Tampa Florida, January 6, 2023 — Disco Donnie Presents & Sunset Events have worked together for over a decade, with a penchant for bringing the best in electronic music to the sun kissed state of Florida.
Today, they are thrilled to announce the phase 1 lineup for the 2023 edition of the longest running electronic music festival on the gulf coast, Sunset Music Festival. Spanning every genre in electronic music, Sunset will feature over 40+ roster of artists at Raymond James Stadium North Lot over Memorial Day Weekend (May 27-28). Tickets go on sale Monday 1/10 at 11 AM ET, but fans can sign up here to win 4 backstage passes & join early bird presale at 10AM ET on Monday.
This year’s phase 1 lineup is a scorcher. From the bass blistering beats of Adventure Club, JEANIE, and Habstrakt, to the wildly euphoric sets from SLANDER and Audien, and the insatiable house grooves from Hannah Wants, AC Slater, and HoneyLuv, there’s no shortage of star power here.
DDP and Sunset Events always have their finger on the pulse of the most exciting up and coming talent, and Sunset has a history of giving a platform to these rising artists. This year’s highlights include Matroda’s protege San Pancho, low frequency bass queen Khiva, Hood Politics head honcho DJ Susan, and the intoxicating freeform DJ Sharlitz Web, to name a few.
Since its inception, Sunset Music Festival has become the go-to festival every Memorial Day weekend in the beautiful city of Tampa Bay. Surrounded by some of the world’s most beautiful beaches and boasting incredible food and nightlife experiences, there’s no shortage of fun when you come to town for the Sunset Music Festival!
About Disco Donnie Presents
Disco Donnie Presents (DDP) is an award-winning and recognized electronic dance music event production leader founded by veteran promoter James “Disco” Donnie Estopinal. Since the company’s inception in 1994, DDP has sold over 18 million tickets producing over 18,000 live events, arena shows, and outdoor festivals in over 100 markets worldwide, including the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Panama. Annually, DDP is responsible for organizing and promoting nearly 1,000 club events across the U.S., ranging from Portland, Columbus, Houston, Tampa, New Orleans, Dallas, and St. Louis to name only a few. He is also known for producing major festivals such as The Day After, Ultimate Music Experience, Sun City Music Festival, and most recently, Sunset Music Festival, Ember Shores, Freaky Deaky, and the “First Festival Back,” Ubbi Dubbi.
Founder and CEO James “Disco Donnie” Estopinal, Jr. is considered one of the godfathers of U.S. electronic dance music, evolving over the past 29 years to become one of the top dance music promoters globally. From his early days in the 1990s New Orleans dance scene, Disco Donnie coupled eccentricity with ingenuity to create elaborately themed parties that charmed patrons, garnered an international following, and unwittingly became a catalyst for a national debate over the First Amendment right to expression.
In 1999, Donnie first partnered with Pasquale Rotella, CEO of Insomniac Events, and worked together on EDC Los Angeles, Nocturnal Wonderland Los Angeles, and Beyond Wonderland Los Angeles. In 2008, the duo officially merged, setting their sights on strategically developing the Insomniac brand worldwide and making Insomniac a household name. Working together, the pair ushered in events such as EDC Orlando, EDC Dallas, EDC Puerto Rico, EDC New York; Beyond Wonderland Seattle; Nocturnal Wonderland Austin, and co-founded Electric Forest. The partnership also produced hundreds of club shows annually in markets across the U.S.
In 2012, DDP shifted its focus to the genesis and development of SFX Entertainment, as the first company to sign with founder Robert F. X. Sillerman; a media entrepreneur with a vision to invest nearly a billion dollars in electronic dance music to bring the world’s leading promoters under one roof.
Disco became a part of LiveStyle in 2017, which housed a worldwide portfolio of top-tier event companies including, Disco Donnie Presents, React Presents, Life In Color, Made Events, ID&T, Tomorrowland, Sensation, TomorrowWorld, Beatport.com, Electric Zoo, Awakenings, Q-Dance, and more.
After shelving the Something Wicked and Something Wonderful brands, Donnie partnered with a sister company in 2018 to bring Chicago’s Freaky Deaky to Houston, Texas, selling 50,000 tickets in its first year. In 2019, DDP announced Freaky Deaky Texas and Ubbi Dubbi, both wholly owned by Disco Donnie Presents. Ubbi Dubbi is Disco Donnie’s newest festival brand which takes us into a world curated by two whimsical imaginary characters known as Ubbi and Dubbi. The new brand took the EDM world by storm, gathering 45,000 attendees in its inaugural year.
In 2020, James “Disco Donnie” Estopinal announced he re-acquired sole ownership of Disco Donnie Presents (DDP), the namesake company he founded 26 years ago. This historic acquisition concludes an epic eight-year journey through being the first company acquired by SFX, surviving SFX’s subsequent bankruptcy, becoming a part of LiveStyle, and finally buying his company back and delivering fan refunds in the face of COVID-19 festival cancellations. Dedicated to continuing to serve the EDM community, DDP created No Parking On The Dance Floor, a new brand that brought 25+ drive-in shows to fans across the U.S. through April 2021.
In 2021, Disco Donnie Presents could finally move forward with club shows and festivals again. In the first week of April 2021, he launched Ember Shores in partnership with Illenium. This announcement marked the company’s first all-inclusive destination music festival, set for December 2021 in Cancun. Ubbi Dubbi returned in April 2021 as the first festival back in the US with 60,000 tickets sold and the company’s first festival camping experience.
With the company back in Donnie’s control and the events world returning to its former glory, DDP plans to rapidly expand new festival brands and show concepts in 2023 and beyond.
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About Sunset Events:
For over two decades, Sunset Events has dominated the dance music industry with top events, festivals, and promotions in Tampa Bay and Central Florida. John Santoro started this endeavor back in 1995 with Club Hedo, in Ybor City. Our winning combination of aligning the right artist at the right time in the right venue allows us to achieve unprecedented results. Sunset Events produces over 150 events each year along with its annual music festival, Sunset Music Festival.
At Sunset Events, we value our fans and the experience we deliver to them – that is why we go above and beyond with our productions, events, and service. If you have a question or comment, please contact us.
Sunset Events has featured hundreds of world-class artists, including but not limited to: Tiësto, Deadmau5, Skrillex, Illenium, Excision, The Chainsmokers, Zedd, Above & Beyond, RL Grime, NF, 21 Savage, Porter Robinson, Steve Aoki, Hardwell, Paul van Dyk, Armin Van Buuren, Paul Oakenfold, Benny Benassi, Carnage, 6lack, Juice Wrld, Oliver Heldens, Adventure Club, Dillon Francis, Borgore, Zeds Dead, Malaa, Slander, NGHTMRE, Pauly D, Flosstradamus and more.
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