Ultra Music Festival 2016 Line Up and More
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We're 5 weeks away until ULTRA touches down at Bayfront Park in Downtown Miami, with their electrifying Phase One lineup for its eighteenth annual edition, taking place on March 18, 19 and 20, 2016.
In another incredible move from the American festival juggernaut, whose unique lineups have always been praised for their diversity, innovation and forward-thinking LIVE programming, Ultra Music Festival 2016 will see the return of three of the most revered LIVE acts in the history of electronic music.
Dubbed “The Godfathers of Rave”, UK pioneers and award-winning outfit The Prodigy will be making their long awaited Ultra Music Festival return, as they prepare to entertain the ULTRA faithful with their industrial brand of rock-tinged electronica. Incorporating rave, electro, jungle, hardcore and everything in between, this fully immersive live show is not to be missed.
Next up, and for the first time since 2011, Australian Drum & Bass getup Pendulum will be heading back to Ultra Music Festival for a very special and rare live appearance. Often credited for the global popularization of the genre, fans can expect to witness a raw, high-octane live experience, rivaled by few others.
And, in a momentous nod to the festival’s very roots, the headline act for ULTRA’s very first edition, which took place on the sands of Miami Beach in 1999, will also be returning for their landmark reunion. None other than Rabbit In The Moon will be showcasing their visionary interpretation of psychedelic trance, house and breaks, as Ultranauts young and old prepare to witness a true slice of history.
Completing the LIVE programming for Phase One are additional headliners Caribou, Chet Faker, Destroid, Miike Snow, Nero, Purity Ring and Tycho.
As ever, ULTRA will also be welcoming a huge array of the finest, most in-demand DJs on the planet. Headlining the festival across a broad selection of stages this March will be Afrojack, Armin Van Buuren, Avicii, Carl Cox, David Guetta, Dubfire, Eric Prydz, Hardwell, Jamie Jones, Kaskade, Knife Party, Kygo, Loco Dice, Maceo Plex, Marco Carola, Martin Garrix, Seth Troxler, DJ Snake, Tiësto and Zedd.
Ultra ambassador and crowd favorite Carl Cox returns to the ULTRA Megastructure for a groundbreaking twelfth year to host his legendary Carl Cox & Friends, as does Trance icon Armin Van Buuren, who will take the reins to bring his ‘A State Of Trance’ show to the masses.
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Having made its Miami debut at the 2015 edition of Ultra Music Festival to critical acclaim, the RESISTANCE stage will be returning to Downtown Miami this March, bigger and better than ever before. After welcoming ‘The Afterburner’ in 2015, the 2016 RESISTANCE stage will transform into an entirely different beast dubbed ‘THE SPIDER’. Powered by creative pioneers, Arcadia Spectacular, the 50 ton, 20m tall Spider structure is built from recycled military and industrial hardware, rigged with cutting edge technology, features a DJ booth suspended above the crowd, and shoots 50-foot fireballs over the dancefloor. Etched into festival folklore through Europe and beyond, the iconic Spider will be making its debut on US soil at Ultra 2016.
Ultranauts will also witness an extra spectacle each day with the ‘Arcadia Landing Show’. A brand new addition to RESISTANCE this year, The Landing Show will see the Spider come to life, elevating the energy across the area to peak euphoria. Uniting a stunning range of creative elements and all the Spider’s special effects, the show features interactive aerial performances, abductions, mechanical mayhem and breathtaking pyrotechnics as the Spider makes first contact. For further information on RESISTANCE watch the new trailer here and head to resistancemusic.com
Ultra Music Festival takes place during Miami Music Week and is an 18+ event. As Easter falls on the usual dates, next year’s edition will take place on March 18, 19 and 20, 2016. General Admission and VIP tickets are currently on sale priced at $324.95 and $1,249.95 respectively. Early Bird and Payment Plan tickets have now sold out so act fast to avoid disappointment. For further details and ticket information, head to ultramusicfestival.com
Via ULTRA
GOOD Monday Kanye releases No More Parties in L.A
The music Gods have been great to us this year so far. We got a sample of Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar new record last week when he dropped Real Friends. This morning Ye tweeted "Its Up" speaking about the new record "No More Parties in L.A".
