Photo by Taylor Regulski
Audio By Carbonatix
Our Music Week is never, ever neat and pulled apart. I mean, when it comes down to it, this whole thing is more of a “how long can you last?” kind of deal than anything else. It’s not a race. It’s really a goddamn marathon. And when we linked up with people on that first day of Music Week, Tuesday evening at the SiriusXM office, we already knew exactly what we were getting ourselves into. I mean, who wouldn’t? This thing has a way of swallowing you whole before you even realize you’re in it.
Miami Music Week Kicks Off With Early Chaos
We watched as Kybba did a quick interview before tearing into a live hour set. With maybe 80 people locked in, he took his time layering hard-hitting bashment and basshall cuts and even teased a new track with Bad Gyal at the end. It was the kind of opening night set that let you know the week was only going to get crazier.
The next morning, we woke up early to check out the new Wait N Save at Gate D15 inside Miami International Airport, this strange, futuristic 24-hour spot where you can rent a bed, get a desk, and basically post up in a tiny hotel room without ever leaving the terminal. It’s already a wild concept on its own, built for overnight layovers or those weird in-between travel moments when you just need to disappear for a few hours. But they took it a step further by hosting their first-ever Runway Session with Carlita, who spent the entire week moving like she had clones. She pulled up carrying a carry-on, somehow still looking locked in, and played a quick 30-minute set that made the whole thing click instantly. What sounded absurd on paper, a rave inside the airport, suddenly felt like a real glimpse into where rave culture could go next.
At DJ Snake’s “Worship” release event, we ran into Asake and Francis Mercier, just two more names floating through the same strange Music Week universe.
From there, we hopped over to Wynwood for 1001Tracklists’ party, where Colombian sensation Harvy Valencia played a quick set ahead of “Yo Ni Su Nombre Me Se.” The track had already turned into a whole story, leaking, going viral, and racking up nearly eight million plays before he was finally credited as the lead artist. Intense rollout aside, the record bangs live just like the rest of his catalog.
Factory Town and Club Space Drive the Week’s Energy
From there, we made our first trip of the week to Factory Town in Hialeah, stepping into our first real night of chaos over there.
Their set was ridiculous in the best possible way, but once Justice came on, the whole crowd shifted. Suddenly, everybody had to go watch two of the biggest legends in electronic music do what they do best. And of course, they didn’t arrive without the full fanfare. By the time we got there, the lighting rig had completely changed, becoming bigger, brighter, more dramatic, with some of the craziest lights you’ll ever see at a rave.
Photo by Taylor Regulski
It was 4 a.m., everybody was fried, and somehow they still made the place feel like it had just opened. “Genesis” came on like a monster stomping through the speakers before twisting into “Welcome to the Jungle,” then into “Generator,” all without losing the crowd for a second. Justice played with this wild, unpredictable edge, folding in rock riffs, disco touches, and left turn classics in a way only they can. By 6 a.m., when the cross hit the screen, and the music stopped, people were begging for one more song, just standing there stunned.
The next day we headed to Benny Benassi’s “Feel the Bass” release party at Harbour Club, where he bounced between newer tracks, vinyl classics, Daft Punk, and of course “Satisfaction.” It was intimate in the best way, with people dancing in the corners and Technique Records selling wax in the back, the kind of warm-up party that gets the night moving before the real insanity begins.
Then we hopped over to the Pardon My French party with DJ Snake, as he was doing a back-to-back with A-Trak. That set ended up being all hip-hop classics, which none of us were really sure what to expect at first. I mean, there were so many songs we were hearing that we just could not believe DJ Snake and A-Trak would ever play together, ranging from Kanye to Lil Uzi to Boosie Badazz. It felt like a real-time nostalgic trip, and everybody in the crowd was loving it.
Even with messy logistics, we found our way in before bouncing to Deadbeats at Mana Wynwood, which was sweaty, musty, and still a great time. We caught the end of Zeds Dead back-to-back Levity back-to-back Tape B, all bass, flips, and giant crowd reactions.
