If you missed Pharrell’s show on Yas Island last night, the good news is he will be back for New Year’s Eve.
The Happy hitmaker will headline alongside Busta Rhymes, Paul Oakenfold, Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike on a packed December 31 festival bill, which will be broadcast live in more than 130 countries.
Pharrell will top the bill at #DXBNYE, hosted at Dubai’s Meydan Racecourse, after his hotly anticipated Middle Eastern debut at du Arena last night.
The new festival will also feature the vocalist Charli XCX, the LMFAO alumni SkyBlu and the DJ Seb Fontaine.
Recently crowned the first performer since The Beatles to score three No 1s in the United Kingdom in a single year – with Daft Punk's Get Lucky, Robin Thicke's and his own Happy – Pharrell is among the most in-demand musicians in the world at this moment.
But come December 31, he won’t be the only person on stage with bragging rights – the Greek DJ duo Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike will make a UAE debut, fresh from being voted number two on DJ Mag’s influential Top 100 DJs poll.
The concert, which will be broadcast around the globe, will be rounded off with return visits by reliable UAE favourites.
The evergreen British DJ Paul Oakenfold, an industry veteran known for working with everyone from Madonna to Perry Farrell, had the headline slot on a similar festival bill at the last Sandance NYE.
The DJ sent the following message to fans: “NYE is the ultimate gig for any DJ, and I can’t think of a better place to celebrate than Dubai. #DXBNYE, are you with me?”
Oakenfold is not the only act choosing to ring in two consecutive new years in the UAE, with Charli XCX, the voice behind Icona Pop’s I Love It and her own Boom Clap, also on the bill for the ill-fated Sandance NYE.
Fans who missed Busta Rhymes's exclusive set at Dubai's VIP Room in June 2013 will welcome this festival show, likely to feature many of the numerous hit singles he scored throughout the 1990s, including Dangerous and Turn it Up.
Also taking the mic will be SkyBlu, best known as one-half of the now-defunct electro duo LMFAO, who scored big with club hits such as Party Rock Anthem. Last seen on these shores at Dubai’s People by Crystal in November last year, SkyBlu played a similar Meydan event in October 2012, performing as part of Atelier Festival.
Rounding off the seven-name, eight-hour event is the British house DJ Seb Fontaine, who has also performed at Meydan before, back in March 2011. “#DXBNYE will be the best New Year’s Eve party Dubai has ever seen,” he told fans.
The festival’s location at Meydan Racecourse will also offer views of the celebrated Burj Khalifa fireworks display at midnight.
Meanwhile, promoters ATW Live ME have partnered with The Crystal Group, the team behind the nightlife venues People by Crystal and 40 Kong, to offer a touch of glitz to the VIP area.
Pharrell’s Middle Eastern debut last night was part of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix’s Yasalam After-Race Concert Series.
The British rockers The Who perform tonight, wrapping up the race-day weekend and kick-starting what might be their final major tour, The Who Hits 50.
• Tickets for #DXBNYE on December 31 start at Dh395 and are on sale from today at www.timeouttickets.com, www.ticketmaster.ae, platinumlist.net and tickets.virginmegastore.me For VIP bookings, contact 050 287 8703 or events@thecrystalgroup.net For more information, visit www.dxbnye.ae
rgarratt@thenational.ae