[SXSW Interview] Raekwon
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Video by Elijah Alvarado
During SXSW last month, we had the chance to catch up with RH homie Raekwon The Chef. Rae talked to us about his crowdfunding campaign for "The Purple Tape Files" a documentary based on the making of his debut album "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx." This year marks the 20th anniversary of the project that not only solidified Rae as a solo artist but one of the best MC in Hip-Hop. We also talked about the creative process for his new upcoming album Fly International Luxurious Art (F.I.L.A). He discusses collaborations on the project with A$AP Rocky, Rick Ross, and bringing in new producers to the fold. Check out the first part of the interview above and the second part below.
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[Through My Lens] Fun Weekend
In this edition of Through My Lens, I take on a Fun Weekend during Fun Fun Fun Fest 2014 in Austin, TX.
After years of shooting concerts and festivals with two DSLRs, three lenses, multiple batteries, and other accessories, I was looking forward to trying out a mirrorless system. I've been researching different mirrorless systems (Panasonic and Fuji, among others) for about a year now, but have yet to make the jump. After watching a video of photographer Jason Lanier talking about his 10 reasons why he left his Nikon system for a Sony mirrorless system and boasting about how great these smaller cameras were, I wanted to try it out for myself.
For Fun Fun Fun Fest, I rented a Sony a6000 from Borrow Lenses with a 16mm f/2.8 and a 10-18mm f/4 wide angle lens. For insurance's sake, I took my Canon 7D with a Sigma 24-70mm 2.8 lens to the Fest. I pretty much kept the a6000 around my neck the whole weekend. I only really brought my 7D out when shooting artists live, but even then, the a6000 was great to shoot with. After shooting with the Sony a6000 all weekend, I can safely say I love this little camera. It gave me the freedom I was looking for to shoot street photography that my mobile doesn't give me. The WiFi technology made it seamless to take a shot, send it to my phone, edit, and post on social media.
Below are a bunch of photos I shot from the whole weekend, mostly from the Sony a6000 and a few with my Canon 7D.
[RH Photos] Gary Clark, Jr. at the Historic Scoot Inn (10/29/2014)
Photography by Virgil Solis
Perhaps one of the best blues guitarists of our generation, Austin's very own Gary Clark, Jr., played a free show last week at the Historic Scoot Inn. With fellow South Austin homies Zeale and Phranchyze opening up for GCJ, the night was truly an Austin show. If you have yet to see Gary perform, it should be a bucket list for any true Blues fan. Thanks to the good people over at C3, I was at hand to snap some shots of the show. Check them out below.
[RH Photos] Austin City Limits Festival 2014
Photos by Virgil Solis
Austin City Limits Festival 2014 hit Zilker Park in Austin, TX for the second weekend in a row this past weekend. I was able to hit the festival Friday with camera in hand. Check out some of my photos of CHVRCHES, Childish Gambino, St. Vincent, and Outkast below.
