Ultra Music Festival 2017
The Ultra Music Festival returned to South Africa this year for its fourth edition of the electronic music festival. After testing out a 2-day event in Cape Town and Johannesburg in 2016, it reverted back to the original format of having it on Friday in Cape Town and on Saturday in Johannesburg. While many saw this as a regressive step, it perhaps makes more sense – after last years’ Ultra, I ended up spending a full week in recovery. For the first time, Ultra was held at Cape Town Stadium instead of the Ostrich Farm – a secret dream of Ultra founder, Shaun Duvet. While many were sceptical of the stadium’s ability to hold a party of this nature, it had been done before in Croatia and I was excited to see how it would all be accomplished.
A good addition to this year’s festival was the use of the cashless wristbands for purchases of merchandise, food and drinks. It saved having to carry an extra card like last year, and all the money not spent could easily be cashed out after the festival.
In terms of the layout, a lot of the ‘chill zones’ (grass areas with tents, shade and some seats) that were on the Ostrich Farm were removed, with the stadium seats providing that comfort to some extent. The Samsung Galaxy experience platforms were a saving grace by providing free water. The food court was great but some dishes were sorely missed - *cough cough* Spur burgers.
Layout issues aside, the visuals and audio-sensory experience had been upgraded. And once the sun set, the lighting created an elevated experience, which each artist clearly used to their advantage but that doesn’t mean the daytime headliners looked any less shabby. FeU, Felix and Headhunterz played great sets, with a few surprises dropped in there – with Headhunterz tending to cross genre mix from house, to hardstyle and even trance.
Around 5:30pm Dash Berlin took to the stage and the vibe in the stadium really picked up as people finally arriving at the arena after a long days work. He and KSHMR provided a much needed pick-me-up to a type of crowd that needed a lift of energy.
Some people have their say about David Guetta, but he has those songs that when they drop, make the entire crowd shed a tear and sing along, because indeed, we had worked hard, it was time to party hard. He kept the crowd singing along all the way through. At the end of his set, it seemed everyone was expectant for what was next.
It was a bit surprising to see that the final headlining act was performing at 10pm, but that was a small compromise for the fact that the world’s best DJ was about to take to the stage. Starting off with an orchestral version of ‘Animals’ before moving straight into the hard hitting electro track, ‘Poison’, Martin Garrix picked up right where David Guetta left off. It was great to see him infuse his new music with the old classics his fans have come to love. He brought it all to a close with, “In the Name of Love,” and the spectators, made up of more than 10 thousand people, continued to party on till the last beat.
All in all, it was an unforgettable Ultra! The stadium did have its compromises, given that many festival-goers have come to regard the Ostrich Farm as the home of Ultra Cape Town. The small logistical issues don’t detract from the fact that the music continues to bring people together. And no matter where Ultra is, or who is on the line-up, you’ll always want to go to avoid the FOMO. So when tickets go on sale for the next festival, make sure you cop ‘em fast!
