, Avicii explained in a later interview that he had expected it to stir debate. He also saw "Wake Me Up" as a song with more folk influence than country. [20][54]
"Wake Me Up," released as a single about three months later, reached number one in more than 20 countries and became the fastest-selling single of that year in the UK. [53] The reaction at Ultra did not decide how the music would be judged in the market as a whole. The interesting thing about this episode is that what was wanted at the live show and the appeal of the new song itself did not match.
The same year, 2013, was also a big one for Hardwell. In a later interview he named this Ultra main stage show as one of his best sets. [57] Avicii's experiment, the end of Swedish House Mafia, and Hardwell's breakthrough overlapped, and the different movements in dance music at the time were all carved into a single edition.
In July the same year Ultra Europe also began in Croatia. Not only the expansion into Asia, which went on to Korea and Japan, but also a base in Europe where people could experience it on site was being built. [50]
▶ Official aftermovie for 2013, "RELIVE ULTRA MIAMI 2013"
2014: dazzling video, and a serious safety problem
This year, security guards were trampled and seriously injured by people who knocked down a fence to get in, and the organizers announced a review of their safety measures. Avicii also pulled out of his appearance. When looking back on the festival's growth, such events cannot be left out. [22][23]
Meanwhile, the official aftermovie was titled "UNITED WE DANCE" and conveys the audience's sense of unity through video. That year ULTRA JAPAN also began in Tokyo, which was a milestone in making Ultra something familiar to audiences in Japan. [2][25]
▶ Official aftermovie for 2014, "UNITED WE DANCE"
2015: the launch of RESISTANCE, and Skrillex's closing
RESISTANCE, which put house and techno to the fore and had started in Buenos Aires in February that year, also appeared in Miami. Alongside the support built up by Carl Cox's stage, the structure that lets you choose a different musical experience within Ultra became still clearer. [26]
The final day of the main stage was closed by Jack Ü, the unit of Skrillex and Diplo, with Justin Bieber and others appearing. Through "Where Are Ü Now," the point of contact between bass music and pop was made visible in front of a huge audience. [27][58]
▶ Skrillex's 2015 Ultra show (his own official upload)
▶ Official aftermovie for 2015, "RELIVE ULTRA MIAMI 2015"
2016: Pendulum and Knife Party, and a band's return becomes a major event
The closing on the final day was handled by Pendulum and Knife Party. Attention gathered on Pendulum's return to live performance, and deadmau5 also appeared. [28][29]
The lineup placed Rob Swire's and Gareth McGrillen's two projects together in one big finale. It shows that the history of live acts running from the 2000s was not broken even after the EDM boom.
2017: RESISTANCE grows into an independent brand
In Miami, RESISTANCE ran two stages. That same year it also began an eight-week residency at Privilege in Ibiza. A program born as part of the festival expanded into a brand held continuously in clubs. [26][30]
This change differs from an expansion that merely takes the Ultra name overseas. For audiences who come for house and techno, the musical direction itself is made into an independent banner.
2018: Swedish House Mafia reunite, and the 20th edition
Swedish House Mafia stepped onto the stage in a surprise reunion. The festival that had witnessed their end in 2013 became the place of their reunion five years later. [31]
It was not simply that famous artists performed. For audiences who remembered the past shows, Ultra itself had become part of the group's story.
On the business side, the acquisition of WMC was announced. The relationship with the Miami industry event in which Ultra had grown also entered a new stage. [24]
2019–2026: relocation, interruption, return, and the Ultra beyond
2019: the move to Virginia Key, and audiences who could not get home
The previous year, an extension of the permit to use Bayfront Park was voted down by a city commission, and the venue moved to Virginia Key. [52] It was held in a new environment, but after the end of the first day the shuttle transport did not work, and large numbers of people ended up walking long distances to get home. [32]
The sound and the performers are not the whole of the festival experience. Whether you can get into the venue and whether you can get home safely are part of it too. Even if you can secure a large waterfront site, if you cannot transport the people who gather there, it affects the evaluation of the whole event.
In May that year, the organizers acknowledged that holding the festival at Virginia Key had not met many fans' expectations, and indicated a policy of changing the location. [33]
▶ Official aftermovie for 2019 — dazzling venue footage alone does not reveal the transport problems after the show.
2020: the Miami edition cancelled, and a move to audio streaming
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the March edition in Miami was cancelled. The initial official wording was a postponement to the following year, but it is clear that no on-site show took place in 2020. [34]
Instead, the "Ultra Virtual Audio Festival" was organized on SiriusXM, broadcasting newly recorded DJ sets and more. This was an audio-centered program, and it was neither an on-site edition in Miami nor a video festival in a virtual space. [35]
▶ CBS Miami news footage looking back at how the cancellation came about — published in 2021. This is footage reporting the second consecutive cancellation after 2020, not footage of a 2020 show.
