How BUDX Miami Celebrated Global Tastemakers

Poolside gigs featuring Black Eyed Peas and Halsey to hip-hop parties at a waterfront mansion — all during the exciting Super Bowl weekend

- Nirmika Singh

It was in December 2017 that Budweiser launched a new kind of festival, an ambitious electronic lab/subculture property called BUDX. Among all the party destinations around the world that could have been eligible hosts for this global debut, the beer giant chose New Delhi. It was a cool thing to do, also perhaps the right thing too – after all, the past year had seen Budweiser betting big on India’s cultural landscapes, launching many small and big online and offline initiatives.

For the three-day-long BUDX, a warehouse-turned-venue in the Capital, Dhanmill Compound, was converted into an underground dance music mecca. If you happened to attend this maiden edition, you’d remember just how unique it was curatorially – from extensive Boiler Room sessions to masterclasses and panel discussions. If that wasn’t all, BUDX also took over a five-star hotel nearby which hosted artists and influencers as well as its own set of parties. Rechristened BUD hotel for the course of the event, Gurgaon’s Le Meridien miraculously assumed the role of a giant club – out went the boring lobby music; now trap and techno greeted you as you entered the premises. Wintry brunches turned into breakbeat shindigs. It was quite a thing. Since then, we have seen a BUDX each in Mumbai and Hyderabad, along with editions in Amsterdam, Ho Chi Minh City, Johannesburg and Bogota.

The recently held BUDX Miami was probably the most intense edition Budweiser has hosted globally — also a fine example of content-driven integrated marketing. Firstly, it marked the grand American debut of BUDX. Second, it was the first time Budweiser brought together over 200 tastemakers from around the globe under one roof – these included experts and influencers from the world of music, fashion, street culture, sports, art and design.