What you need to know about this weekend’s Ultra Music Festival

MIAMI — Ultra Music Festival is happening this weekend at Bayfront Park in Miami. 

It’s one of the biggest electronic dance music festivals around, Juan Carlos Riano lives across the street. “Do you feel it in your apartment?” CBS News Miami’s Ted Scouten asked. “Of course. It’s right over there. For me, it’s fine because I like the music,” he said. 

“People from across the world come to Miami, 170,000 participants over the weekend.  We get the best DJ’s in the world, we’re the envy of the world,” said Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.  He said the three-day festival is, among other things, a big money maker.

“This is a huge revenue generator for the park, which keeps the park looking beautiful.  It’s a huge revenue generator for the city. I think you’re going to top a billion dollars in economic activity over the life (of it,) a quarter century. 

In the past, there have been issues with drugs and theft.

“The main issue that we always have is the theft of electronic devices.  Make sure you keep your phone well in hand.  We recommend you put it in your front pocket,” said Miami Police Chief Manny Morales. He said federal, state and local officers will be on the scene to help. 

“We have undercover officers working on the inside not only looking for individuals that are looking to prey upon our victims but any type of suspicious individuals,” he said. 

And get ready for some difficult traffic. Beginning Thursday at 9 p.m. northbound Biscayne Blvd will close. Detours will be in place using southbound Biscayne Boulevard and downtown streets as alternatives. For some, between the traffic and the loud music, it will be a long weekend. 

“It’s like hell. It’s hell for 3 days.  It’s nonstop music,” said Jose Palma, who lives across the street. He says it’s a tough few days for his family. 

“It’s not only the music we get it’s the huge vibration. The walls are vibrating the floor is vibrating you hear this electronic music, right. It’s very intrusive,” he said. 

To keep that loud music in check, there are noise monitors in 3 nearby buildings. If the music gets louder than it’s supposed to, the device picks up on it and sends out an alert letting organizers know it’s too loud. The downtown Neighbors Alliance and Ultra monitor it.

“We do have noise monitoring on several buildings downtown.  Everything is done in real-time.  There are certain decibel levels that Ultra can not pass,” explained Jose Torres, President of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance. 

Those levels are 95 or 85 for low frequencies like base. 

Police urge people who are attending to use public transportation. They point out the heaviest traffic is expected on Friday and Sunday.  There are other events downtown on those days. 

Who is performing? 

Big crowds are expected in Downtown Miami from March 22-24 as fans wait to see some of the hottest acts in electronic music.  

Here are some of the hottest performances you won’t want to miss. Although tickets are sold out for 2024, you can sign up for the year 2025 waitlist. 

Hardwell – Friday March 22, at 9:15 p.m.  

Dutch DJ and music producer Hardwell, born Robbert van de Corput, will perform on Friday at 9:15 p.m. 

Hardwell has been crowned the world’s number one DJ by DJ Mag twice in 2013 and 2014, and played at major music festivals like Ultra and Tomorrowland, according to Billboard.

Calvin Harris – Sunday March 23, at 8:45 p.m.

Scottish DJ and producer Calvin Harris, who is well-known for many of his songs like “One Kiss” featuring Dua Lipa, will perform on the main stage Sunday at 8:45 p.m. 

This will be the artists first time back on the main stage since 2013, according to Billboard. 

Harris also won “Best Dance Act” at the Brit Awards on March 2.

David Guetta – Saturday at 10:46 p.m. 

French DJ and record producer David Guetta will be back again after performing in 2023 to perform on the main stage Saturday at 10:46 p.m. 

Some of Guetta’s songs include: “Titanium,” “Hey Mama,” and “When Love Takes Over.”

Martin Garrix- March 23, at 9:15 p.m. 

Dutch DJ Martin Garrix will perform on the main stage at Ultra on Saturday at 9:15 p.m. 

Some of Garrix’s songs include: “Animals,” “In the Name of Love,” and “High On Life.”

Afrojack – Sunday March 24, at 5:55 p.m. 

Dutch DJ and music producer Afrojack will perform on Sunday at 5:55 p.m. 

Some of Afrojack’s music includes: “Everything You Do,” “Jacked,” and “The Beach.”

Afrojack also performed at last year’s Ultra Music Festival where you can see images here.