Boogie Box Festival

Boogie Box – the longest running House and Techno party series in the UAE, probably the wider Gulf region, and quite possibly in the whole Middle East – is celebrating its 13th birthday with a European-style all nighter. Hassan from Boogie Box says the lineup has been chosen to be representative of Boogie Box’s musical philosophy; the festival provides “a platform to artists and DJs to express themselves with longer sets and musical journeys … a high-calibre and creative show that incorporates mood over flash, immersive over extreme, and quality over quantity production”.

Sustainability is a key theme – “after all, the only footprints we would like to see are the ones marked on the dancefloor” and a percentage of profits will be donated to a social responsibility initiative.

There are two stages for the 16-hours. Stage One will be geared towards Big Room Energy, including international headliner DJ Boring, the very excellent Levon Vincent, and techno icon DJ Matrixxman. Stage Two promises a quirkier, moodier and more diverse selection: Anthea, Molly and Isolee (aka Rajko Mueller) – all fine picks. Both stages will be supported by a goodly collection of names from the regional scene: Angry Suzy, Nesta, Maks, and Boogie Box residents Cyrill Reaidy, Hani J, Tristan Girault, Shadi Megallaa, and Boogie Box main man Hassan Alwan himself.

The Dunes will have the usual food and beverage options, a vibrant marketplace, and a camping area (the AED 125 early bird ticket includes a campsite space, or you take on of the Dunes’ glamping options: AED 750 gets you an Igloo tent and two general admission tickets, for instance). There are table packages from AED 4,000; that gets you a table for four plus ‘VIP Backstage Tickets’ and some drinks (12 beers, one wine, one ‘bottle of premium spirit’).

What’s not to like?