Martin Garrix, Excision, and Peggy Gou Deliver at Ultra 2024 Day Two

While Friday proved to be a wet start for Ultra Music Festival, Saturday finally brought clearer skies and plenty of beats. Organized scrambled to make it up to festivalgoers by rescheduling acts and pushing back the curfew to 1 a.m. Still, the gates opened late — probably to clean up the grounds before letting the crowds in.

All was forgiven as everyone grooved to beats ranging from techno and house to dubstep and drum 'n' bass. On day two of Ultra, Hardwell, Martin Garrix, Excision, Peggy Gou, and others took over the decks, delivering the kind of sets the festival is known for.

Here are some of the music highlights New Times caught on the second day of Ultra.

Amelie Lens

There were probably a lot of disappointed ravers who were anticipating Belgian DJ/producer/label boss Amelie Lens' set to close out the Megastructure on Friday, only for the rain to put a damper on those plans. Luckily, organizers did right and rescheduled her for a 5 p.m. slot on Saturday. Early into her set, Lens played Akko's "Olympus," a frostbitten hard-techno track that samples a Gregorian chant. She dove into acid techno territory, showcasing the Roland 909-produced beat, turning the repetitive pounding bass into something distinct. Lens dropped fresh tracks off her Exhale label, like the euphoric, trance-meets-techno track "You and Me" and a goosebumps-inducing remix of "Adagio for Strings." Lens style can appear so simple that it can be hard to convey in words, but the beauty of her sounds lies in that simplicity. There is no need to reformulate her signature sound — and Lens knows that well. Grant Albert

Steve Aoki

As he always does, Steve Aoki took the stage and turned Ultra into a party. He brought out guests Kalan.FrFr, Kiddo, Ryan Key of Yellowcard, Timbaland, and Bassjackers. The tracks ranged from a remix of Linkin Park's "Numb" to bass-bumping anime openings like Demon Slayer. Aoki did a tribute to Akira, the creator of Dragon Ball, before doing his caking and ending his set with his remix of Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness." Osvaldo Espino

Hardwell

On Friday, Hardwell was scheduled to take over the Main Stage for his tenth-anniversary appearance at the festival. Fans flocked to socials after the day one cancellation to beg Ultra to reschedule Hardwell for Saturday. Lo and behold, the people won. On Saturday, Hardwell delivered one of the boldest performances of his career. With Hardwell cherrypicking from his vast catalogue, his set featured remixes of everything from John Summit's "Where Are You" to Benny Bennasi's "Cinema" and non-EDM songs like the Jay Z and Kanye West's classic "N****s in Paris." Hardwell was also down for the occasional mashup, blending Icona Pop's "I Love It" with LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" to take festivalgoers on a nostalgic trip. Osvaldo Espino

Excision

Excision has been known for his audio-visual spectacle of a show, and I was genuinely excited and intrigued by what he could deliver on the Main Stage. With laser lights shooting through the night sky as the bass shook Bayfront Park, Excision showed why he's in such demand and earned his spot as headliner. With visuals that included everything from dragons to pharaohs to pirates and even a certain Dreamworks ogre, his music matched the frenzied energy. At one open, Illenium joined Ex on stage to perform their collaboration "Feel Something." There was a lot to enjoy from his Saturday set, and here's hoping he graces the Main Stage again very soon. Osvaldo Espino

Chase & Status

It's hard to say how many tried-and-true drum 'n' bass aficionados were at Ultra to check out legendary duo Chase & Status' long-awaited return to Miami. Regardless, the new generation has clearly picked up cues and turned the Worldwide stage into a D&B pantheon. The English duo did not hold back, delivering relentless breaks that have come to define the genre. They dropped a slew of their own tracks like "Get Got," "Delete," and "Massive & Crew," as well as some new music from abroad. Chase & Status also brought out an MC, who, for the most part, stuck to the typical, "When I say 'Miami,' you say 'Woah!'" "When I say 'drum 'n' bass, you say 'Woah!'" "I wanna see y'all get crazy! Are you ready, Miami?" Still, the vocal encouragement only added to the hype of watching two legends at work. Grant Albert

Martin Garrix

At this point, Martin Garrix is a staple of Ultra's lineup. Before the 27-year-old took over the Main Stage on Saturday, Ultra's MC hyped up the crowd as a drone show occurred overhead. After the wait, the crowd was finally rewarded with this year's Garrix set. It wasn't anything unusual for Garrix as he stood on a custom deck with an LED cross behind him. He delivered hits like "Tremor," "Animal," and "In the Name of Love." It was probably enough to satisfy Garrix's fanbase and introduce those who had never seen the Dutch producer live. Osvaldo Espino

Jai Wolf

Bangladeshi producer Jai Wolf took to X with good news and bad news. The good news: The rain didn't prevent him from arriving in Miami for his set. The bad news: Last night's storm prevented him from doing a proper soundcheck, and he would have to resort to a DJ set. This took the "live" element out of the Live Stage. Still, Wolf had fun switching up sounds for his hour-long performance, giving the crowd a break from the constant EDM and techno. Wolf played a remix of  Opus III's 1992 track "It's a Fine Day," as well as a house remix of "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" by Tears for Fears. And for good measure, he brought in a remix of Daft Punk's "One More Time" — an instant crowd-pleaser. Toward the end, Wolf warned the audience, "Ultra Miami, we're going to slow it down a bit right now," as he lowered the tempo with a chillwave track. Putting a DJ set at a stage that once hosted Kraftwerk and Nicolas Jaar stings, but Wolf did what he could do with a couple of CDJs under the glow of the full moon. Grant Albert

Peggy Gou

The droves of people Peggy Gou brought to the Megastructure to close out Saturday night made you wonder if she should have just joined David Guetta at the Main Stage. She is the only Louis Vuitton artist to play the Megastructure, her tracks have over a hundred million Spotify streams, and alleged drama has made her an enfant terrible in some circles. But all that is a red herring because Gou is an underground artist. Throughout her two-hour set, she played house music where the groove drips all over. A chunk of her selection came from unearthed gems featuring the best house, techno, and acid from the late '90s and early 2000s. At one juncture, she dropped what sounded like straight bass that shook the crowd — a talent that the tent's usual closer, Carl Cox, mastered. She dropped her seismic 2023 track "(It Goes Like) Nanana" to the crowd's delight and continued turning the Megastructure into her playground and an underground lover's paradise. Grant Albert

RL Grime B2B Knock2

RL K2, the duo comprised of Sable Valley imprint boss RL Grime and signee Knock2, hit a home run with their set at the Worldwide Stage on Saturday. For an hour and 30 minutes, the rookie and the vet gave headbangers a piece of heaven with their back-to-back performance, consisting of some of the nastiest bass drops known to man. Teasing hit "Dashstar" as the very beginning, the team got to work and played bumping remixes of songs like Travis Scott's "Fein" and Kanye West's "Carnival." Early on in the set, the modern party classic "UCLA" was played as the crowd lost it. It was bass-house and dubstep galore for those who just wanted to swing their heads around or jump. Near the end, the duo would finally play the best bass drop in EDM, "Dashstar," and those under the Worldwide Stage were elevated to another world of euphoria with each drop. Osvaldo Espino