Hardwell

Robbert van de Corput (born 7 January 1988 in Breda), who performs under the stage name Hardwell, is a Dutch big room house and electro house DJ and music producer. He was voted the World's No. 1 DJ on DJ Magazine's annual Top 100 DJs poll in 2013, and again in 2014. Hardwell is known for his live sets at major music festivals such as Tomorrowland and Ultra. The video streams of his performances on his personal YouTube channel have collectively garnered more than 100 million views.

Hardwell first gained recognition in 2009 for his bootleg of "Show Me Love vs. Be". He founded record label Revealed Recordings in 2010 and his own radio show and podcast, Hardwell On Air in 2011. He has since released six compilation albums through his label, as well as his own documentary film. His debut album, United We Are was released on January 23, 2015.

Early life

Robbert van der Corput was born on the 7th of January 1988 in Breda, Netherlands, where he grew up as well. He started learning classical piano and DJing. Van der Corput was first inspired to become a DJ after watching a documentary about DJs on the Dutch MTV. He was signed to his first record label and he began DJing at reputable clubs across the Netherlands. As a kid, he enrolled at a music-oriented school and the Rock Academy. Three months into the Rock Academy, he was advised to quit and to pursue a career in music immediately, changing his name to Hardwell. He often cited fellow Breda native, Tiësto, as his biggest inspiration and mentor.

Ultra Music Festival

Ultra Music Festival (UMF) is an annual outdoor electronic music festival that occurs in March in the city of Miami, Florida, United States. The festival, which was founded in 1999 by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes, is named after the 1997 Depeche Mode album, Ultra. Ultra Music Festival coincides with the annual Winter Music Conference, which is also held in Miami.

Ultra is held in Downtown Miami in Bayfront Park. It was a one-day festival from 1999 to 2006, a two-day festival from 2007 to 2010, and was a three-day festival in 2011 and 2012. In 2012, a record 155,000 people attended the festival. In 2013, for the first time in festival history, UMF took place across two consecutive weekends. In 2014, the festival returned to a one-weekend format, taking place on Friday, March 28 through Sunday March 30th. Presale Tickets went on sale online May 21, 2013 selling out in a matter of seconds; standard priced tickets sold out on the last day before the event.

Other Ultra festivals are held in Ibiza, Spain; Buenos Aires, Argentina; São Paulo, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; Seoul, South Korea; Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa; Split and Hvar, Croatia; Bangkok, Thailand and Tokyo, Japan. In December, 2013 Ultra Worldwide announced to first edition of the festival in Bogotá, Colombia to be held on February 20 & 21 2014. Most recently Ultra announced Road to Ultra Thailand and will be Held at Bitec Bangna convention center on September 26, 2014.

Music festival

A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending, performance art, and social activities. Many festivals are annual, or repeat at some other interval. Some, including many rock festivals, are held only once. Some festivals are organized as for-profit concerts and others are benefits for a specific cause. Another type of music festival is the educative type, organized annually in local communities, regionally or nationally, for the benefit of amateur musicians of all ages and grades of achievement.

History

The Pythian Games at Delphi included musical performances, and may be one of the earliest festivals known. During the Middle Ages festivals were often held as competitions.

Another type of music festival is the educative type, organized annually in local communities, regionally or nationally, for the benefit of amateur musicians of all ages and grades of achievement. While entrants perform prepared pieces in the presence of an audience which includes competitors, the essential feature of this type of festival is that each participant receives verbal and written feedback, there and then, from a highly qualified, professional adjudicator—someone whom they might never meet in any other way. They also usually receive a certificate, classified according to merit, and some may win trophies. The competitive element is often played down, however, as the important aspect is that participants can learn from one another. Such festivals aim to provide a friendly and supportive platform for musicians to share in the excitement of making music. For many they provide a bridge between lessons & examinations and performing confidently in public.