We Belong Here Is the Kind of Low-Key Beachside Festival Miami Needs

Dance music fans, if you were itching to scratch that party bug of yours this past weekend, you hopefully didn't miss this year's iteration of We Belong Here. For the third year in a row, the boutique festival took over Virginia Key Beach Park on Saturday and Sunday, delivering one of the best festival experiences this year so far.

Unlike Ultra Music Festival's massive international draw, We Belong Here is a low-key, locals-friendly affair. At the same time, the 2024 lineup boasted some serious DJ talent coming through and entertaining the crowd in a more intimate setting.

The beachside location, along with the 360 Experience main stage, allowed festival-goers to enjoy headliners like Duke Dumont, Gordo, Bob Moses, and Wax Motif from every angle. There was also an elevated VIP viewing deck for those who wanted to have the comfort of sitting down and enjoying the experience with bottle service — because Miami.

Aside from the 360 Experience, three other stages allowed for an even more intimate experience for attendees to groove to the music. The more mellow Lost Village and Beach stages featured some of Miami's up-and-coming DJs showing off their skills in a festival setting.

On Saturday, the Deep Root Tribe stage, the second largest, showcased the talented artists of Francis Mercier and Ajamu Kambon's Deep Root Records. Afro-house producer Nitefreak was one of the night's highlights, as his hour-long set showed us why the genre is blowing up right now. There was also an incredibly euphoric set by labelmates MoBlack, Avö, and the rest of the Deep Root crew.
On Sunday, that same stage was christened This Never Happened stage, the label headed and curated by Denver-based producer Lane 8, who performed at the festival last year. As Le Youth handed over the decks to Jerro, it seemed everyone was entranced by the music pumping out of the speakers.

Still, the 360 Experience main stage offered some of the best acts of the weekend, with Gordo's three-hour set on Sunday being one of the weekend's best. Gordo came on at 8 p.m. with an entourage of more than 20 people, including Miami's DJ Purple. The Latin-music-tinged set included some of the best mixes of songs along with his own arsenal of tracks, including his Feid-collab "Hombres y Mujeres" and "Kill For This Shit," featuring Young Dolph.

The prior night, headliner Bob Moses delivered on the promise of a "club set," giving a superb performance that had the crowd moving from start to finish. The duo's deep-house sound and blissful energy were evident during tracks like "Love Brand New."
Prior to Gordo, there was Tchami's great sunset set that kept the crowd on their toes. The set's highlight was when he unleashed "Praise," his collaboration with rapper Gunna, accentuated by a crazy light show as the beat dropped. As the cold air started to creep in at the end of his set, the French producer proved to be an excellent warm-up for the night.

The weather is probably the only thing that didn't go according to plan at We Belong Here. After sunset, the breeze and colder-than-expected temperatures had some people running to the merch stands to buy hoodies and sweatpants in order to stay warm.

Still, despite the slight hiccup, We Belong Here offered an intimate opportunity for dance music fans to prepare for March's onslaught of Miami Music Week and Ultra.