ULTRA Music Festival Co-Founder Alex Omes has passed away aged 43.
A key figure in the Miami scene Alex Omes, with business partner Russell Faibisch, successfully created the ULTRA Music Festival, one of the largest EDM gatherings in North America. The festival was created in 1999 drawing around 10,000 fans and featuring headliners like Josh Wink and Paul Van Dyk. It soon grew to compete against heavyweights like Electric Daisy and Tomorrowland, even out selling the city’s annual Winter Music Conference. Now the festival plays hosts to hundreds of thousands of fans each year and has spawned similar events in Brazil, South Korea, Croatia, Argentina, Ibiza and South Africa. In 2012 they formed a partnership with New York EDM label Ultra Records.
Omes would part ways with Faibisch in 2010 and began to promote his own events through Go Big Productions featuring the likes of Swedish House Mafia. He was also set to create a new festival called UR1 featuring Kayne West taking place during Art Basel, however it was scraped in 2012.
ULTRA Music Festival released the following statement:
“The organizers of Ultra Music Festival extend their deepest condolences to the family of Alex Omes and are saddened by the news of his passing. We will continue to remember and celebrate Alex for his love, passion, and contributions to the Electronic Dance Music community.”
Written by Alex Lewis
