URGE Miami Festival returns Friday with three massive nighttime events and two sizzling daytime fetes including the Royal Palm Pool Party and the legendary Beach Party on the sands of South Beach. Produced by Luis Morera, Billy Kemp and Hilton Wolman, the LGBTQ+ festival weekend will take place through Monday and will feature a list of the world’s most famous circuit DJs including Grammy Award winning DJ and producer Roger Sanchez playing at the city’s most prestigious venues.
The festivities begin Friday at 10pm at M2 nightclub when Barcelona’s Matinee Group returns to the magic city to present La Leche. DJ’s Orel Sabag, Jerac and Ivan Gomez will man the decks. Producers are promising a level of production that has not been seen before in Miami with dancers from Spain and Europe performing into the wee morning hours. Guests are encouraged to arrive dressed in white.
The Royal Palm South Beach pool party, presented by Mexico’s premiere party producer, ARENA, takes place Saturday at 2pm. DJs Alexis Tucci and Brazil’s Rick Braile will raise the temps with their high energy beats, making extensive use of the incredible facilities offered by Royal Palm.
The revelry continues Saturday night with an 80’s revival theme party at the recently remodeled MAD Live, located in the heart of the Wynwood arts and fashion district. DJs Alex Lo and Mor Avrahami will whisk music fans back in time to the era of Pac Man and the Rubik’s Cube, when MTV introduced the music video and launched the careers of many iconic artists.
It leads to the signature event of the weekend: the long-established Sunday Beach Party on the sands of South Beach. This year’s sandblast will be held on the beach off Ocean Drive at 13th Street. The Sunday afternoon event will feature a cabana stripe theme that pays homage to the mod fashion movement of 1960’s Miami. There will also be interactive activities, music by DJs Dan Slater and Joe Gauthreaux and a grand firework show.
“Our beach party is one of America’s biggest LGBTQ beach parties and attracts fans from all over the world,” Wolman explains. “It is an experience in itself!
The weekend’s Main Event, URGE-Verse, takes place Sunday night at M2 nightclub. This year’s main event will be headlined by the Grammy Award winning DJ and producer Roger Sanchez along with Cesar Hernandez and Tom Stephan, who is flying in from the UK. The décor will be avant-garde and guests are encouraged to arrive in yellow.
The annual URGE Miami Festival is always a much heralded event for the local LGBTQ+ business community. This year's event is especially important as it comes at a time when gay travelers are feeling apprehensive to visit Miami due to Florida’s notorious anti-LGBTQ legislation. In May, the Human Rights Campaign, the largest U.S. gay rights group, issued a travel advisory warning LGBTQ+ travelers against the dangers of vacationing in Florida.
As a result, local LGBTQ+ businesses have been suffering and events like Urge Miami Festival are needed to keep local LGBTQ+ businesses alive. “We need to stand strong against Governor DeSantis and all right-wing conservative bullies and prove that we cannot be silenced by showing our support to the local LGBTQ+ business community,” says producer Hilton Wolman. “We are here, we are queer and we are not going anywhere.”
In addition to ushering LGBTQ+ tourist dollars to the area, a portion of the proceeds from URGE Miami Festival will benefit Miami Beach Pride, an organization that celebrates the unique spirit and culture of the city’s LGBTQ+ population.
Tickets for URGE Miami Festival are available now online. General admission and VIP tickets are available, as is the popular 24-hour pass that includes the Sunday Beach Party and the weekend’s main event URGE-Verse.