When Deadmau5 ranted on YouTube last year that Ultra Music Festival was “the same fucking thing every year”, most people didn’t expect the remedy to be the producer himself returning to headline the festival. But that’s exactly what is happening, as Ultra Music Festival has announced that Deadmau5 will headline each Saturday night of the festival, on both March 16 and 23. He joins Swedish House Mafia, who will be opening and closing the festival as part of their farewell tour, as the only announced acts so far.
Deadmau5 made news last year for controversial comments about Ultra, in which he also bashed the price of VIP tickets (“five hundred and ninety-five dollars for a fucking ticket?) and the festival’s policy of signing exclusive contracts (“[Winter Music Conference] used to be the Christmas for the fucking DJ, because you goto Miami for a week and play up to eight gigs that week, easily”). He also bashed Madonna’s controversial comments on-stage with Avicii, causing a brief media firestorm.
Deadmau5 last appeared at Ultra two years ago, as did Swedish House Mafia. This will also be Ultra’s fifteen year anniversary.