MDLBEAST Soundstorm Announces Star-Studded Lineup

DJ Cosmicat performing at Soundstorm
Courtesy of MDLBEAST
– DJ Cosmicat performing at Soundstorm

The second edition of Soundstorm Festival in the Saudi capital of Riyadh is scheduled for Dec. 16-19, with  Armin Van Buuren, David Guetta, Deadmau5, and many of EDM’s biggest names on the bill.

More than 150 international and local artists are set to perform at the four-day festival. In addition to the ones mentioned above, the confirmed bill also includes DJ Snake, Eric Prydz, Martin Garrix, Adam Beyer, Amelie Lens, Carl Cox, Charlotte de Witte, Jeff Mills, Nina Kraviz, and Sven Väth.
Talal Albahiti, COO and head of talent booking at promoting company MDLBEAST, commented: “We’re happy with the first announcement of the Soundstorm ‘21 line up. We will soon announce a second phase which includes a wide variety of musical genres that will take attendees on a journey they won’t forget. We are ready to welcome all music enthusiasts to become part of this immersive 4-day experience.”
Fireworks at Soundstorm 2019.
Courtesy of MDLBEAST
– Fireworks at Soundstorm 2019.
The festival

Touching on the safety concept, CEO Ramadan Alharatani, said, “Our vision is to deliver a unique and positive experience for hundreds of thousands of people as they enjoy some of the world’s biggest stars performing in front of a passionate Saudi audience. We are undertaking comprehensive measures around COVID to ensure our guests have the best and safest possible experience, all in partnership with local entertainment and health regulators. 

“Furthermore, we have developed and released a code of conduct which ticket-buyers sign and are expected to abide by in order to ensure a safe space for everyone. Further details will be announced in due course.”
A festival rep shared more details on the measures with Pollstar, explaining they would include “proof of full vaccination, whether two shots or one shot for those who recovered within the past 6 month,” suggesting that a negative test will not be sufficient.
“We’re working closely with the ministry of health and other government entities to ensure we apply the best possible protocols to minimize exposure and risk to the virus while giving our guests the best possible experience,” the spokesperson continued.
The first edition of Soundstorm took place, Dec. 19-21, 2019 featuring Cosmicat, Nas G, and Lady Lou, one of the first Saudi women to make a career singing Jazz. They joined a bill that featured some of the biggest DJs in the world, including Martin Garrix, David Guetta, Afrojack, Steve Aoki. Promoters counted some 400,000 guests across all three days. The event set a Guinness World Record for the world’s tallest stage.
Pollstar spoke with Albahiti about the vibrant scene of female artist that’s been emerging ever since the kingdom announced that it would issue licenses for public performances for the first time in January 2019. Prior to that, you couldn’t play music in a restaurant, let alone have an act perform live, whether that’s music or comedy.