Ultra Music Festival is making good on its promise of a virtual experience in lieu of its three-day event that would have taken place at Bayfront Park this Friday through Sunday, had it not been for the coronavirus outbreak. Ultra has released promo codes to ticket holders as well as set times that are bound to make home quarantines a lot less miserable for 72 hours.
The Ultra Music Festival Virtual Audio Festival, presented by SiriusXM, features live sets from DJs who were booked to play in Miami. They include Armin van Buuren, Above & Beyond, Carl Cox, David Guetta, Martin Garrix, Nicky Romero, Oliver Heldens and more.
For 22 years, Ultra has marked not only the start of festival season, but also where artists traditionally drop their new tracks. In an email to ticket purchasers on Wednesday, Ultra indicated the latter may still be the case.
“Although the experience of joining together as one community under the sun can never be replaced, we refuse to five up on sharing our love of discovering new music with you,” Ultra’s email states, “This weekend, we invite you to join us in our social distancing effort as we team up with SiriusXM to bring our fans the music of Ultra Miami for free.”
SiriusXM’s UMF Radio (Channel 52) will start the more than 72-hour music marathon at 5 p.m. ET on March 20, through March 24. In addition to live sets, the limited-run channel will broadcast past sets from DJs including The Chainsmokers and Zedd.
Among the highlights are a two-hour set closing out Sunday from Armin, who was booked to play several sets at the actual festival, and two sets by Carl Cox. Below is the schedule, subject to possible changes, in ET.
Ultra Virtual set times
Friday, March 20
5-6:30 p.m.: Carl Cox
6:30-7:30 p.m.: Kygo (Ultra classic set)
7:30-8 p.m.: Above & Beyond
8-9 p.m.: Zedd (Ultra classic set)
9-10 p.m.: Afrojack
10-11 p.m.: Martin Garrix
11-12 a.m.: Major Lazer
Saturday, March 21
2-3 p.m.: Tommie Sunshine
3-4 p.m.: Frank Walker
4-5:30 p.m.: Carl Cox (Ultra classic set)
5:30-6:30 p.m.: Malaa
6:30-7:30 p.m.: Lost Frequencies
7:30-8:30 p.m.: The Chainsmokers (Ultra classic set)
8:30-9:30 p.m.: Oliver Heldens
9:30-10:45 p.m.: Marshmello (Ultra classic set)
10:45-11:45 p.m.: David Guetta
Sunday, March 22
2-3 p.m.: Ruben de Ronde
3-4 p.m.: Tritonal
4-5 p.m.: Fedde Le Grand
5-6 p.m.: Nicky Romero
6-7 p.m.: Andrew Rayel
7-9 p.m.: Armin van Buuren
In this time of canceled events and mandated social distancing, listeners are “seeking a sense of community more than ever,” SiriusXM President and Chief Content Officer Scott Greenstein said in a statement on Monday.
“We are pleased to be working with Ultra Music Festival to provide our listeners with this virtual audio festival featuring the diverse lineup of artists the UMF delivers year after year, as well as exclusive, fresh, new sets from some of the biggest names in dance music,” Greenstein stated.
Ultra’s email to ticket purchasers included a unique code for each 2020 pass purchased. The code allows users to access the channel and register for a SiriusXM account with three months of free streaming. Dance music fans who did not purchase Ultra tickets are able to tune in for free too, if they sign up for a SiriusXM three-month trial subscription here.
Fans especially appreciate Ultra’s follow-through on the virtual festival given the cancelation of all Miami Music Week events due to Miami’s coronavirus precaution measures.
See you on the dance floor—or rather—virtual dance floor.