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III Points Festival 2025 transformed Miami’s Mana Wynwood into a playground of art, music, and culture, with over 150 artists across 12 stages.
Miami‘s homegrown III Points Festival was hotter than ever this year, with a rare instance of clear skies and music from the world’s most talented up-and-comers and legends alike.
A crowd of over 50,000 attendees poured into Mana Wynwood, the gathering’s five-block home, from the time doors opened to the very end of its special bonus closing celebration. Over two long nights, the city’s restless spirit came alive in full color: music echoing from every direction, lights bouncing off murals, and people moving together from stage to stage until 4am.
Since its debut in 2013, III Points has been an admired pillar of Miami’s evolving creative heartbeat and community. This year, organizers spared no expense in making it happen once again.
The team behind the massive production put their all into making this an experience for attendees through and through, offering plenty to hear, see, eat, and do. Every corner buzzed with creativity, with interactive art, photo-ops, surreal installations, and experimental stages, transforming the industrial maze of Mana into a fever dream. With the blend of global heavyweights, underground legends, and local heroes in one of the most ambitious and eclectic lineups the event has ever curated, III Points checked off another year of success.
Miami’s spirit was alive in every corner of Wynwood.
What makes III Points special isn’t just the lineup. It’s the way the festival blurs the boundaries between music, art, and environment. Every turn offered something new: interactive light structures, live digital murals, and immersive visual worlds tucked inside warehouses. Every stage felt like its own micro-universe, making it hard to leave to the next.
Perhaps my only critique is that there was too much to see and do. Covering the entire festival grounds to experience everything III Points offers in two days is much harder than it may sound. Spaced-out stages and walkways leading to hidden lounges undoubtedly leave party-goers exhausted when the festival is over.
Miami is the city of hospitality, though, and the organizers do a great job of living up to that reputation. At the “Vendor Village” area, there was seating, picnic tables, an insane amount of food pop-ups to choose from, stands selling electrolytes and gear, and more. Many of the vendors were Miami local staples — a testament to the pride organizers take in uplifting the community as a whole — and there was an overall warm, comforting approach to taking care of attendees.
In a city that moves quickly, the festival feels homey. It wasn’t until I found myself looking for a quiet moment to look through content and rest my feet this year that I really recognized this triumph, and it’s an important one. The diverse lineup and space to enjoy different genres with different crowds amplify an inclusive and notably warm atmosphere at the festival.
Friday brought live chaos and electronic bliss.
III Points Festival 2025 delivered one of its most balanced and ambitious rosters yet, bridging generations, genres, and worlds. Friday afternoon, crowds swamped Wynwood nice and early. This is always a good sign as it reflects people’s eagerness to get to the grounds, catch opening artists and talent making their debuts, and enjoy the event before the stages fill.
Sean Paul was the topic of conversation all day, and the legendary artist turned Friday night into a full-blown dancehall riot, with the stage hitting capacity before he even came on. Across the grounds, CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso brought one of the most talked-about sets of the weekend, fusing funk, rock, and Latin rhythms into a live performance that felt groundbreaking and refreshingly human.
At Mind Melt, live music finally got the spotlight it deserved. French group L’Impératrice floated through a dreamy, emotional set that had everyone swaying together against Miami’s timeless skyline as a cooling breeze reminded them of the city’s welcome fall weather.
House duo Anotr delivered a clean, technically flawless set that kept the crowd grooving and needing a breather afterward. It was smooth, vibey, and undeniably well crafted.
Later that night, Mau P and Seth Troxler’s back-to-back set made for the perfect clash of new school heat and old school soul, a seamless display of generational chemistry that felt uniquely Miami. DJ Tennis, Michael Bibi, and Yamagucci kept the energy rolling deep, reflective of III Points’ ability to keep you on your toes for the next act.
Saturday was a revival of rhythm and rock.
