US news

Ultra Music Festival 2015 Confirmed for March 27-29, 2015

Yehouda Silverman Leave a Comment

Ultra Music Festival 2014

With Ultra Music Festival 2014 drawing to a close on Sunday night, the team behind the festival have announced that Ultra Music Festival 2015 will take place March 27-29, 2015. The 16th edition of Ultra Music Festival boasted some big numbers: 165,000 party people from over 90 countries worldwide across three days (March 28-30) packed themselves into Bayfront Park venue in Downtown Miami. The 2014 Ultra Live Stream produced by UMF TV garnered 9,655,615 views in total from more than 190 countries worldwide in just 3 days, compared to last year’s viewership of just over 11 million when the festival was two weekends and six days long. Organizers claim to have generated $233 million for the local economy. UMF 2014 did have some bad news: a security guard was nearly trampled to death by gatecrashers at Bayfront Park, leading for Ultra to make a full security review of the event. Miami’s Mayor Tomas Regalado has called for the end of the annual three-day March festival.

Read our UMF 2014 recaps of day one, day two and day three.

Image by Kathy Vitkus

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Chicago House Label Trax Records Issues Statement Over Frankie Knuckles’ Royalties

Darren Ressler Leave a Comment

screaming rachel frankie knuckles trax records

With the death of Frankie Knuckles on Monday, his musical legacy — specifically his days pioneering house music as a DJ and producer in Chicago — has been celebrated by fans and peers. While Knuckles’ work for Trax Records is legendary, he maintained that he was never fairly compensated for his work on the label. Screaming Rachel (pictured above) and Jorge Cruz issued a statement today, defending themselves and their relationship with Knuckles.

Wrote Rachel, “I have decided to give my share of all monies collected for the sale of ‘Your Love’ To Frankie Knuckles estate, or to a proper charity. I hope that others involved will do the same and I’m doing my best to encourage that.”

Here is the statement in its unedited entirety.

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Facing Gall Bladder Surgery, Avicii Forced to Cancel Ultra Music Festival DJ Set

Yehouda Silverman Leave a Comment

avicii

After entering the hospital upon his arrival in Miami this week, Avicii has issued a statement about his health. Doctors have told him that he needs to have his gall bladder removed, which has forced him to cancel is appearance at Ultra Music Festival. He has assured fans that he will recover in time to launch his US True Tour. Deadmau5, who once ranted about how awful UMF is for fans, will take his place on the bill.

“I’m really sorry but as some of you have already heard, I will not be playing Ultra Festival this weekend.

My fans know that I have had issues in the past with my stomach and pancreatitis…I woke up on Wednesday morning with serious pain but I flew to Miami anyway, hoping that it would go away. The pain was still there when I landed so I went straight to hospital. I was treated and left later that night.

Unfortunately, the pain came back yesterday afternoon and I returned to the hospital where they admitted me to stay overnight.

My doctors have decided to operate and remove my gall bladder tomorrow morning.

It’s a routine procedure and all going well, I expect to be fully recovered and back on my feet in time for my US True Tour.

Thanks for your concern everyone, it means a lot to me!”

Life Opening Labor Day Weekend in Las Vegas, Another Club for Rich People [Video]

Darren Ressler Leave a Comment

LiFE nightcub Las Vegas

Since the dawn of time some rich people have needed places to flaunt their money. Ever since hotel operators in Las Vegas realized that having a nightlife addition their property was another license to print money, the city’s club scene has literally exploded in recent years, leading those supposedly in the know to call it the new Ibiza. While all of the top DJs in the world are playing there, odds are good that readers of this site wouldn’t think much about a wild weekend partying to Afrojack in Sin City, mainly because they’re the wrong demographic. Either way, seeing the potential in the marketplace, Las Vegas is about to receive a new addition to its growing club scene: LiFE. Opening Labor Day weekend at the highly anticipated SLS Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, which is housed in the building once occupied by the Sahara Hotel, the mega-club boasts a 20,000-square-foot immersive experience featuring a rooftop pool.

Details are still vague at the moment, but a spokesman from the hotel told the Las Vegas Sun that their joint is going to be a lot different from their competitors. “For far too long, the party has been about just the entertainment, and Life defies that notion, knowing that the real essence of the party is its people.”

We’ll let you ruminate on that for a moment. In the meantime, here’s a video teaser showing what Life will look like.