Mega Music Festival in Miami's Design District

The greatest party to hit Miami since Ultra Music Festival!  The Sunset Music Festival (SMF) in Miami opened Pandora's box and let out its funnest sins from 4pm on Saturday, July 31st until the next morning at 4am.  The event was held at the Soho Studios Miami, a large warehouse in the Miami Design District, a perfect locale for what was about to go down.

With an expected attendance of 2,500 party-goers, it was no surprise that parking was a sticky situation, yet it was miraculously simple to find a spot.  The streets of Miami's Design District are home to some outstanding artwork and galleries, which made for an enjoyable walk to the event.  Music blaring from 5 different stages onto the streets created a melodic path by which to find your way to the doors.

The Sunset Music Festival was like a Dayglow party minus the paint and big bouncers at the door.  The dark of night was instead painted with neon pinks & yellow lights, and the staff offered an open-arm welcome to party-goers of all ages.  Adults wandered around aimlessly with pacifiers in a pookie head paradise.  The panel of the Winter Music Conference would be proud!

Friendly was the theme amidst the smoke machines and laser rays.  Miami's youth, girls in bikinis, and shirtless guys ran amok like hippies in a strawberry field.  Enthusiastic party people instantly ambushed me, asking for pictures, and complimenting my sweat-drenched outfit.  Refuges from all this madness were few and far in between: a shower in the crowd at the main stage, an ice-cold A/C vent in the warehouse space, and the Blue Bird VIP Bus; a hidden gem.  The VIP staff at hand made sure everyone was happy, ending the night with a Popsicle giveaway, a sweet treat courtesy of a local vendor!

The SMF came out of nowhere, blindsiding the underground music industry, and rocking Miami to the sounds of heavy bass & electronic melodies.  It was an incredibly seamless night of fun with a deep contrast from South Florida's condensed South Beach scene.  On the turntables were some of electronic music's best, including Trance God George Acosta, Ralph Falcon, Miami's own Cato K & Sexy House Lab, and loads of other talented DJs!

Moments of awkward laughter were aplenty as a variety of costumed attendees paraded through the sludge, groping and kissing one another.  Zombies roamed looking for the next amazing light show to blow their mind as sweaty, sexy South Floridians draped the walls.

In the end, everyone went home with festival feet, covered in a thick crust of dirt and who knows what!  The 2010 Sunset Music Festival was a smash hit not soon to be forgotten in Miami's underground electronic music scene.  A nostalgic event reminiscent of those days when raves in Miami were all the rave!