Why Eric Prydz Cancelled Ultra Miami 2019
In March 2019, days before Ultra Miami, Eric Prydz pulled out of all his Miami Music Week shows. What he said, what was cancelled and who filled the gap.
- In late March 2019, Eric Prydz cancelled all his Miami Music Week dates, including Ultra Music Festival.
- He cited an acute medical condition that stopped him from travelling.
- Three sets were lost: Pryda at Wynwood Factory, a b2b with Adam Beyer on Resistance Island and a Sunday set before Armin van Buuren.
Why did Eric Prydz cancel Ultra? The short answer is health. In late March 2019, days before Ultra Music Festival in Miami, the Swedish producer announced that an acute medical condition meant he could not travel. It cost him three of the most anticipated sets of Miami Music Week.
The announcement
Prydz broke the news on Twitter on Tuesday 26 March 2019, after several days of rumours. He wrote that he was unable to travel because of an acute medical condition and said he was “truly gutted to miss any shows”, adding that Miami was one of his favourite times of the year. He did not give any detail about the condition.
What was cancelled
Three shows went. On the Thursday he was due to play as Pryda at Wynwood Factory, a show that had sold out within minutes. On the Friday of Ultra he was booked to headline the festival’s new Resistance Island with a back-to-back set alongside Adam Beyer. On the Sunday he had a set on the A State of Trance stage, just before Armin van Buuren’s closing performance.
Wynwood Factory refunded ticket holders and added a free week-long pass for its shows. Buyers who had paid resale sites had no such guarantee.
A new site and an empty slot
The 2019 edition was already unusual. With Bayfront Park ruled out, Ultra moved to Virginia Key for 29–31 March, using Historic Virginia Key Beach Park and Miami Marine Stadium. Resistance, the festival’s underground brand, got its own island area with three stages, including the Megastructure and Arrival, a set-up from the Carl Cox-backed Playground sound camp.
No replacement for Prydz was announced before the weekend. According to DJ Mag, Armin van Buuren covered the gap with an extended trance set.
Not his first cancellation, and the comeback
Illness had cost Prydz a booking before: in 2017 he had to pull out of the Electrobeach Music Festival in France. Ultra itself was familiar ground. In 2014 he brought his HOLO show to the festival, billed as the largest hologram yet seen there, and he was on the first phase of the 2016 line-up.
The rest of 2019 showed he was back at work. In April he announced PR(15)DA, a 27-track collection marking 15 years of his Pryda alias. In July he unveiled EPIC 6.0, staged at Tomorrowland around an eight-metre LED holosphere. And in November he returned to Wynwood Factory for the Pryda show Miami had missed in March.
For the full story of the man behind Pryda and Cirez D, from “Call on Me” to EPIC, read our Eric Prydz profile.
FAQ
Why did Eric Prydz cancel Ultra?
In March 2019 he said an acute medical condition left him unable to travel to Miami. He gave no further details.
Which shows did Eric Prydz cancel in Miami in 2019?
Three: a sold-out Pryda show at Wynwood Factory, a back-to-back headline set with Adam Beyer on Ultra’s Resistance Island, and a Sunday set before Armin van Buuren’s closing slot.
Who replaced Eric Prydz at Ultra 2019?
No replacement was announced in advance. DJ Mag reported that Armin van Buuren played an extended trance set in Prydz’s place.
Did Eric Prydz make up the Miami show?
Yes. He returned to Wynwood Factory for a Pryda show in November 2019.
