Now that Amnesia and Ibiza Rocks have opened their accounts for summer, it suddenly feels like we're right back in the thick of things. Did winter even happen? Not that you'll find any complaints here. The island is alive!
With three bumper weekends of action down, there's no respite heading into weekend four. Quite the opposite, as a growing number of midweek adventures are gradually being added to the mix. Hold onto your hats. Parties come thick and fast now, so make sure you get yourselves here.
Here's what we have to look forward to this coming weekend.
Amnesia
After a hair-tingling 14-hour Opening Party last weekend, Amnesia's summer programme starts this weekend. We'd better expedite our recovery.
Do Not Sleep is the first, demanding your wide-eyed attention on Thursday 18 May when Richy Ahmed, Seb Zito, Sosa and Prunk all play. Youth-investing promoter Ernesto Senatore looks after Friday 19 May, with the return of It's All About The Music and its new theme, Electric Garden. Anna Tur, De La Swing, Caal and Proudly People all appear.
Come Saturday, it's another big one, as one of Ibiza's most cherished LGBTQIA parties Matinée returns after several years in the wilderness.
The Gold Edition features a live PA from Rebeka Brown and DJ sets from André Vicenzz, Flavio Zarza, Iordee, J. Louis, Juanjo Martin, Lydia Sanz and Taito Tikaro.
Pacha
Robin Schulz's Pure Pacha opening party sold out last week and the second is heading in the same direction, so move fast if you want to party under the cherries on Thursday 18 May. Music On ups the ante in week two on Friday, with Ilario Alicante and Ben Sterling moving in to support Marco Carola.
Claptone has one of The Masquerade's strongest line-ups of summer the following night. Lee Foss, Danny Howard and Tube & Burger are all a part of the masked mischief.
Ending the weekend on the highest of highs, label, DJ collective and production outfit keinemusik see us out with an all-night long on Sunday 21 May. Their Pacha dates are always unmissable and this one is no different.
Earlier in the week there are two more special pre-season dates.
Mano Le Tough and Jennifer Cardini are in for Passion Beat on Tuesday, before the Apollonia trio get down to business on Wednesday. Two midweek treats right there.
Eden
Eden has had an exceptional start to the season and that looks set to continue with yet another strong week ahead.
Clustered around the weekend, Defected on Friday, Bobby & Steve's Groove Odyssey on Saturday and ABODE on Sunday make it a triple-whammy for fans of House music. Between those three, you can catch old-school names like Dave Lee and DJ Spen, established career DJs like Yousef and Riva Starr and young guns such as Paige Tomlinson and Florentia.
Don't feel left out if you fancy something different. Earlier in the week, Eden caters to more niche markets.
Monday is Reggaeton with Esta Loca Latina, Tuesday is Hard House and Fast Techno with Reboot presents Outset - Hannah Laing headlining, Wednesday is Melodic Techno and Prog with Product Of Us and their label Of Us and Thursday it's Signum's turn to go One More Time in a fit of nostalgia for the Trance heads.
Ushuaïa & Hï Ibiza
After two towering editions the previous two weekends, ANTS Day & Night bows out on a high on Saturday 20 May.
For the daytime leg of this third and final double-header of 2023, East End Dubs, Chelina Manuhutu, Silvie Loto and Tini Gessler bring the Tech-y beats to Ushuaïa, before Adam Beyer blows us away with a booming Techno finale.
Things don't end at 23:00. We scurry across the road to Hï Ibiza, where Andrea Oliva, Archie Hamilton, wAFF, Davide Squillace, Francisco Allendes, Wheats and Melanie Ribbe prove that ANTS are nocturnal as well as daytime creatures.
Although this is the last of this summer's ANTS Day & Night spectacles, don't fret if you've missed them. ANTS' usual Saturday daytime still has 17 dates to roll.
If you prefer your House music with more vocals, more sing-along-ability and an injection of colour, ditch the all-black uniform and glam up on Sunday for the twinkling Glitterbox.
Aside from the usual suspects, you will find names like Breakbot & Irfane, Girls of the Internet and Mafalda on this week's bill. Simultaneously retro, yet pushing things forward.
Club Chinois
Freaky House music arrives at Club Chinois this weekend.
Music For Freaks presents a stacked line-up on Thursday 18 May, which contains sets for Cassy, Javi Bora and Jansons alongside MFF residents Justin Harris and Affani. Meanwhile, the Neverdogs and their Bamboleo label head up Saturday night, with Dimmish, Rich NxT and Sebastian Lendher joining them.
Sunday 21 May is the final TRIP pre-season date before it starts its full summer Saturday programme at the club.
Ibiza Rocks
Following two back-to-back livewire days with Joel Corry and Becky Hill, Ibiza Rocks is not letting its foot off the pedal. Arguably, it goes even bigger for the second instalment of its Opening Weekend.
Why do we say that? For starters, mister smooth Craig David is the star drawer on Saturday 20 May. Few artists swoon the crowds at Ibiza Rocks quite like our man, Craig. The day after is also a blockbuster. After far too many years away, the reformed and hungry N-Dubz jet in for an exclusive Ibiza show. That one is sure to ignite some talking points in the gossip columns.
In addition to the headliners, Cho$en, DJ Policy and Patrick Nazemi are on hand with the fire tunes. The "home of the pool party" starting as it means to carry on. What a summer lies in store.
O Beach
Getting ahead of the pack, O Beach is the first club on the island to have its full weekly line-up up and running this week, as House In Paradise opens on Wednesday. That joins Monday's D4 D4NCE, Tuesday's Kisstory, Thursday's ON111, Friday's Pool Party and Saturday's Soul Heaven, which all started last week or earlier.
The weekend is rounded off in soulful, vocal style as the purveyor of fine House music, Kinky Malinki brings Amine Edge & DANCE and David Penn to the poolside for a day of blissed-out grooves. Seriously sexy.
Akasha
Friday 19 May sees the launch of one of Akasha's biggest summer residencies, as Summerians has its opening party. Prog master Nick Warren joins Kintar with both outdoor and indoor dancefloors across the Las Dalias site.
The night before, Macaco is live in concert in the garden from 20:00, while Oriol Calvo is back with another edition of TEN Ibiza in Akasha from 23:00.
Emanuel Satie gets the headline treatment on Saturday night, while Sunday is the hands of tribal leader Mickey Dastinz for MASAKA África Viva spread throughout the entire day, with market, food and family entertainment also in the mix. Why not make a day of it?
Want to make the most of all this sunshine and Ibiza's surrounding waters? Boat parties sail from both San Antonio and Playa d'en Bossa. Float Your Boat, Oceanbeat and Ibiza Boat Club are already underway, while Pukka Up launches this weekend for 20 years at sea.
Extensive party listings, day and night, can be found by heading to our party calendar.
From reading the above, you'll notice that midweek parties are now very much part of the formula. We're inching closer to a full week's programme. Next weekend we go bigger still!
PHOTOGRAPHY | by Elliot Young, Mario Pinta, Raul Sanchez, Michael Tomlinson and Fernando V
