Hopefully, you’ve made your way here from my last article, but for those who didn’t, here’s a little context: Around this time last year, I wrote an article about my experience at Ultra Music Festival 2024. It was my very first time at a music festival or a rave of any kind, so unpacking everything was a really unique experience.
As a direct result, I got invited to cover Ultra Music Festival 2025 as media this time. Being a writer for Her Campus is so awesome because of opportunities like these, so I want to take you guys through my day at Ultra through the lens of being there for press.
After getting off the Brightline, I quickly went to my house to grab my car and head to Miami. The traffic was swifter than I imagined, and once I arrived, I had to walk for around 30 minutes to the festival for media check-in.
Once I checked in, I could access a press lounge on the first floor of a docked yacht. That was a cool experience since I’d never been on one before, and they had a lot of drinks and snacks for the media. Once I stopped to grab a snack and refresh before entering the grounds, I did feel a little nervous since I was all alone. I was hanging out there for a while to gather the courage to go, but I approached it as an opportunity to be more introspective than the average guest.
Instead of immediately heading to see an artist (which maybe I should have since I missed David Guetta and Sia’s appearance), I decided to take my time. I knew I wanted to see the closing set, “Everything Always” (John Summit X Dom Dolla) for sure, so I went to explore for my blog.
I started by walking past a couple of stages and heading into the Ultra store to check out what items were being sold. I wanted to pay attention to the smaller stages and the music playing there, and at every single one, the vibes were still high, and the DJs were super happy.
Even though I was a little nervous going alone, I never felt unsafe; I was just more nervous about crowds. It’s also nice to go to the small, more intimate stages and chill out to take a break. I hung out for a while before checking out the VIP village behind the stages for a bit.
After talking to some people waiting in line to get into VIP, I found out many were complaining that the event was oversold, at least for the VIP section, which was at least a 40-minute wait. Many guests didn’t see a point in having a VIP ticket if they had to wait to get what they paid for, especially at the cost of missing a specific set. This may be an area of improvement for Ultra.
I also noticed that it’s a much more packed event than EDC, where I felt like I had a little more breathing room. There are also different VIP tiers; the most exclusive one takes at least $100K for bottle service. The most expensive was running just under $500,000, as you can see in the picture on the menu I found on Twitter. Many guests were commenting about it, calling it “out of touch” and “ridiculous.” Many of these guests are also not locals but come from all over the weekend for Miami Music Week, so it was interesting to gather their perspectives during that time.
Afterward, I grabbed a mango-pineapple smoothie, which was super refreshing, and started heading into the main stage crowd to prepare for John Summit and Dom Dolla’s set. I thought it would be easiest for me to gradually come in through the left side where the trees are.
One little trick I’ve learned over my time at raves is that many people flow in or out of the crowd. This creates some space, so either walk behind people walking in if you want to go deeper, walk further in when people are leaving the crowd, or simply spread out a little when space is created so you’re not so squished. This is how I’ve handled large crowds at events and gotten by with it. I didn’t want to be too deep in the crowd, but I did want to be at a point where I could see the DJs from a distance. I went all by myself and did some small talk with the people around me, most of whom were very nice.
I saw little bits and pieces of Alesso’s set which was cool, but I honestly was reared up for Everything Always since John Summit and Dom Dolla were two artists that have been on my bucket list to see for so long now, and the fact that I got to see them together was even better. Their intro was electric, and they played and remixed their most popular hits together in a harmonious way. The vibes were phenomenal, and even though it was an hour and a half, their set flew by. They are also great with crowd work and looked so happy to be there; that’s important in a DJ and makes the experience more enjoyable.
Once the show was over, I had a humbling 30-minute walk back to my car, but the best part is that the whole experience was worth it. Even though I’m in PR, it was interesting being in the lens of a journalist for a day, and I felt that this opportunity would contribute to my future in some way. Fingers crossed, I’ll see you all at Ultra 2026!