2021: cancelled for a second year, a time of waiting for the return
The 2021 Miami edition was also cancelled, and the resumption was carried over to 2022. [36]
For ticket buyers it was no longer simply a matter of waiting one year. Complaints about carrying tickets over from the previous edition and about refunds were also reported, and it became a time when the relationship of trust with the audience was being tested. [37]
▶ CBS Miami's report announcing the cancellation of the 2021 edition — the same footage as in the previous year's entry. There is no aftermovie for Miami.
2022: back at Bayfront Park, and Hardwell comes back too
The first Miami edition in three years was also a return to Bayfront Park. In addition, Hardwell returned and played a set that led into his new album "REBELS NEVER DIE" and tour. [38]
What Hardwell presented was not a collection of the big-room hits from before his hiatus. It was a new sound built around hard kicks and techno-leaning tones, combined with influences from early trance. He names Ferry Corsten, Marco V, early Tiësto and Armin, and recent techno as sources of inspiration. [55][60]
At the show he presented his new form centered on new tracks, which led into the album and a world tour. He also said he was nervous about returning with music the audience had not yet heard. [55] Rather than making it a comeback show to confirm past popularity, he announced from Ultra what kind of artist he would be from now on.
▶ Hardwell's 2022 comeback set (his own official upload, full set)
▶ Official aftermovie for 2022, "For The People"
2023: HOLO, Kx5, and Swedish House Mafia
Eric Prydz's HOLO, Kx5 (Kaskade and deadmau5), Swedish House Mafia and others were that year's highlights. There was a heavy emphasis on experiencing a show including its projects and visual staging, not just hit recordings. [39][40]
The aftermovie is "ULTRA: VICE CITY." It adopts a structure reminiscent of a third-person role-playing game, giving even the annual record footage itself a different way of being shown. [41]
▶ Official aftermovie for 2023, "VICE CITY"
2024: interrupted by bad weather, yet the weekend went on
Bad weather stopped the first day's performances partway through, and Hardwell's set was rescheduled to Saturday. It was a year that required decisions and readjustments during the event. [42][62]
On the music side, Calvin Harris performed at Ultra Miami for the first time since 2013, and Jon Bon Jovi appeared on Armin van Buuren's stage. Peggy Gou made her Ultra Miami debut at RESISTANCE. [42]
▶ Official aftermovie for 2024, "Music is the answer"
2025: the 25th edition, a milestone for Skrillex and Martin Garrix
The year Ultra billed itself as its "25th anniversary." This does not simply mean 25 years since 1999; excluding the two cancelled years, it is the 25th edition held. [43]
Skrillex performed at Ultra Miami as a solo act for the first time since 2015 [61], and Martin Garrix closed the entire festival for the first time. Flowdan, Damian Marley and others appeared in Skrillex's show, making it a performance that conveyed the breadth of his own music. [43][44]
▶ Official aftermovie for 2025, "INTO HYPERSPACE"
2026: making new combinations a reason to go see it
Amelie Lens and Sara Landry, Alesso and Martin Garrix, Armin van Buuren and Marlon Hoffstadt. The 2026 live videos remaining on the official site include such B2B pairings. [45]
B2B is a format in which several DJs choose tracks together to make a single set. Even if you know each name, what happens depends on the combination. It can be read as creating, on top of the performers' fame, a reason of "I want to see this combination."
In September the official aftermovie "SYNCHRONICITY" was released. The history up to 2026 is not only a history of expanding the venue, but also a history of renewing how shows are put together and how that experience is delivered. [46]
▶ Official aftermovie for 2026, "SYNCHRONICITY"
Why Ultra succeeded
Ultra's success cannot be explained by increasing the number of performers alone. The reasons performers want to prepare special sets, the reasons audiences watch every year, and the mechanisms that carry that interest outside the venue grew at the same time. What follows is an analysis based on the testimony of those involved and the history of the editions.
1. For performers, the spring show led to later work
Holding it in Miami in spring, when DJs and industry people gather for WMC and other events, was Ultra's strength. People who saw and heard new tracks and shows took that assessment back to other cities and events. [3]
Streaming widened the range over which that assessment spreads. In a 2021 interview, Afrojack explained that the reason he prioritizes big festivals such as Ultra is that YouTube footage and streams are material for deciding whom to book that year. [47]
What can be read from this testimony is that performers have reasons to put in effort beyond the fee. If a new set is well received, it can lead both to appeal among fans and to the next chance to perform. Ultra did not produce all of that success, but performers too had a motive to "show a good performance here."
