Ultra Music Festival 2022 Returns to Bayfront Park

With Ultra Music Festival 2022 wrapped up, and attendees are returning home, It’s time to go over how fantastic of an experience it was to attend Ultra Music Festival back at Bayfront Park.

After two years away due to a worldwide pandemic, and one year stationed next door at Virginia Key State Park, Ultra Music Festival made an unforgettable return to Downtown Miami. UMF had an unreal lineup that left you always deciding which artist you wanted to see. I found myself wandering between stages, going from the legendary Carl Cox at The Resistance Mega Structure to seeing the Surprise set by Hardwell at the Main Stage to watching a live acoustic piano performance by Slander at the UMF Live Stage. 

The main stage was jaw-dropping when it came to production. Between the water and fire cannons, the lasers, and the fireworks, Ultra Main Stage was the highest level of production I’ve seen at a concert in years. Besides the show, Ultra had a phenomenal drone show at the beginning and end of the festival. The drone shows had all attendees mesmerized by the precision and colorfulness of the show. The main stage featured headliner DJs every night like Kygo, Illenium, and Hardwell returning after a 4-year hiatus.

Ultra had a few surprise performances planned throughout the weekend with so many stages, including one by Martin Garrix at the UMF Radio stage. The biggest surprise of the weekend was the return of Hardwell after a 4-year hiatus from music. With Ultra being the start of his “Rebels Never Die” tour, Hardwell had the main stage crowd going insane for all the new music he was premiering. Some of the songs I loved incorporated his deep house sound mixed with rock songs from Metallica and Linkin Park. Overall, Hardwell was a spectacular surprise set for attendees at the festival and those watching live via UMF TV on YouTube.

Each stage had its unique environment. Whether you were at the Live Stage watching DJ sets with Live instruments, or at the Resistance Carl Cox Mega-Structure, which featured veteran house DJs under the enormous structure, or headbanging at the Ultra WorldWide stage, attendees from Ultra found plenty of entertainment to enjoy. 

Krewella 

I had the chance to sit down for a few minutes to chat with Jahan and Yasmine from Krewella. The ladies described how it was nice to take a break from constantly touring and putting out albums when Covid lockdown occurred. It made them realize it’s okay to turn down an opportunity and not always fill their schedule with events. Krewella’s first time playing Ultra was in 2013, and this won’t be the last time we see them rocking out one of the Ultra stages.

The ladies of Krewella came out blasting at the UMF WorldWide stage. With a packed crowd singing along, Krewella played all of their smash hits from over the years and played songs from their new album “A Body Never Lies.” If you missed their set, you could find their Ultra set on YouTube or see them live on their world tour starting April 1st in Seattle, Washington.

With over 150,000 attendees from over 101 countries, Ultra Music Festival 2022 returning to Bayfront Park made this music festival one to never forget. All over the festival, you could see flags from countries worldwide, including many flags in support of Ukraine. Many of the Miami skyline buildings had blue and yellow lights supporting Ukraine.

UMF 2022 in Bayfront Park reinforced why this festival is a global attraction for music lovers from all over the world. From the best artists from around the globe to the highest level of production to the wonderful Miami environment, Ultra in Miami has made a comeback to being one of the premier music festivals in the world. With the festival being sold out, people watched the show from yachts in the bay, parking garages, and balconies on nearby high-rise buildings.

Tickets are on sale now for Ultra Music Festival 2023 in Miami, and tickets are selling fast! It only took 24 hours for General Admission Tier 1 to sell out for UMF Miami 2023, so act quickly if you want to go! Tickets are available at https://ultramusicfestival.com/tickets/miami/.

See you next year at Ultra!