Since 2011, dance music addicts have had a real reason to spend the incoming warmth of the spring season in Miami, Florida. It involves celebrating the melting of snow by making a party pilgrimage to Miami Music Week, which is known for keeping audiences amped up in Downtown Miami, Wynwood, South Beach, and Little Haiti. Events for the 2018 editions of MMW included the world-wide Winter Music Conference at Faena Forum in Miami Beach, the 10th Miami Massive event at Nikki Beach, Hardwell at LIV, Last Night on Earth Sunset Cruise at Biscayne Lady, Justin Martin’s Life Aquatic Yacht Party at Le Musette, The 24-Hour Party with The Martinez Brothers and Marco Carola at Space Miami, and the epic Ultra Music Festival at Bayfront. From Friday, March 23rd to Sunday, March 24th, the 2018 Ultra Music Festival erupted with the assistance of The Chainsmokers (who we’ve written about here) making their grand return to UMF to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Ultra Music Fest. Let’s look at the many reasons why this is a huge moment for the Alex Pall and Drew Taggart duo.
The Chainsmokers are now embedded in the illustrious history of the Ultra Music Fest, which dates back to its first event back in 1999, gaining its name from the 1997 Depeche Mode album title Ultra. It is easy to mistakenly assume that Ultra Music Fest is a live event extension of the electronic music label Ultra Records. But even though the festival and the music label emerged from two totally separate organizations, in 2012 they decided to announce a collaborative alliance for marketing and cross-promotion purposes.
Ultra Music Fest in its earlier incarnation was a one-day event between 1999 to 2006, then expanding into a two-day weekend event from 2007 to 2010. But ever since 2011, UMF has been a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday March festival. It has steadily increased its attendance from the 10,000 that showed up in 1999, all the way up to the consistent 165,000 people since 2012 that have been having the time of their lives there. The Ultra Music Fest has been widely-recognized internationally as the must-go EDM festival to experience, being awarded the Best Dance Event by International Dance Music Awards (IDMA) in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. DJ Awards crowned it the Best International Dance Music Festival in 2008, and DJ Mag handed UMF the prize for World’s Best Festival in both 2016 and 2017.
The Chainsmokers last rocked the stage at the Ultra Music Fest on March 19, 2016, during the second day Saturday slot. This larger-than-life audio feast fed the hungry appetites of the audience with about an hour worth of golden high-powered music. The Chainsmokers’ remix madness had many delicious ingredients such as:
The Chainsmokers & Tritonal ft. Emily Warren – “Until You Were Gone”
Pierce Fulton vs. G-Eazy – Kuaga vs. Me Myself & I (Nick Szary Mashup) with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Eric Nally & Melle Mel & Kool Moe Dee & Grandmaster Caz – “Downtown” (Acappella) with DJ Snake – “Propaganda” (Nom De Strip & TJR Remix)
Calvin Harris & Disciples ft. Ina Wroldsen – “How Deep Is Your Love” (Calvin
Harris & R3hab Remix) with Drezo – “Heaven”
Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Under The Bridge” with The Chainsmokers ft. ROZES – “Roses” with
Justin Bieber – “Love Yourself” (Acappella) with The Chainsmokers ft. ROZES – “Roses “(The Him Remix)
The Chainsmokers ft. SirenXX – “KANYE” [DIM MAK] with The Chainsmokers ft. SirenXX – “KANYE” (Ookay Remix) with GTA ft. Sam Bruno – “Red Lips” (Skrillex Remix)
Coldplay – “Yellow” (FKYA & Khøst Remix) with The Chainsmokers ft. Daya – “Don’t Let Me Down” with The Chainsmokers ft. Daya – “Don’t Let Me Down” (T-Mass Remix) with The Chainsmokers ft. Daya – “Don’t Let Me Down.”
During the 2017 Ultra Music Fest, The Chainsmokers were in the middle of blasting off the singles and music videos that were getting supporters ready for their 2017 debut album Memories…Do Not Open that was made available on April 7, 2017, and the subsequent tour that began six days later in the home of Ultra Music Fest – Miami Florida. But The Chainsmoker’s break from UMF would prove to be temporary and brief, heading right back to UMF as a DJ Headliner on the Ultra Mainstage in 2018.
Coming off three 2018 iHeartRadio Music Award wins for Dance Artist of the Year, Dance Album of the Year, and Best Collaboration, The Chainsmokers returned to the EDM hot spot to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Ultra Music Fest at Bayfront Park for day two of the event. How high-voltage was the excitement during the Saturday that The Chainsmokers performed? Just imagine the temperature in the concert area as the lineup included: Paul Oakenfold, David Guetta, Armin Van Buuren, DJ Snake, Afrojack, Marshmello, Kaskade, Lost Kings, Nic Fanciulli, Grandtheft, and Hardwell.
The year of 2018 proved to be the perfect reunion year for Ultra Music Fest and The Chainsmokers. UMF entered into their second decade, and The Chainsmokers returned with a Platinum album in the form of Memories…Do Not Open, a 2017 Grammy Award win in the Best Dance Recording category for their recording of “Don’t Let Me Down. Their massive musical hit “Closer,” that featured singer Halsey, garnered the group three Billboard Music Awards in 2017 for Top Hot 100 Song, Top Collaboration, and Top Dance/Electronic Song. The Chainsmokers also began 2018 with several new singles in the form of “Sick Boy,” “You Owe Me,” and “Everybody Hates Me.”
Group members Alex Pall and Drew Taggart had their own form of sizzling excitement to strike fans with, even after Marshmello brought out Will Smith on Ultra’s main stage. Halsey appeared to perform “Closer” with The Chainsmokers’ to bring the famed track full circle for a momentous victorious performance in front of the same EDM audience that The Chainsmokers began with in their earlier days. Dance music is still clearly flowing through the veins of Alex Pall and Drew Taggart.
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