Photo by Taylor Regulski
We had to get at least a little sleep before Cloonee’s takeover at Club Space. By 2 p.m., we were right back in it, pre-gaming before our first day of Ultra with the Latina baddies, as Cloonee ran through funky cuts like “XTC,” “X-Rated,” reggaeton edits, and flipped up classics. He even had custom aguardiente bottles made for the party, and the whole thing felt exactly like what you’d expect: chaotic, sweaty, and full of Miami energy.
After Ultra, we crashed early because the next day was Solid Grooves at Space, one of the week’s most reliably insane parties, with a lineup stacked with names like Beltran, Ben Sterling, Michael Bibi, and Dennis Cruz. Just a ridiculous amount of talent in one place.
So when we finally found the energy to get up, we went over to Space around 12 p.m. and it was packed in a way that felt almost inhumane. I mean, this was sardines. It was hectic. We didn’t even bother trying to go deeper into the crowd because at that point we just wanted a little bit of space for ourselves. Then Peggy Gou got there, and it was so fun and electric. Probably the best Peggy Gou set we’ve ever seen, even better than the III Points set. It was such a vibe that we really just let ourselves enjoy it on top of everything else.
But no one could prepare us for the back-to-back-to-back when it came to Pawsa, Dennis Cruz, and Michael Bibi. I mean, those three guys are like Jordan, Rodman, and Pippen on the decks, man. The greatest tech house trio you could probably assemble. And they dipped it up for hours. We were watching them do flips and edits of “Space Jam,” all kinds of crazy IDs and tracks we had never heard before. It was genuinely some of the best house music our ears had ever had the privilege of hearing. It was so good, in fact, that we almost didn’t go to Ultra for Day 2.
But all good things have to come to an end, so we had to slide out.
The Final Stretch: Sunrise Sets and Total Burnout
We kept it chill until the night, went through all of Ultra Day Two, and then headed over to Factory Town once more as Ben Sterling had taken over The Park with Planet X, for what felt like one of the standout moments of the night. When we got there, Sterling, Tiga, and Beltran were already going on the decks with the kind of energy that instantly makes you want to stay put. It ended up being one of the sets of the night as the three of them were just ball hopping from one heater to another, playing tracks like “Mind Dimension” and “Smack Yo,” really giving the crowd everything it wanted.
And just watching the way everyone interacted was fun. Cloonee and Prospa made an appearance, and it turned into this crazy party. It felt like one of those moments you only catch in little VIP pockets or behind-the-scenes sessions, except somehow we were right there for it. So we stayed in the moment and just enjoyed it.
By the time morning came, we had to go back home and rest up for the final day, which started with us waking up and going to Carlita’s matcha pop-up at Caracas Bakery up in North Miami. And honestly, it was a great way to start the day. Get the juices flowing, get some matcha in the system, try to concentrate a little more as we got closer and closer to the end of the marathon. But Jesus, we were probably barely standing on two legs at this point.
But the party was good, and so was the matcha, and somehow that was enough to keep us alive going into Ultra Day Three.
Photo by Oslvado Espino.
And after Ultra Day Three, we popped over one more time to Factory Town as we watched I Hate Models do one of the craziest takeovers we’d seen all week. I mean, we have never seen so many people at The Park at once. Absolutely flooded. And part of that, we think, is because of the newer policy of making a lot of these events 18+ and encouraging that younger crowd more openly. There were a lot of younger adults there, people in that 18 to 21 range, and you could tell just by the way they were moving through the space.
Still, I Hate Models was phenomenal, delivering some of the hardest techno of the week while Sara Landry vibed nearby, and the whole place felt ready to combust. We bounced to Elrow after that, a full fever dream of bright colors, costumes, and chaos, then gave a quick nod to the Insomniac Records stage, where Marte brought real movement behind the decks and KinAhau carried himself with total control. The rain made everything harder to navigate, but by then we were just chasing one last sunrise. That’s the thing about Music Week: sometimes you don’t finish clean, you just survive it.
