On the final day of the festival, there were many acts to look forward to. On the Main Stage, veterans like Afrojack, Oliver Heldens, and Armin van Buuren captivated the crowds. At the same time, Drumcode boss Adam Beyer, Swedish powerhouse Eric Prydz, and English duo CamelPhat had everyone dancing underneath the lights at the Megastructure.
However, the weekend's showstopper was Scottish producer Calvin Harris, who was returning to Ultra for the first time since 2013. The certified hitmaker's absence had long been felt at the festival, so his set at the Main Stage on Sunday made for the perfect way to close out yet another edition of Ultra.
Check out all the highlights New Times witnessed on day three of Ultra Music Festival.
Andy C
With a rare appearance of the Miami sun, British producer and drum 'n' bass pioneer Andy C had the crowd banging to his set at the Worldwide Stage on Sunday. Those in attendance could enjoy the space before everyone would tighten up like headbanging sardines. Fresh off an appearance in Toronto, Andy brought his drum 'n' bass style to Miami, proving that no matter the city, he has a lock on the sound. Osvaldo Espino
Afrojack
Coming out into the Florida heat draped in a Louis Vuitton jacket, Ultra veteran Afrojack delivered a nostalgic set. The sun kept shining, but a giant mud pit around the main stage area caused people to spread out around it. That didn't stop the Dutch producer from getting the party going. Playing hits like "Hey Mama" while giving it a hard-hitting, bass-dropping twist and house anthems like "Mo Bamba" along with Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign's "Carnival" (which was the song many DJs showed a lot of love to throughout the weekend), Afrojack's set had reached its peak. His mix of Pitbull's "Give Me Everything" gave the track new life. He sped up the drums and added new synths but didn't change the recognizable vocals. The beat drop and pyro would make for one of the highlights of his set as fans jumped and went crazy. All good things must come to an end, with Afrojack closing out his set with the Avicii-produced "Sky Full of Stars." "I love you, Ultra," Afrojack told the crowd, exiting as the synths that felt like glitter bounced around. Osvaldo EspinoNora En Pure
On Sunday, much like the crowds, Nora En Pure was stage-hopping at the festival. First, she played the Main Stage, and then she ran it home with her Purified Records takeover at the UMF Radio stage. Nora En Pure's seemingly majestic, organic electronic music curbed any raindrops from the lingering gray clouds and brought clear weather with a full moon. The stage, decked out in foliage and disco balls, acted as a retreat from the EDM, techno, and trap a mere few feet away. While certainly bass-dependent, she brought in somber piano melodies and tranquil synths, making even stepping in mud feel like nature's way. Grant AlbertHi-Lo B2B Eli Brown
With roots in drum 'n' bass and having had tracks played by Calvin Harris, it makes sense for Eli Brown to finally make his Ultra debut this year. "The whole experience at Ultra is new to me," Brown told New Times before his set. "I'm playing with Oliver [Heldens'], and we've gone back-to-back once before. We have loads of new tunes we've worked on together and new material of our own."With an allotted 75 minutes, there was little time to spare, and the two chopped their set into stomping bass-heavy techno and cheeky remixes and samples. The set started with Brown's hypnotic track "Believe." Then the pair carried on with tracks like Helden's turbo-charged remix of "Wanna Go Bang" and their collaboration "Ride or Die." There were samples and remixes from Skrillex, Fred Again.., Flowdan's "Rumble," and Peggy Gou's "(It Goes Like) Nanana." More importantly than the music, the two acted as a bellwether for where electronic music is heading. "I think the underground is the new mainstream," Brown said earlier in the day. "The question is, what is the underground? I do think people are a little tired of hearing the same commercial dance now and want something different. I don't play super hard techno that scares away people; I think I just want to bring people into it." Grant Albert
Orbital
Competing with Calvin Harris' return to the Main Stage and Adam Beyer's takeover of the Megastructure meant that the attendance at the Live Stage was paltry as Orbital closed things out. Nonetheless, the brothers, equipped with synths and hardware for a proper live showing, returned to Miami for another performance. The surprisingly younger crowd that was there danced and bumped to the pair's catalogue. The brothers started it off with the political-charged song "Dirty Rat" against an LED showing Chinese soldiers marching, mushroom clouds, drone footage, and riot police bashing protesters. Then came drum 'n' bass, only to turn the knob down with the classics, including 1993's "Halcyon On and On." The nostalgia drip led to a remix of Spice Girls "Wannabe." But the defining moment was when they played the spine-tingling Gregorian chants from their 1991 track, "Belfast." Just those few seconds put not only the mud and rain of Ultra 2024 into perspective but also the last 24 years. Grant Albert
Calvin Harris
Sunday delivered the moment that many had been waiting for. After an 11-year hiatus, the time had finally come: Calvin Harris made his return to the Main Stage as the headlining performance of the entire festival. Except for the Las Vegas residencies, a couple of Coachellas, and two Electric Daisy Carnival appearances, Harris seems to rarely perform on the continent these days. The last time Harris appeared at Ultra, he had dropped multiple number-one albums and singles. Many were trying to predict which one of his hits he'd start with. The answer came when Rihanna's image appeared on the LED screens — no, she wasn't there in person — and the verse "Baby, this is what you came for" rang through the crowd. Harris came onto the stage as the beat dropped into a more techno groove instead of the track's more recognizable rhythm. This became somewhat of a pattern during his set. Harris would play hits like "I Need Your Love" and give them slight touches and bounces that weren't precisely a remix but more of a rework.In some cases, like when he played "Feel So Close," he'd play the track, letting the crowd sing along a capella, and then continue playing the song. "Summer" came early on in the set, mashed up with Umek's "Collision Wall," only for the beat drop to land in a much groovier fashion. This shouldn't have come as a surprise, considering Harris has released two volumes of his Funk Wav Bounces series, which, sadly, never got any play. Harris sometimes played techno or dance sounds between songs, using them as bumpers. They didn't exactly feel like transitions but more as a tool to keep the energy up. Fans were most energetic during "Blame," which he smartly left untouched, letting the crowd fall into the track with magenta-hued visuals. The visuals themselves were nothing awe-inspiring, mostly just bleeding colors that let the crowd know the mood of each track.
For the rest of the set, Harris just played tracks largely unchanged, making it feel more like a traditional concert than a DJ set. Because of his massive catalogue of hits, he's probably the only DJ that can get away with this. People want to be in the crowd screaming the lyrics to "Sweet Nothing." The set's closer, "Miracle," started with the original version before transitioning into the Hardwell remix during the second drop. The golden lights shone on the crowd as fireworks burst above the stage. Osvaldo Espino
