What you need to know from Day Two of Ultra Music Festival 2014ARMIN

What you need to know from Day Two of Ultra Music Festival 2014

What you need to know from Day Two of Ultra Music Festival 2014

With 88 new acts and 200,000 people, it is hard to argue the power that Ultra Music Festival holds in today’s electronic music market. Serving as one of the United States’ top music festival, UMF has attracted fans from around the world for a weekend of Americanized electro flavor help in Miami each year. At the conclusion of March, dance music fans make their pilgrimage to Bayfront Park to see exactly what UMF has in store. We have seen many artists rise to the top of their game when facing the beautiful Miami weather and receptive crowd. Day two got a bit wet, but the party roared on. Here are our top five moments from Ultra Music Festival Day Two.

Worldwide Stage draws a massive crowd early, closes temporarily during rain

Beginning early in the day, the Worldwide Stage filled and overflowed into the surrounding walkways as the kings of the trap genre took over. Beginning at 6pm, bassheads packed tightly under the arch to see the likes of Bro Safari, GTA, and DJ Snake bring a dynamic combination of big room and trap hits. Unfortunately, Worldwide faced technical difficulties from the day’s start, with sound often going out completely on either side of the stage. When the rain entrenched Bayfront Park, though, RL Grime’s set was cut short by the Ultra staff, citing technical difficulties as the reasoning behind the temporary closing. After extended protest from the fans and RL Grime himself, the trap lived on, and he, along with Flosstradamus and Dillon Francis, brought the stage to a close with force.

Krewella's acoustic performance brings musicianship back to the Main Stage

While electro house and its related genres were certainly not in short supply at the Main Stage on Ultra’s second day, Krewella brought a refreshing feel to the festival’s largest attraction with live vocals that have improved drastically since the group took the to the same festival last year. The production and vocal collective have had an unusually quick rise to fame, and their set provided yet another example as to why they deserve to have reached such heights. Towards the set’s conclusion, Jahan and Yasmine sang a live rendition of “Human.” Juxtaposed against an invitation to Milo & Otis to join the group on stage, the group showed their diverse live abilities while putting on a showcase of the Get Wet tunes that brought them back to Miami’s favorite music festival.

Paul Kalkbrenner and Gramatik pack the Live Stage amongst a day of impressive talent

As the “push play” DJ tendencies rage on with mainstream electronic music, Paul Kalkbrenner and Gramatik defy the norm with live, on-stage production that drew a dedicated crowd to Ultra’s intimate Live Stage. Goldfish and Riff Raff started the day off well with live performances away from the CDJs, and Infected Mushroom shredded away on rock instruments to bring the electro flavor on heavy. While talented acts graced the stage for hours, no producer or band was able to draw the appreciative and deep fanbase that the German producer pulled following a groovy dubstep-inspired set from Gramatik. As many fans took a load off their feet and sat down towards to back of the theater, Paul’s loyal fanbase took to the front to groove to “Sky and Sand” and other live-constructed tunes. Festival attendees flocked to the Live Stage in droves as Gramatik’s set began and ran to rejoin the electro-fueled mayhem as Paul’s came to an end, showing authenticated electronic music certainly has a market in the United States.

Above & Beyond's music stops, but the party keeps going

Technical difficulties plagued one of Ultra’s most magical sets as the musical masterminds of Above & Beyond were forced to move further backstage to avoid the torrential downpour. Though the producers were out of sight, they were certainly not out of mind. The crowd was more than forgiving for any equipment blunders due to weather. After a short break in the music and a bit of confusion from fans, the tracks began again with text communication from A&B on Ultra’s large video setup so that the trance superstars could communicate with the crowd directly without further causing any dismay. Often visiting the stage front to greet fans, the mixing continued backstage, and the group even paid homage to the very thing that caused their technical problems – the rain – with a closing play of an acoustic “Sun and Moon.” Magical.

Deadmau5 delivers incredible set, and trolls, of course

Filling in for Avicii after he was brought to the hospital to have his gallbladder removed, Deadmau5 stepped up to deliver a set that shocked the Main Stage. Beginning his set from behind the stage, and in his words, “Above & Beyond style,” Joel Zimmerman eventually emerged, mau5 head and all, to play a set that was far more progressive than what Main Stage fans had hoped for. While many will focus on Deadmau5’s “trolling” as he played an Old MacDonald-infused version of Martin Garrix’s “Animals” and Avicii’s 2011 hit “Levels,” the quality of the jokester’s set must not be overlooked. Genre traversing throughout the set, Joel would often remove his headpiece when bringing fans down the rabbit hole, laying funky minimalist techno down on the stage where big room had dominated all day. On a moment’s notice, Joel’s entire team stepped up to bring a top-notch set accompanied by visuals that worked wonderfully with the spiral lighting setup, and a deeper, more emotional set than the big room acts that came before him in the headlining slot.

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