Through neon tunnels and walls, painted by lasers and art that looked alive, swarms of people arrived for day two fresh off a few hours of sleep — others straight from Space or an afterparty. Either way, Saturday hit just as hard, and party-goers erased all signs of the massive rave just the night before to start the new day.
The first surge hit when Turnstile delivered one of the most explosive sets of the weekend. The rock band tore through their catalog with pure intensity, turning the crowd into a swirling mosh pit of smiles and movement. It was sweaty, loud, and cathartic, a live show that reminded many of their love for rock and headbanging.
One of the most talked-about performances was from I Hate Models, who delivered a top-tier industrial techno set that shook the walls and lit up the skyline. Across the grounds, Indira Paganotto brought her hypnotic, psychedelic energy to the decks.
Ben Sterling b2b Josh Baker proved why they’re two of the most exciting names in the scene right now, which was evident by the rush of rowdy party-goers swarming the stage. Just next door, Prospa b2b Chloé Caillet elevated the night even further with their perfect chemistry.
As the clock neared 3 am, Dom Dolla closed out with a slick finale. But the beating heart of the evening pulsed inside Despacio, the iconic, vinyl-only sound temple that returned as a fan favorite. Here, the DJs weren’t the focus — the sound was. Inside the circular room, surrounded by towering speakers and shimmering disco lights, people danced with their eyes closed, smiling and free. It was warm, euphoric, and timeless.
Stages and activations made III Points Festival a city within a city.
Every stage at III Points was its own world. Mind Melt was the biggest, with cinematic visuals and that indescribable sense of unity when the headliners hit. It was also a reminder and homage to live music, with standout bands performing and packing the entirety of the grounds all weekend.
At S3QUENC3, the energy turned industrial, raw, and electric. It was the kind of place where you’d lose hours, surrounded by strobe-lit chaos and pure underground energy.
Isotropic lived up to its name: expansive and wild. Sets there lived somewhere between disco, house, and techno, each transition melting into the next.
Sector 3 was a furnace of light and motion. It was where the massive, high-energy acts — from Sean Paul to Bicep — took the stage, surrounded by smoke and a crowd that never stopped moving.
RC95 offered a more experimental side of III Points as a space where orchestral collaborations, ambient sets, and visual performances collided. Mita Gami and Meir Briskman’s orchestra performance was a standout: electronic rhythms colliding with strings, brass, and human movement in real time.
Door IV was the dark, gritty secret of the festival: a tunnel of sweat, smoke, and bass, as well as a haven for those chasing the heavier, more relentless sounds. Tucked away by VIP, Players Club brought out the house heads and selectors. It was groovy, intimate, playful, and always packed.
Despacio, of course, was legendary. Built around the idea that the DJ isn’t the center of the party, it created a world where the crowd was the performance. Vinyl-only, all-night, and beautifully immersive, it became a sanctuary for purists and dancers alike.
Objects Don’t Dance and Grand Central rounded out the experience, each with its own mood and magnetism. Grand Central was emotional, intimate, and heartfelt. Objects Don’t Dance was weird, experimental, and wonderfully Miami.
One of the festival’s most beloved installations was Mokiworld, a hazy, neon dreamland designed by Miami artist Gessa aka Mokibaby, whose relationship with III Points stretches back to 2014. Mokiworld wasn’t just a lounge, it was a living photo set: a place to breathe, sip a drink, and bask in red light and silver reflections.
III Points is a festival that belongs in its city.
What makes III Points so distinctly Miami is its authenticity. You feel it in the local acts like Ms. Mada, INVT, and Coffintexts, who packed their stages just as tightly as the headliners. You see it in the streetwear, food vendors, and spontaneous moments between strangers in line. It’s messy, beautiful, and raw, like the city itself.
By the time the final sets ended and the crowds spilled into the streets at 4am, you could feel the shared exhaustion and pride. III Points 2025 wasn’t just another weekend of music. It was a love letter to Miami’s creativity, resilience, and rhythm.
English (US) · 