2. Audiences gained a reason of "I don't want to miss this year"
If it were only a lineup of famous DJs, the same names appear at other festivals. At Ultra, turning points in artists' careers occurred again and again: Avicii's premiere of new work, the end and reunion of Swedish House Mafia, and Hardwell's comeback that changed his musical direction. [20][31][38]
As a result, what the audience waits for is not only the performers' names but the content of the show. What is the new track, who will appear, how has it changed from the earlier Ultra. The more past sets you know, the more reasons you have to watch the next. This is how Ultra has kept drawing attention, as can be inferred from the history of the editions.
Here video plays two roles. Full sets are material for listening to the track selection and changes in sound. Aftermovies convey the appeal of spending time on site, including the city, the venue and the audience. "CAN U FEEL IT," ULTRA LIVE and each year's aftermovie provided entrances for people with different interests. [17][19]
Watch a show, learn about the performer, watch again the next year, come to want to experience it on site. This chain is plausible, but what share of the people who watched the videos bought tickets cannot be confirmed from published materials. View counts of videos cannot simply be equated with attendance or profit.
3. The organizers welcomed audiences of different music to the same venue
The Carl Cox arena that began in the mid-2000s, ASOT500 in 2011, and RESISTANCE in 2015. These differ from measures that merely increase the number of performers. They let people who love a particular kind of music gather using the name of the stage as a landmark. [7][26][56]
ASOT for trance audiences, Cox or RESISTANCE for people who want to listen to house and techno for a long time, live acts for those who want to see band-format shows. Even without a strong interest in that day's main stage performers, you can have a reason to go to Ultra.
This structure is thought to have the advantage of making it easier to maintain relationships with several audience segments even as trends change. It mattered that the EDM boom of the main stage and the long-running culture of house and techno could be nurtured within the same event.
4. In expanding overseas, it used the whole festival and music-specific programs differently
Korea in 2012, Croatia in 2013, and Japan in 2014. Audiences abroad too could experience on-site shows, and more people came into direct contact with the name born in Miami. [25][49][50]
In addition, RESISTANCE began an eight-week residency in Ibiza in 2017. It expanded not only as a form of holding a large all-round festival but also into ongoing club shows focused on house and techno. [30]
In this way Ultra became a brand not limited to a single weekend in Miami. Shows in various places and online video create points of contact throughout the year. However, from the scale of the overseas expansion we cannot infer that profitability in each place was also good. What can be confirmed is that it widened the regions where it is held and the forms of the experience.
To keep holding it, trust beyond the music was also needed
The 2014 accident, the 2019 transport chaos, the cancellations of 2020–2021 and the complaints about tickets, and the bad weather of 2024. Ultra's history also includes events that the appeal of the performers could not resolve. [22][32][37][42]
A festival that receives huge crowds in the middle of a city cannot be separated from the use of the park, life in the surrounding area, safety and transport. While there is streaming that reaches the world, on-site operations are supported by specific places and people.
What Ultra grew was not only a huge stage. It is a relationship in which music is presented in Miami in spring, the world watches it, and waits for the next show and the next year. To keep that relationship going, both the power to produce special sets and the power to receive audiences safely and send them home are needed.
Following it from the 1999 beach to the 2026 B2Bs, you can see what Ultra has changed over and over: the venue, the number of days, the generations of performers, the format of video. Even so, the expectation of wanting to be present at the moment music moves on to the next thing remains at the center of its history.
Sources
Last checked: October 20, 2026. The numbers below correspond to the numbers in the main text. Official announcements are treated as the organizers' own record, and for accidents, transport, cancellations and the like, news reports were also consulted.
[1] DJ Mag, From diapers – To Dab Hands — early timeline and performers. The descriptions of each early year are short and limited.
[2] Ultra Worldwide, About — the brand's prehistory, overseas expansion, and the WMC acquisition. Because the page contains outdated schedules and errors in years, it is not used as the basis for the current number of editions or upcoming dates.
[3] Miami New Times, Ultra Cofounder Russell Faibisch Talks Expansion Plans and Making Peace With WMC — a 2011 interview with a person involved.
[4] Ultra, 20 Years of Ultra — Episode 1: The Beginning
[5] Ultra Japan, Episode 2: Dance Music Arrives
[6] Resident Advisor, Ultra Music Festival set to open the 2004 WMC — the lineup at the time, including the performance formats.
