Here it is our 2016 BPM Festival recap!
Once again the 2016 BPM Festival was an event to remember! From jungle raves to new beach locations the 2016 edition of BPM continues to keep dance music fans smiling 24/7! Setting a new record with approximately 430 djs playing over 10 days, it didn’t matter if your taste ran from techo to house to tech house as there was something for everyone.
Our time at BPM commenced on Tuesday January 12 with Solomun’s Diynamic party at the new ‘Jungle’ venue. The ‘Jungle’ was a large outdoor open area on the far western edge of Playa del Carmen. Tucked away in the trees and cenotes were a large tent where the German dj played for 5 hours to a crowd of 7,000 up for it party people. BPM shuttles provided easy access to and from the event which was nice to see as we rarely see festival shuttles run as smoothly. The new venue was put in for 2016 per Craig Pettigrew, BPM co-founder, (paraphrased by EDM Life) as “they were looking to do something different and have a venue which would allow for more fans to enjoy the event.”
The end of the event found partygoers caught in a torrential rainstorm which led to flooding throughout the Playa del Carmen area that morning. This led to the relocation of Jamie Jones’ Paradise party at the ‘Jungle’ location to Thursday night and merging of daytime parties due to flooding. One unexpected bonus as a result was the merger of Hot Since 82’s party with Mobilee’s Ana Schneider at Blue Parrot with one dj from each party playing B2B sets with a dj from the other party! 
We then returned later that evening to Blue Parrot for the Drumcode party. As one would expect there was a heavy turnout due both to the top notch talent playing as well as the cancelled Paradise party attendees looking for a replacement event. All of the sets that night were quality and we couldn’t pick a favorite if we tried. Props to Victor Calderone, Adam Beyer, Ida Engberg and Alan Fitzpatrick each whom brought the techno heat!
Thursday brought a bit more rain to Playa however that didn’t affect the All Gone Pete Tong event at the Wah Wah Club. A new venue for the 2016 BPM Festival, the venue is primarily covered via a large thatched hut roof reminicent of a Polynesian design. Top sets of the night included of course the legend himself Mr. Tong, Andrea Oliva (an EDM Life favorite) and Andhim.
Thursday night we took the night off from clubbing to recharge our batteries while others were at the rescheduled Paradise party at the ‘Jungle’ venue. Luckily the rain gods smiled on the event this evening at the party lasted well after dawn with the all-star lineup of Jamie Jones and his dj friends including: Joseph Capriati, Steve Lawler, Lee Foss, Skream, Bob Moses (live), Dyed Soundorom, Cassy and Matador (live), among others. The following photos showed us what we missed out on!
Friday afternoon brought the eagerly awaited daytime Solomun +1 event. Typically done only at his Pacha Ibiza residency and now at BPM, Solomun’s +1 idea is for only him and one guest to play the entire party with his guest first, then Solomun, then a B2B between the two. This time Mano Le Tough was the guest and he did not disappoint as the capacity crowd ate up every track at the beachfront venue Martina Beach.
Our last night in Playa del Carmen was returning to Blue Parrot yet again to see the Chilean/Swiss tech house dj Luciano. The party was sold out and the busy venue full of up-for-it-clubbers. Luciano’s was similar in style to that of the past few years, definitely pleasing his fans. Several times during the night, rain showers passed over the venue which led to much of the crowd dancing in the rain!
All in all, the 2016 BPM Festival lived up to its billing as one of the world’s best and most important dance music festivals. New venues, techno, tacos and many a smiling face have come to define the BPM Festival – we can’t recommend more you add it to your clubbing bucket list!
Make sure you check out our post (click just below this) on the recorded audo and video livesets you can relive in your living room or on your phone!
https://edmlife.com/2016-bpm-festival-livesets/
Check out the official daily BPM Festival recaps here:
https://www.youtube.com/user/thebpmfestival
For more bonus footage – check out Chus & Ceballos highlight film of their time in Playa del Carmen:
