Photo by George Martinez Those who rave presumably adhere to the values of PLUR: peace, love, unity, respect. While attending Ultra Music Festival, we wondered if the fans’ philosophical perspectives were broader than those four words. And also, had they, in their PLUR-verse, uncovered answers to existence’s most puzzling questions?…
All photos by Kat Bein and Gretchen Schroeder Ultra Music Festival is nothing if not gnarly. The beats are gnarly, the people are gnarly, the portable toilets are gnarly. It’s stank-face city, bro. But even more than the sight of no toilet paper, it’s those dirty beats — dutch, dub,…
Photo by S. Pajot Whoa! Bro! You got boobs! For the last couple of years at Ultra Music Festival, male ravers have rocked increasingly explicit, sometimes anatomically correct, and often innuendo-emblazoned tees, resulting in many LOLs and WTFs. Some are funny. Others are gross. And others still are straight-up creeeeeepy…
Photo by Marta Xochilt Perez Once ridiculed as the hilariously embarrassing accessory of choice for fat American tourists, the fanny pack is now a practical piece of party gear for hot, young EDM fanatics. At music fests such as Miami’s Ultra, it has become a ubiquitous carry-all for scantily clad…
Photo by George MartinezM.I.A. at Ultra 2014. Much like the actual weather in this era of global warming, the emotional climate at Ultra Music Festival’s live stage is wildly unpredictable. The fans might love it. They might hate it. It’s always tough to predict. But the fervor and size of…
Photo by Marta Xochilt Perez We all know the words to the song. But is Rihanna telling the truth? Is it really possible to find love in a hopeless place? Ultra Music Festival can sometimes seem to be as hopeless a place as any for finding a true connection. You’re…
Head cam! Our girl’s the one on the left. If you think rave culture is about the music or drugs, you’re so very wrong. Above all, it’s about the look. And at a rave: the freakier, the finer. Year after year, fans of EDM and friends of Molly help the…
John Wylie, the local hardcore musician and established entrepreneur, gives corporate synergy a good name next Saturday. One of his current influential record labels, Wayward Parade (the other is Eulogy Records), and his tattoo shops, Aces High, present the now-annual Aces High Music Festival. It features nine bands on two…
Photo by George Martinez Ravers are like snowflakes, right? Wrong. It’s actually not uncommon to find two (or 12) who look (and sometimes behave) almost exactly alike. In fact, we’ve spent a lot of time wandering around EDM fests in a state of perpetual déjà vu, encircled by thousands of…
Humble Suwannee Springfest has yet to reap the recognition and appreciation that some of the bigger festivals have managed to attain. Being that it’s in its 18th year, it can only be attributed to the fact that it still seems so local to us Florida folks. Indeed, it boasts a…
Don’t miss Hot Creations label boss Jamie Jones at Ultra 2014. No matter what you tell yourself, there is absolutely no way to catch every act that you want to see at Ultra Music Festival. Never mind the overlapping set times, just trying to traverse Bayfront Park is a daunting…
A month ago, Tyler the Creator and his Odd Future buddies were banned from the entire country of New Zealand because the local government there believed they posed a threat to the public order. Saturday, Tyler was arrested at a SXSW performance in Austin, Texas, for inciting a riot. As…
Thirty years plus and the Butler brothers are still going strong with their new-wave concoction, the Psychedelic Furs. Led by singer Richard, with his sibling Tim on bass, the group emerged from Britain’s late ’70s postpunk scene to become one of the genre’s founding troubadours. Thanks in large part to…
When Todd Rundgren dubbed an early album A Wizard, a True Star it might have seemed somewhat presumptuous at the time, given that his recording career was practically in its infancy. Four decades later, that title has come to sum up one of the most remarkably prolific careers in rock’s…
Don’t refer to Marc Cohn as a one-hit wonder. Although his song “Walking in Memphis” may have immortalized him for radio listeners everywhere and won him a Grammy in the process, it also established him as an artist of a certain standing, the kind that can be counted on to…
Hustling like raindrops is what Fort Lauderdale rapper Jacques Bruna — better-known by his stage name, Bleubird — does 24/7, 365 days a year. The comically inclined hip-hop troubadour has been a star on the local scene for more than a minute — more than ten years, to be exact…
When Aziz Ansari walked onto the stage at the Seminole Hard Rock Live in Hollywood wearing a red velvet suit that can only be described as just really fucking cool, the crowd was already his. And it’s not just because he’s that guy from that thing. The 31-year-old has been…
Some artists have an uncanny propensity for developing the sort of fan base that borders on cultic in its dedication. While the fans of singer/songwriter/twin sister duo Tegan and Sara have not crossed the threshold of sanity like the adoring flocks of Kiss and Jimmy Buffett, there is a very…
At age 72, and with a 50-year recording career behind her, Judy Collins certainly deserves to rest on her accomplishments. Consider her credentials: She was among the prime architects of the ’60s folk scene, a skilled song interpreter who helped bring artists like Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, and Ian Tyson…
If the Hackensaw Boys had been around in any earlier era — say, the ’20s or ’30s — they might have been big stars. Known for their rousing blend of fiddles, banjos, and high harmonies, they create a rousing party-pleasing sound that quickly turns any gathering into a scene filled…
Every year, SunFest sweeps through West Palm Beach, bringing with it plenty of new and classic acts that draw both the youngest and oldest music fans of the tricounty area. This year, the lineup stays true to those of the past. It keeps it balanced so that your grandma, your…
His name is rarely mentioned in the same breath as the other giants of popular music over the past 50 years: Lennon and McCartney, Jagger and Richards, much less his former colleagues Crosby and McGuinn. But if one were to sample the bands that Chris Hillman has been apart of…