[7] Ultra Japan, Episode 3: Growth and Expansion
[8] History of Ultra Music Festival — used to cross-check the sequence of venues and the start of the arena in 2005. Used together with official retrospective materials and contemporary reports.
[9] Universal Music Japan, Announcement of Ultra 2006 performers — the date in the text is February 3, 2006.
[10] NME, The Killers make one-off festival appearance
[11] Resident Advisor, Ultra Music Festival line-up announced — 2008.
[12] Pitchfork, Bloc Party, Cut Copy, Hercules, Crystal Castles Do Ultra
[13] Resident Advisor, Ultra 2009
[14] Organizers' announcement / PR Newswire, Ultra Music Festival 12 Sells Out Two Days
[15] Miami New Times, Tiësto vs. Diplo, C'Mon, Live at Ultra Music Festival 2010
[16] Pitchfork, 2011 Ultra lineup
[17] CAN U FEEL IT: film information, trailer from the production side
[18] Madonna official, Girl Gone Wild remixed by Avicii
[19] Final Kid, 2012 production record, 2013 ULTRA LIVE announcement video
[20] GQ, GQ at Ultra: Glow Sticks, Body Paint, and Folk Music!
[21] EDM Sauce, Avicii Responds to the Critics About His Set from Ultra — includes his own explanation.
[22] Pitchfork, Ultra Conducting Security Review Following Guard's Trampling
[23] NME, Reports on the 2014 accident and Avicii's withdrawal
[24] DJ Mag, Ultra acquires Winter Music Conference
[25] ULTRA JAPAN, 2014 edition announcement and press materials
[26] Ultra, Announcement of RESISTANCE's 2017 lineup — started in 2015, with two stages in 2017.
[27] Dancing Astronaut, Skrillex at Ultra 2015
[28] Pendulum official, Pendulum are back after a 10-year hiatus — a reference to the 2016 show.
[29] Dancing Astronaut, Pendulum's Ultra reunion
[30] Ultra, RESISTANCE Ibiza 2017 programming
[31] DJ Mag, Swedish House Mafia's reunion set at Ultra
[32] Miami New Times, Shuttles Fail, Fans Forced to Walk Miles to Get Home
[33] Ultra, A Letter to Our Fans
[34] DJ Mag, 2020 cancellation
[35] SiriusXM / PR Newswire, UMF Radio to Showcase Ultra Music Festival Experience
[36] DJ Mag, 2021 cancellation
[37] EDM.com, Ultra Cancels 2021 Event, Announces 2022 Dates
[38] DJ Mag, Hardwell returns at Ultra, announces album and tour
[39] We Rave You, Ultra Miami 2023 review
[40] EDMTunes, Ultra Miami Got Its Mojo Back
[41] Ultra, 2023 aftermovie: ULTRA VICE CITY
[42] Ultra, 2024 official recap
[43] EDM Identity, Ultra Music Festival 2025 review
[44] Miami New Times, Ultra Miami 2025 Day Two: Skrillex
[45] Ultra official site: list of 2026 live videos
[46] Rave Jungle, 2026 aftermovie SYNCHRONICITY — also cross-checked against the title on the official YouTube channel.
[47] EDMTunes, Afrojack interview, April 2021
[48] Miami New Times, Ultra Vivid Wow! — a joint interview with Faibisch and Omes.
[49] Ultra, Official article looking back on the fifth edition of Ultra Korea
[50] Croatian Ministry of Tourism, Ultra Europe 2013 event notice
[51] Ultra, Official 2022 report — a reference to the debut of "Wake Me Up" in 2013.
[52] DJ Mag, The 2019 relocation proposal and the 2018 rejection of the agreement
[53] uDiscover Music, A retrospective on Avicii's "True" — the 2013 live arrangement and the reception of "Wake Me Up" after its release.
[54] LA Weekly, Avicii Talks About His Giant Hit "Wake Me Up" — his own interview from November 2013.
[55] EDM Identity, Hardwell Dives Into REBELS NEVER DIE — his own interview from October 2022. Do not confuse the San Francisco show in the first half of the article with the Ultra show.
[56] A State of Trance, ASOT500 official lineup, Armada official Miami report
[57] Uneek Ibiza, Interview with Hardwell
[58] Warner Music Japan, Release of video of Skrillex's 2015 Ultra show
[59] Resident Advisor, Ultra Music Festival 7: 2005 lineup
[60] DJ LIFE, Hardwell: The Road Back
[61] Billboard, Skrillex Added to Ultra Music Festival 2025 Lineup — his first solo appearance since 2015.
[62] Billboard, Ultra Music Festival 2024 Day 1 Shuts Down Due to Severe Weather — the first day cut short by a thunderstorm.