[RH Photos] X Games Austin 2014 Recap
Photos by Virgil Solis Last week, the X Games kicked off their Summer competition in their new home of Austin, Texas. The event started Thursday evening with a skate demo right in the middle of downtown Austin with the Capitol Building as the backdrop with Friday representing the full day of X Games action. Lizzy B and I headed out to the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) late afternoon on Friday while the Texas heat was already at 90 degrees to collect our press badges and get our bearings at the festival-like camp grounds. As we walked through the massive track and amphitheater, we headed to the Moto X WHIP competition. Tom Parons, who eventually takes the gold, lets the crowd and X Games fans know that he had a broken leg and, up until a few days prior, wasn't going to compete. After a short break of walking the ground, we made our way over to the Skate Big Air competition. The massive drop/ramp dwarfed everything around it. Legendary skater Bob Burnquist was one of the competitors alongside Rony Gomes, Edgard Pereira, 13-year-old Trey Wood, and 14-year-old Tom Schaar. Placing in second, Burnquist celebrated with Tom Schaar as he took the gold that evening. Events started earlier on Saturday, and the heat felt like 100 degrees all day. We hit the Skate Park finals as Pedro Barros, Grant Taylor, and Aaron Homoki won the medals for that competition. We took a break from the heat and hydrated before we headed over to the Moto X Speed & Style final. After watching some high flying Moto X skills, Lizzy B and I took another break from the unbearable heat and sun. Only other photographers can sympathize with how it feels to carry gear in brutal, 95 degree Texas heat all day. As Lizzy B and I separated to make a food run, things took a sudden turn. Apparently, after some security breach and demands from the music headliner Kanye West, many of the areas press and others had access to were closed, pretty much creating chaos and confusion in many parts of the park. At this point, as I tried to make it back to Lizzy, I wasn't able to do so as security told me I was no longer allowed in an area where I had been a few minutes prior. After a few hours of confusion and many people at the stadium not knowing what was really going on, things began to clear up. By this point, music acts Mac Miller and Kanye West were gearing up to come on. Both Mac and Kanye rocked the stage, playing good sets that made the Games crowd happy. After an exhausting day, we called it in halfway through Kanye's set as getting some rest for Sunday became a priority. Sunday was a whole different tune compared to Saturday. The day was overcast with a breeze as we headed straight to the BMX Park final competition. With great runs from Daniel Sandoval and Drew Bezanson, local Austinite Chase Hawk took the gold with a great run on the course. One of the events many people were excited for was the new Stadium SUPER Trucks Finals. 19-year-old Apdaly Lopez from Mexico took the gold as he held the lead the majority of this race. With a few crashes and one that stopped the race for more than 20 minutes, the Stadium SUPER Trucks quickly became a fan favorite. Due to some strong winds, a couple Moto X competitions and demos were canceled; instead the COTA crowd made their way to the Street Skate finals. With a huge crowd looking on, Nyjah Huston, Luan Oliveira, Alec Majerus, Ryan Sheckler, Chaz Ortiz, and more skated for the gold. Huston ended up being triumphant, taking the gold in the last competition of the Games. Looking back on the weekend, X Games Austin was great. Despite a few bumps in the road, it was an amazing experience, and I was happy to be able to shoot some photos of some amazing athletes. Check out the full results of all the competitions here and a ton of my photos below. Also, check out the RH Instagram for videos and more photo coverage from the weekend.
[Video] Thievery Corporation: "Depth Of My Soul"
Just as I was getting ready for last night's show in Austin, Thievery Corporation released a video for their new single "Depth of My Soul" with guest vocalist Shana Halligan off of their new album Saudade. The new video shows Shana traveling by horseback as she passes by old lovers and remembering the relationships. The cinematic look of the video gives the perfect visual to the theatrical sound of the song. Saudade has been on repeat since it dropped earlier this month. Starting my days with a cup of coffee, emails, and Saudade has been my ritual for the month of April. The Washington DC duo made up of Rob Garza & Eric Hilton have done a great job of putting together an album where you can hit play and let it ride. The album transports you to a different time and/or place where only happiness resides (at least for me it does). Interestingly, the album is named after the Portuguese word "saudade," but does not have a direct English translation.
Saudade was once described as "the love that remains" after someone is gone. Saudade is the recollection of feelings, experiences, places or events that once brought excitement, pleasure, well-being, which now triggers the senses and makes one live again. - Wikipedia
Make sure to buy Saudade via iTunes and catch them on tour (dates below). Expect some photos from Thievery Corporation's Stubb's show soon.
Thievery Corporation 2014 Tour Dates:
04/30 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
05/01 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
05/03 – New Orleans, LA @ Sugar Mill
05/10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Tower Theatre
06/10 – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas
06/11 – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas
06/13 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
06/14 – Aspen, CO @ Belly Up Aspen
06/17 – Athens, GR @ Water Square
06/18 – Thessaloniki, GR @ Babylonia
06/20 – Cluj-Napoca, RO @ Electric Castle Festival
07/23-27 – Floyd, VA @ FloydFest
07/26 – Cockeysville, MD @ Believe in Music Festival
08/08-10 – Squamish, BC @ Squamish Valley Music Festival
08/15 – New York, NY @ JBL Live at Pier 97
[via CoS]