Last weekend, over 100,000 people flocked Bicentennial Park in Downtown Miami for the twelfth annual Ultra Music Festival, which was completely sold out for the first time in history. It’s no wonder – the diverse line-up of over 200 international acts spanned the electronic music genre, with a few outliers like Passion Pit and Damian Marley & Nas. The line-up was stacked with dubstep heavyweights, including Rusko, Skream, Benga, Pendulum and Bassnectar, the first time the genre was represented.

One of the best things about Ultra (other than the music, of course) is the people watching, and this year did not disappoint. Aside from the standard-issue neon raver outfits, there were some outlandish group costumes, including a gorilla with a bunch of bananas and the Superfriends with their captured prisoner. On the second day, Deadmau5 gear dominated the scene, from matching outfits and mau5 heads to homemade t-shirts and tatoos.

This year’s Ultra was rife with collaborations – on Friday, David Guetta was joined by Lil Jon, LMFAO and the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am and apl.de.ap while Diddy made an appearance during Felix Da Housecat’s set. On Saturday, Benny Bennasi welcomed Kelis for a duet of their song “Spaceship”, Florence from Florence and the Machine joined Swedish House Mafia on stage, and Deadmau5 closed the festival with drummer Tommy Lee and vocalist Sofia Toufa.

Check out our Winter Music Conference Recap Page for photo galleries and our full coverage of WMC.

What a weekend.

Our sophomore year at the Winter Music Conference was even more jam-packed than our first. Click through to see how I fared as I navigated my way through the Winter Music Conference party scene, and be sure to check out our WMC Recap Page, where we will continue to add photos and recaps from our various exploits around town.

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After moving around for most of the second day, we settled at the Bayfront Stage for a back-to-back trifecta of Boys Noize vs. Erol Alkan, Crookers, and the Bloody Beetroots.

We arrived just in time for “Waves”, Boys Noize and Erol Alkan’s first release as a duo, which they played in its entirety. Later, they took sample from the Boys Noize’s own remix of “My Moon My Man” by Feist and repackaged it into a completely different mix.

Crookers destroyed their set, drawing a tremendous audience that was ready to dance. They started with “We Love Animals”, the opening track from their debut album Tons of Friends, then proceeded to rework the song. The Italian duo rocked the crowd with remixes of “Milkshake” by Kelis, “Gimme Some More” by Busta Rhymes, “How Low” by Ludacris, and a superb rendition of their own “Cooler Couleur” by AC Slater. The audience went crazy when Crookers slowed things down with the intro of “Circle of Life” from The Lion King, then fashioned an electro beat using samples from the song. Towards the end, they remixed their breakthrough remix of Kid Cudi’s “Day n Night”.

The Bloody Beetroots was an act to see, but not for the faint-hearted. Their heavy electro-rock had the crowd going wild, fueled by the live instrumentals of Bobby Rifo on guitar, keyboard and vocals and Edward Grinch on drums, rounded out by Tommy Tea behind the decks. Steve Aoki joined the group on stage for an explosive finale.

CLICK HERE for more photos and coverage from the Winter Music Conference in Miami… we’ll be adding more coverage daily, so stay tuned.

The steamy oasis known as the Root Society Dome was great new addition to the Ultra landscape this year. The bio-dome structure was accented with palm trees and jungle gyms, which people wasted no time in climbing. Smoke and mood lighting completed the backdrop, making it perfect for when Bassnectar took over on Friday evening. He has a unique ability to borrow from a spectrum of genres and regurgitate them in his unmistakable style. Bassnectar’s set flowed seamlessly through dubstep and drum n bass beats, laced with the vocal stylings of Buju Banton and Pharoahe Monch.

CLICK HERE for more photos and coverage from the Winter Music Conference in Miami.

Hard’s signature party went poolside at the Winter Music Conference in Miami. The sold-out event featured Erol Alkan, Boys Noize, Busy P, DJ Mehdi, Fake Blood, Jack Beats, Annie Mac, Brodinski, Destructo, Aeroplane, Boy 8 Bit, Rory Phillips and Gina Turner.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL ALBUM

If you’re going to the Winter Music Conference in Miami this week, then you’re undoubtedly in the same head-throbbing situation as I am. With hundreds of parties to choose from, where do you begin?

Here’s a start: click through to check out my personal WMC itinerary — a (semi) realistic list of all of the parties and events I plan to attend throughout the week. And since modern science has yet to produce a human clone, the honorable mentions section includes all the parties I wish I could go to but can’t.

Here’s hoping that my headache is someone else’s headbanging good time…

LMFAO – “Shots” (Skeet Skeet’s Ignorant Dance Music Mix)

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Can WMC ever be FIXED? Residents JDH and Dave P seem to think so. Judging by the line-up, which includes Boys Noize and Erol Alkan (their most recent collaboration, Lemonade / Avalanche, was released last week), along with Afrojack, Brodinski, Shinichi Osawa, and of course, JDH & Dave P, we’d have to agree. Still not convinced? Fixed is putting their money where their mouth is, offering up a pair of tickets to the party. Enter the contest by filling out the form below. A winner will be selected on Thursday night and notified on Friday morning.