Every year, hundreds of thousands of dance music fans make the pilgrimage to Miami Music Week, where every hotel pool, bar, and restaurant gets turned into a makeshift nightclub. There are hundreds of parties throughout the week, but only a few manage to really stick out from the pack. Here’s the best of the best of Miami Music Week 2016.
SiriusXMÂ Music Lounge
Year after year, SiriusXMÂ broadcasts live from its Miami Music Lounge, this year taking place at the 1 Hotel. Bigger and better than in previous years, the 1 Hotel allowed space for a massive stage on the beach, more access for the general public, and an insane line up each day. The first day, hosted by chill house pioneer Kygo, started off a little more low key with sets from Robin Schulz, Felix Jaehn, and ending with a surprise b2b set from Thomas Jack and Kygo. The second day picked up the pace with a ‘main stage’ vibe, with the likes of Above and Beyond, Martin Garrix, and a closing hour set from Armin Van Buuren. The last day featured the most anticipated set of the week, a legendary b2b set from Eric Prydz and Deadmau5 that was much buzzed about the entire week. The entire time, top artists are hanging out side stage conducting interviews for SiriusXM, making this one of the coolest and most exclusive events of the week.
[Via @sxmelectro]
Above and Beyond @ RC Cola Plant
Each year, the guys from Above and Beyond throw one party that seems to get bigger and bigger as the years go on. This year, they took over the RC Cola Plant in Wynwood, turning the huge area into what could have passed for a festival. The huge production with CO2, confetti, and over the top lighting may have been the best late night production of the entire week. While most parties head inside after 11pm, there was something amazing about hearing Above and Beyond’s classic songs like ‘Sun and Moon’ and ‘We’re All We Need’ in a massive field during a late night.
[By Julian Cassady – via Above & Beyond]
Eric Prydz x Cirez D
One of the few events to sell out way in advance, Eric Prydz’s main Miami Music Week event released very few details – and they didn’t need to. The superstar DJ has a hardcore legion of fans that would be the dance music equivalent of the Grateful Dead’s ‘Deadheads’, analyzing set lists and touring with the DJ. The mere mention of ‘Cirez D’, Prydz’s techno alter ego, was enough to flock his fans to the MAPS Backlot for a three hour set of Prydz’s dirty beats. Performing a masterful set with tracks from all of his aliases – Eric Prydz, Pryda, Cirez D, Tonja Holma – Prydz, as expected, kept the crowd hooked with deep cuts and a bunch of new tracks that have yet to be ID’d, which always gets his fans worked into a fix. Oh, and there were lasers – tons, and tons of lasers.
Jamie Jones’ Paradise Miami
With Above and Beyond and Eric Prydz both performing within walking distance at the same time, Jamie Jones luckily pushed his party until the wee hours of the morning – 10 am to be exact. This was the closest thing to a true warehouse party I saw all weekend and it was an incredible production. The huge line up of DJs included names like The Martinez Brothers, Skream, Steve Lawler, Lee Foss, Bob Moses, and of course Jamie Jones, keeping a packed crowd and awesome beats going until the very early morning. There was never a dull moment inside, and when you were finally ready to leave as the sun came up, you got hit with another stage, freshly erected right outside the venue, where Jones and friends were spinning yet again as you either exited, or began the next phase of your party in the outside world.
[Via Jamie Jones]
HARD Miami
Gary Richards’ HARD has built one of the most dedicated brands in dance music behind the strength of the cult like Holy Ship and his Hard Summer festival in Los Angeles. HARD Miami has become an annual gathering of these fanatics, boasting a diverse line up of DJs like Boys Noize, Justin Martin, Jauz, What So Not, and a live performance from 2 Live Crew that kept this party absolutely banging across two completely different rooms. The Dirtybird duo of Shiba San and Justin Martin kept one room bumping for a while with signature Dirtybird sounds, while Gary Richards himself, aka Destructo, closed down the party with a legendary set that will surely go down in HARD history – the DJ booth was absolutely slammed with superstar DJs that all seemed to flock for this closing set, you could spot everyone from Deadmau5 to DJ Snake to Snailz to Jauz to Boys Noize taking over the decks at some point. It was the closest thing to Holy Ship on land.
[Via Hard Presents]
Get Lost
Crosstown Rebels boss Damian Lazarus has made quite the name for himself by performing unique sets in unique locations. He’s beloved by the Burning Man community, he’s the Master of Ceremonies of the Day Zero festival in the Mayan Ruins of Tulum, and he’s the curator of Miami’s massive Get Lost party, which has gained fame over the past few years by being Miami’s only 24 hour party. Starting at 5am on Friday night and ending at 5am Saturday, Get Lost acts as a Friday after hours, a Saturday day party, or a Saturday night. Appropriately, Get Lost refused to release any set times in advance this year, hoping attendees would, well, Get Lost in the music and explore new surroundings. The only confirmed set was that Sasha would kick off the festivities with a three hour set at 5am on Friday night, providing an incredible late night. With three different rooms to explore full of more CO2 than you could imagine, tons of lighting and production, you really could ‘get lost’ within this venue just discovering new nooks of music. This is one of the most unique parties throughout the entire week.
[Via Crosstown Rebels]