Fall semester is quickly winding down. While everyone is excited for time off to celebrate the holidays, it’s never too soon to plan what festivities you’ll attend this spring. Miami is full of amazing music festivals, and the first half of 2017 will be packed with some of the year’s best. Here are events you won’t want to miss:
Art Basel, Miami Beach: Dec. 1-4, 2016
Before we jump into next year, let’s start with an important honorable mention. As you may already know, Art Basel is a famous art fair that hosts all kinds of creations from around the world. What you might not know, though, is that there are dozens of concerts and musical events held at Art Basel, such as shows featuring James Blake and Young Thug, at 10 p.m. Nov. 30 and 10 p.m. Dec. 1, respectively, sponsored by III Points. Other shows are “Calvin Harris LIV Basel Edition,” at 11 p.m. Dec. 1 and “The Ritual” at 9:30 p.m. Dec. 3 at Chop Shop Wynwood, featuring Twelve’len, Austin Paul and more.
Rolling Loud Festival, Bayfront Park: May 5-7, 2017
If seeing Young Thug’s name caught your eye, then you should definitely check out this hip-hop festival, with line-ups known to be packed to the brim with some rap’s heaviest hitters. Performers at last May’s festival included Lil Yachty, Lil Uzi Vert, Young Thug, Ty Dolla $ign, Future, Kodak Black, 2 Chainz and more.
“It was good that Kodak Black stayed out of jail long enough to perform, because he put on a really amazing set,” said junior psychology major Eliot Parascandolo about his experience at the 2016 show.
While this year’s line-up has yet to be announced, it certainly won’t disappoint.
Ultra Music Festival, Bayfront Park: March 24-26, 2017
This festival speaks for itself. As one of the premier electronic-music festivals on earth, Ultra never fails to wow attendees. A recent announcement of the first “wave” of performers included names such as Ice Cube, Major Lazer, Hardwell, DJ Snake and Steve Aoki.
When it comes to the festival’s vibes, junior business major Tyler Ragone has nothing but good memories.
“Ultra is great because you end up making 50 new friends in one day,” Ragone said.
Tickets are already on sale now, so hurry and grab tickets while you can.
Tortuga Music Festival, Fort Lauderdale: April 7-9, 2017
If hip-hop and E.D.M. aren’t quite your thing, and you’d rather jam out to some country on the beach while helping to raise awareness for marine conservation, look no further than Tortuga Music Festival. Some of country’s biggest superstars such as Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan, Chris Stapleton and Darius Rucker will perform at this year’s event.
Tickets are already available online. Should you decide that general admission isn’t quite exciting enough, you can always spring for the VIP package that includes free refreshments and access to special areas of the concert.