My Journey Through Another Mind-Melting Miami Music Week

On the Tuesday night of Miami Music Week, you could tell that there was a different audience this year.

For nearly four decades, March has been when the dance music world and revelers descend on the city to party well past sunrise. This year was special, though. It marked the return of the Winter Music Conference, which hadn't taken place since 2019. Its return couldn't have come at a better time. Electronic music has seemingly been on a comeback since EDM's peak in the 2010s. It's broken back into the mainstream thanks to new blood like John Summit and Dom Dolla while also making space for veterans Skrillex, who has been steadily releasing new music since 2023.

Walking into WMC's opening party at M2 in Miami Beach, the crowd enjoyed Deorro's set alongside Timmy Trumpet. Deorro went on first, delivering hits like "Perdoname" and "Five More Hours" while mixing in West Coast favorites like Dr. Dre's "The Next Episode." At one point, he threw flowers into the crowd, receiving an overwhelming response from clubgoers.

I left around 2 a.m. to cross the causeway for Hugel's Make the Girls Dance showcase, featuring DJs like Mahmut Orhan and Shimza at Club Space. When Hugel took over the deck, he wasted no time keeping the energy high, bringing out his remixes of Latin Mafia and Bad Bunny. However, the biggest response of the night came when he played his Arash and Topic collaboration "I Adore You."

Hell and Back

On Wednesday, the DJ Mag party at the Sagamore was seemingly the place to be. Warming up the crowd poolside was Max Dean, who did a back-to-back set with Sosa. The duo premiered unreleased music and turned up the energy right before the party's headliners, the Martinez Brothers, hopped on for a two-hour set, with "Rizzla" putting everyone in the perfect mood.

Afterward, I ventured to Nikki Beach for the Ocean Drive party, where Hugel was again behind the decks, adapting his set to match the much more intimate experience. He can get people moving regardless of the venue's size.

Far away from South Beach, Factory Town hosted my favorite party of the week, Cloonee's Hellbent showcase. The British producer brought Loco Dice, Caleb Calloway, Prospa, and Hot Since 82 to the venue's Infinity Room stage. Cloonee was the only artist at Factory Town this year who customized his stage completely, adding chains and cages and splitting up the visuals to create a dark, industrial atmosphere.

He transported the crowd to Hell — or at least his version of it. The stage was drenched in red lights while the screen played fiendish graphics. During multiple drops, flames shot up, adding to the party's wicked, almost cinematic vibe — it was incredible. He closed the set with edits of songs like "Suavemente" and Bad Bunny's "Debi Tirar Mas Fotos." Ultimately, Cloonee made Hell look like the place you want to end up in the afterlife.

Austin Millz took over Arcadia Day Club at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach on Thursday. The Puerto Rican-born, New York-based DJ commanded the decks, creating a groovy atmosphere.

Before I knew it, I had to run back to Factory Town for a doubleheader. First up was Ben Sterling's Planet X showcase, featuring Rossi and Josh Baker. The highlight came as Sterling went back-to-back with Beltran before morphing into a threeway set with ChaseWest. The trio jumped up and down, swapping songs and mixes, from a remix of Playboi Carti's "Crush" to Sterling's edit of "Ayo Technology."

The other side of Factory Town hosted Sarah Landry's Hekate showcase, which more than delivered on its promise of pure, unrelenting, hard techno. Partygoers went crazy as Landr dropped rap remixes with hard drops. The visuals were dark, thundering, and intense — the antithesis of what Cloonee had done the night before, yet just as immersive. Landry put her boot firmly on the crowd's collective neck the moment she hopped on stage, keeping it there as she went back-to-back-to-back with Shlømo and Nico Moreno.

Coming to an End

Before the start of Ultra on Friday, I popped into Club Space for Loco Dice, who was going back-to-back with the Martinez Brothers, delivering easily one of the best sets of the week. Loco Dice and the Martinez Brothers are unstoppable when given the freedom to play without time constraints. While partying at 2 p.m. on Friday feels like pure madness, it was still one of those "you had to be there" moments.

Once the first day of Ultra wrapped up, it was off to Electric Lady in Wynwood to watch Harvy Valencia. The Colombian DJ took over the venue for two hours, delivering some of the finest house music you could ask for. However, not wanting to peak before the weekend was over, I headed home after it was over.

Saturday brought the Solid Grooves showcase at Club Space, with Michael Bibi and Dennis Cruz going back-to-back. The pair exhibited seamless chemistry, effortlessly making the crowd groove with excellent track selections and edits.

The MMW insanity culminated on Sunday with a post-Ultra visit to Factory Town for the Chaste Records showcase and ANOTR's album release party. The torrential rain sometimes made it difficult to see the stage, but it didn't dampen the vibes. ChaseWest ended the night by opening up the decks, allowing for an impromptu back-to-back session. At one point, Playboi Carti's "Evil J0rdan" poured out of the speakers, with people still going strong as the sun peaked over the horizon.

The week was pure insanity — and I can't wait to do it all over again next year.