Why Returning To Ultra Music Festival Every Year Is The Move: 2025 Review
- Ashley Kelaita
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
There’s something undeniably surreal about dancing to world-class electronic music with Miami’s skyline towering behind you, the ocean breeze cutting through the Florida heat, and over thousands of people moving in sync. Ultra 2025 didn’t reinvent the wheel, but it didn’t have to—it doubled down on what it does best: massive production, top-tier lineups, and the energy of a city that never stops moving.
Nestled right in the middle of downtown, Ultra continues to be the heartbeat of Miami Music Week. You can walk out of Bayfront Park and straight into an afterparty, a rooftop set, or an artist pop-up five blocks away. No other major festival in the U.S. has this kind of seamless integration with its host city, and this year, Ultra delivered a weekend stacked with moments that’ll be hard to top.
Our Digital Vibrations team attended the festival and put together our top sets (no particular order) from the weekend.
John Summit & Dom Dolla’s “Everything Always”
There’s hype, and then there’s whatever surrounds John Summit and Dom Dolla right now. Their new Everywhere Always project has been bubbling all year, and Ultra felt the excitement of that during their set Friday evening. They didn’t just throw down a B2B—they curated an experience. Bouncing between groovy house, peak-time tech, and even some dubstep, it was obvious these two weren’t just chasing drops—they were building a world for fans to experience. Our favorite part of their set though was their intro that consisted of a mashup of all of their most popular songs. It was such a unique way to start the set and curated an awesome time for everyone.
Subtronics Mainstage Debut
Over at the Worldwide Stage, Subtronics delivered one of the most unrelenting dubstep sets I’ve ever seen at Ultra. From the moment he stepped on, it was pedal to the floor. He brought his signature blend of face-melting bass and glitchy sound design, but what stood out most was the pacing. He weaved in drum & bass, played a classic tribute to Avicii with Acyans flip of Levels, and still found room to drop crowd-pleasers like “Griztronics II” without letting up.
One of our favorites of the night was when he dropped his Gas Pedal VIP remix with John Summit and Tape B. It’s such a fun song and their take on it is incredible. I would've loved to see what the whole crowd looked like behind us as he played that. This wasn’t just a DJ throwing bangers at a crowd—it was calculated chaos, controlled by someone who knows exactly when to blow the roof off and when to reel it back in just enough to make the next hit feel even heavier.
Zed’s Dead Debuts Their New Album
Zeds Dead’s mainstage performance was the live debut of their new album, and it felt a certain type of special from the very first track. They leaned into the storytelling, letting the mood evolve from deep, atmospheric intros into slamming midtempo and dubstep hybrids. It wasn’t just about bass—it was cinematic.
Tracks like “Stars Tonight” and “Sweet Memories” felt like centerpiece moments, pulling the crowd into something more introspective before hitting them with a gut punch of energy. Nothing beats the vibe they bring to their sets. You know when they pull up to the decks wearing their suits, that they mean business and it's going to be a good one. Between the hand-made television stage design, the lasers and all the new music they played, it was clear that they were proud of what they made, and the audience could feel that throughout the set.
Alesso Never Disappoints
Alesso is a classic Ultra set that reminds everyone why he’s still a mainstage heavyweight, and why we are all brought together in the first place. There is something so unique about the classic electronic sound that transports us back to the early 2000’s. His music is the kind where you want to jump on your friend's shoulder and look over and see everyone in the crowd flying flags from their home countries.
His set was built on tension and release—long, emotional builds followed by euphoric drops that seemed tailor-made for the Miami skyline. He played the hits, sure, but it wasn’t a lazy greatest-hits reel. He sprinkled in reworks and edits that gave old tracks like “Heroes” and “If I Lose Myself” a fresh pulse. It was truly an incredible experience and I feel bad for whoever wasn't there.
