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Unlike past years, this year's Ultra Live Stage featured more electronic and hip-hop performances. Ice Cube performed on the Live Stage Saturday evening —it felt like you were teleported to the 90s. Even though there was heavy rain, this did not stop his set. Drenched fans all agreed the rain made it all better. Cypress Hill came on before Ice Cube, proving that 30 years hasn't taken the edge off of B Real and the rest of the group. Fog machines were not needed to produce the smoky ambiance at this late-afternoon set. Including more hip-hop to the festival could be an indication of what to expect from Ultra over the next couple years. Ultra is testing it out and fans are really excited about. On Sunday afternoon, the sun shone on the Live Stage, where the Bag Raiders rocked the stage and drove the crowd wild with their single, "Shooting Stars"—which closed out their set. There was a lot of ground to cover at Ultra this year, with eight stages, over 200 artists, and performances scheduled roughly every hour on each stage. This yetar, the stage that took second place in crowd-size was the Carl Cox Megastructure, which joined the Resistance brand this year. Originally there was only one stage, the Arcadia Spider, but this year they expanded it to two—a very smart move. Carl Cox closed the show on Friday and Saturday, on the stage that holds his name. The Megastructure —one of the few stages that protected people from the rain— featured cable- mounted LED screens that ascended and descended from the ceiling, creating a shifting visual landscape for everyone in attendance – it was truly a dramatic light show! The other impressive stage was the Ultra Worldwide stage, which was far more than a tent. The ceiling was lined with LED lighting panels for an immersive experience. Here is where French DJ, Kungs, played his hit summer song "This Girl" on early Saturday afternoon before it rained. On the last day, every stage brought the best of the best. At the tropical- themed UMF Radio stage, fans gathered on the lawn to see Afrojack —if they didn't catch him on the Main Stage the night before. DJ Antz closed out the show on Sunday on the Biscayne stage, and on the Oasis stage, Takshak had the honor. Of course, the Main Stage was a tough one to leave Sunday, given the fact that Hardwell took the stage right at sunset and closed with his new single featuring Austin Mahone, "Creatures of the Night." He also played Daddy Yankee's "Gasolina," which got all the Latin fans dancing. Later in the night, David Guetta also played "Gasolina," which he acknowledged was for all the Latinos in the crowd. Hardwell was followed by Zedd, who brought out special guest Alessia Cara to sing their new song "Stay." Afrojack made another appearance during David Guetta's set, and for the first time ever David Guetta played his brand-new single with Nikki Minaj and Lil Jon, "Light My Body," in public. It all culminated with DJ Snake taking over the prestigious stage with a few surprise guests for the grand finale. Future jumped in out of nowhere and performed his hit songs. Lil Jon also made an appearance and performed "Turn Down for What." Moksi and G4shi, who also collaborated with DJ Snake, joined him on the stage and perfumed "Pigalle" and "4 Lyfe." This year, 26-hours of Ultra was live streamed on YouTube, ULTRA LIVE, via UMFTV from 4 different stages. This allowed fans around the globe, who could not attend, to witness the spectacular show. In fact, at the end of Saturday night, on the Main Stage's center screen—to show just how global Ultra is— people from around the world were given their 15 seconds of fame when they waved LIVE from their homes. Earlier that day, Hardwell's set became the first show ever to be streamed in 360°. Ultra will be expanding its lineup to India and Australia. For anyone looking to catch the original, don't miss Ultra's 20th anniversary in Miami next March 23-25, 2018 at Bayfront Park. ML For the latest updates, visit www.ultramusicfestival.com