99 reasons to be excited that Ultra Music Festival is tomorrowUmf Hakkasan

99 reasons to be excited that Ultra Music Festival is tomorrow

Tomorrow the electronic music world kicks off its beloved Miami Music Week with Day One of the biggest and most over the top Ultra Music Festival ever attempted. With our countdown hovering around the 24 hour mark, we simply could not contain our excitement. To tide you over until the moment we’ve all been waiting for finally arrives, here are 99 reasons to be even more excited.

1. Experiencing the most insane lineup in the festival’s 15 years of existence with 298 acts over two weekends.

2. Waiting for the gates to open and that magical moment when the crowd spills into the buzzing festival grounds.

3. Having the opportunity to see 55 of the DJ Mag Top 100 all performing in the same place.

4. Trying in vain to see all 55.

5. Being a part of the first two-weekend electronic festival (and therefore, history).

6. Telling your friends at home to watch for you on UMFTV.

7. This trailer.

8. Hearing Swedish House Mafia save the world for the last time.

9. John Digweed, Carl Cox and Fatboy Slim, back to back to back.

10. Avicii, Tiesto, David Guetta, back to back to back.

11. ASOT600 Miami.

12. Having a game plan, complete with coordinates and alarms.

13. Abandoning that game plan and going with the throbbing bass-banging flow.

14. The one in a thousand chance you’ll wind up in the official aftermovie.

15. Snoop Dogg, or rather, Snoop Lion?

16. Dog Blood (maybe Lion Blood next year?)

17. Being amongst people from 77 countries in a non-Olympics setting.

18. Having the DJ ask “Miami how you doing?” and being able to respond.

19. Eric Prydz as Cirez D.

20. Deadmau5’s return to the U.S. festival circuit.

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21. Free water.

22. Realizing “by the entrance” was not a good meeting spot.

23. Tagging yourself in Bassnectar’s family photo Monday.

24. Tagging yourself in Steve Aoki’s pics Monday.

25. Finding a grind partner at the Trapped Stage.

26. Nick van de Wall as himself.

27. Having something in common with every single person in Bayfront Park.

28. The OWSLA stage.

29. Hearing the bass from the beach, a boat, or the Boulevard.

30. Group Therapy with a few thousand of your closest friends.

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31. Doing a festival-sized Harlem Shake with Baauer.

32. Hoping there are pyro-shooting robots again.

33. Being satisfied if there’s pyro-shooting anything.

34. Damian. Lazarus.

35. Thronging with thousands of other people down Biscayne in search of a taxi.

36. When that fails, paying some guy with a truck $20 to take you and your friends back to your hotel.

37. Not sleeping Friday and having Ultra be the after-after party Saturday afternoon.

38. Realizing how stupid it was to wear sandals. Abandoning them. Dancing on.

39. Checking out the up-and-comers making their Ultra debut.

40. Seeing what makes the legends legendary.

41. Ridiculing people wearing Ultra merch.

42. Deciding if Dash Berlin or SHM look better on top of their DJ booths.

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43. Needing earplugs for mic checks.

44. Planning a trip to Sweden after catching Eric Prydz, Avicii, Adam Beyer, Alesso, Otto Knows…need we go on?

45. Feeling all your molecules shake at the DropZone Stage.

46. Wondering how Madeon, Walden and Danny Avila figured out the DJ thing at an age when your brainpower was devoted to Halo.

47. Finding out what surprises Ultra is giving you for its birthday.

48. Losing hours entranced at Carl Cox & Friends Arena.

49. Getting those IDs IDed by your friends at Dancing Astronaut.

50. Acting like an animal with Seven Lions, Wolf + Lamb, Pig and Dan and Goldfish.

51. Making friends and enemies in the portapotty line.

52. Having the opportunity to see every nominee for this year’s Best Dance Recording (when the Grammy Committee said “Al Walser,” they obviously meant Zedd).

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53. Watching Wolfgang Gartner’s air-piano.

54. Taking bets on how many people will fall out of the trees at the Main Stage.

55. Free water (yes, it is that exciting).

56. Having so much fun you didn’t need to take pictures.

57. Festing all day, clubbing all night.

58. Seeing the 180 from the Main Stage crowd to Mansion clubbers.

59. Having way better stories than your friends who went to Puerto Vallarta for Spring Break.

60. Discovering why Ultra has won the IDMA’s “Best Music Event” six times.

61. Trying to figure out your favorite DJ’s non-festival locations based on their Twitter feeds.

62. Not knowing whether to look at the fireworks or the lights.

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63. Seeing Swanky Tunes take on Hard Rock Sofa.

64. Navigating the space where basslines collide between stages.

65. Discovering that “those old people” you chatted up know way more about electronic than you do.

66. Praying the entire weekend your hotel doesn’t realize you had 8 instead of 4.

67. Experiencing the Dutch invasion with sets from over twenty of the Netherlands’ finest.

68. Imagining the tanlines that tutus and nipple tape will leave on some of the bolder attendees.

69. Deciding which artist played a collab better.

70. Seeing what color Dillon Francis’ hair will be.

71. Getting destroyed with lasers at Knife Party and beyond.

72. Partying in the bleachers at the Live Stage.

73. Getting confetti in your hair just by walking past the Main Stage.

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74. Witnessing Armin make thousands of people raise their hands to join in the heart sign.

75. Becoming enthralled by the setup at the BAO Dome.

76. Not being able to hear yourself sing along.

77. Deciding for yourself whether Alice Glass or Alexis Krauss is more badass.

78. Hearing the set Hardwell spent two months preparing.

79. Holding out hope Rob Swire pops in to do “Ghosts N Stuff” vocals until the song is over.

80. Upping your cred by hanging out at the Surface Tent.

81. Attempting to play ‘name that flag’ with your not fully coherent friends.

82. Being the first to hear the new tracks Martin Solveig promised.

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83. Hearing your favorite songs blared from towers as tall as your house.

84. Being unable to pick a favorite.

85. Losing count of the minutes with 12th Planet, Project 46, and The Two Bears.

86. Seeing who does the best Jesus pose.

87. Being there for an only-at-Ultra moment (hello, Madonna).

88. Meeting your extended trance family.

89. Counting the number of green man costumes.

90. Scouring the crowd shots for evidence you were there on Monday afternoon.

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91. Having dozens of live sets to reminisce with Monday.

92. Being literally unable to speak after the last set Sunday night.

93. Somehow finding your lost friends right when you’ve given up looking.

94. Looking up to see the Miami skyline flickering with stray lights from the Main Stage.

95. Vowing with your new crew that this is the year you’ll make it from Miami to Ibiza.

96. Going straight from a Sunday afterparty to your Monday morning flight and NGAF.

97. Guessing how many people on your flight home came from UMF.

98. Living through the best weekend in dance music, and maybe even your life.

99. Walking out at the end of Day 3 under an awning already inviting you back next year. Smiling because you know you’ll be there.

Featured Photo Credit: Skyp3r

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