Miami Music Week 2018 Recap

Miami Music Week was an absolute blast! Miami treated us well: the weather was great, the food was incredible (from places like La Sandwicherie and Taquiza), and the music was on point. If you weren’t keeping up with our Instagram Stories, here’s a recap to fill you in on our wild time running around, interviewing artists, and partying with Tchami and Malaa at Miami Music Week 2018.

DJ Mag Poolside Sessions

The DJ Mag party was the perfect Miami Music Week event to kick off our time in Miami. The beach was right in front of the stage, and there was a huge pool behind it. It was so fun being able to hang on either side. We also got to check out the VIP table area onstage where we met some Norwegians who told us the surprise guest was going to be Alan Walker.

Claudia: Everyone on the lineup was incredible! The only real disappointment was CamelPhat straight-up not playing “Cola,” which we were so excited to hear. We thought that track would be a staple in their set. I actually didn’t recognize any of the original music they played (not that I didn’t enjoy their set).

On the other hand, we weren’t ready for the party Fedde Le Grand started when he came on at sunset. (Holy smokes!) He dropped one of my all-time favorites, “Right Here” by Billy Kenny. The vibes were pretty chill up until then. Also, I especially loved The Black Madonna and am definitely putting her on my must-see list for the future. She’s a badass!

Chocolate Puma @ Doheny Room

Unfortunately, this event turned out to be a complete disappointment. Because it was free, drinks were upwards of $28. The venue itself was cool and intimate, but the vibes of the crowd were not our style. It was also freezing in there!!

Casey: We said hi to René from Chocolate Puma before they went on, telling him how much we loved their set at Tomorrowland. It was one of our favorites of the weekend, and we were hoping for something similar that night. They ended up playing a more classic set that we weren’t really feeling. I know it was just the venue and that they physically could not have played the wild, upbeat, bass-shaking set that we wanted.

Artist Interviews

On Thursday, we had two awesome interviews during the day with EDX and Will Clarke!

EDX Interview

Claudia: We met up with EDX at the National Hotel, and he literally stopped the interview to tell us that Roger Federer was sitting at a table behind him. That was a cool moment for me because I actually knew who that was since I’m a tennis fan. (I don’t watch TV or keep up with sports.)

Maurizio reminded us of a fatherly figure—it was so sweet to hear him talk about the importance of being true to yourself in the music industry. Stay tuned for the full interview!

Will Clarke Interview

Casey: Will Clarke is a super awesome, down-to-earth guy. We had so much fun sitting down and talking with him and are so stoked to have him as our first Backpacks and Beat Drops artist interview. You could tell he genuinely cared, and he gave us some great advice. Listen to the full interview here!

Psycho Disco! Showcase

After the interviews, we kicked it at the Psycho Disco rooftop party with Golf Clap! There were only a handful of other people there when we arrived, making it an intimate experience with plenty of room to dance to their funky tunes. People were really enjoying themselves as well. It’s the best feeling to see people in their element with the biggest smiles on their faces.

We loved this guy!! He was dancing like nobody was watching! We kept running into him at Ultra too and ended up with his business card. He throws warehouse parties in Cali—sign us up twice!

Sidenote, Golf Clap was really, really good—check them out!

Nicky Romero & Friends @ ORA Nightclub

Claudia: No one else wanted to go out, so I went out alone (classic) to ORA Nightclub. I was planning on making it a pitstop on my way to another party just so I could see D.O.D, but I ended up meeting a bunch of people and sticking around for Nicky Romero as well. D.O.D smashed it! I wonder why he was pulled off the Ultra lineup this year.

Confession Miami @ Treehouse

After a full day at Ultra, we got to the venue about halfway through Dombresky’s set. The vibes were already perfect. We now understand why it’s called “treehouse” after dancing on the faux grass lawn in the outdoor area and in the intimate jungle setting inside. Unfortunately, we started baking inside as the venue filled up, and it reeked of a weird smell (someone must have gotten sick).

But that’s okay because the lineup was incredible. This night was definitely one of the highlights of our trip!

Meeting Tchami & Malaa

Claudia: We saw Noizu when he opened for Tchami x Malaa in Chicago this past December, and I thought he killed it. Yet again, he proved he’s a super underrated DJ! Shout-out to you for that fire set, brother.

I also met a production guy who has been touring with Tchami x Malaa on Holy Ship 10.0 and met up with him again in Miami. He came to the afterparty that night and brought Casey, her boyfriend, and me onstage at the show. Sidenote, Tchami may or may not have let me smoke his cigar.

Casey: Onstage (probably a 10′ x 10’ space), we were so close to Malaa and Tchami. I remained calm (yeah, right) in the back corner until they finished playing their set, then ran over to get a selfie with Tchami. I blew it and ended up taking two with the flash off and over-apologizing for my stupidity! (If you’re reading this Martin, my bad!)

Malaa was about to exit, and I knew this was my chance! I ran over and grabbed his mask off his head! Just kidding, I gave him a hug though, which is more than I could have ever hoped for. Not many people can say they got to take a picture with or hug two of their favorite artists in one night.

Overview

Miami Music Week was incredible. We loved being a bigger part of it this year by covering events and conducting artist interviews. It’s cool to be able to interact and connect with artists like they’re the real humans they are. We really wished we had had more time and energy to attend more of the parties though. If we had to do it over again, we would definitely come back solely for Miami Music Week.

Click here to continue reading about our time in Miami at Ultra Music Festival!