The BPM Festival is an annual electronic music festival, held in Tamarindo,

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

History

The BPM Festival is an annual ten day and night electronic music festival, founded by Craig Pettigrew, & Phillip Pulitano, held in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. BPM, which stands for “Bartenders, Promoters, Musicians” was created in 2008 as a post-New Year's gathering of industry professionals and has grown to a 70,000+ global gathering of DJs, producers, revelers and industry professionals featuring over 400 DJs and 80+ events. BPM parties were originally hosted both day and night at multiple venues in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico a picturesque beach town that runs along miles of soft white sand beaches and sparkling turquoise waters on the Mayan Riviera. In 2013, The BPM Festival won the "International Festival" award from

DJ Awards DJ Awards is a celebration of electronic music, and aims to recognise and honour Disc jockey, DJs and individuals who have influenced electronic dance music worldwide. Held annually in Ibiza at the end of the summer season, DJ Awards has retaine ...

in Ibiza and in 2016 was nominated by International Dance Music Awards for "Best Music Event" for a third year in a row, as well as “Festival of the Year” at the first ever Electronic Music Awards & Foundation. In addition, The BPM Festival won "Best Festival" in the EMPO Awards in 2015 with a nomination in 2016. Now embarking on its tenth year, The BPM Festival continues to be a dance music lover's tropical paradise and the perfect winter getaway. Approximately 35,000 people attended The BPM Festival in 2012. Artists on the 2013 schedule included

Richie Hawtin Richard "Richie" Hawtin (born June 4, 1970) is a British-Canadian electronic musician and DJ. He became involved with Detroit techno's second wave in the early 1990s, and has been a leading exponent of minimal techno since the mid-1990s. He becam ...

, Sasha, Jamie Jones, Damian Lazarus,

Carl Cox Carl Andrew Cox (born 29 July 1962) is a British house and techno club DJ, radio DJ, motorsport team owner and record producer. He is based in Frankston, Victoria, Australia. Cox has won and been nominated for numerous awards. He has perfor ...

, Maceo Plex, Soul Clap,

Wolf + Lamb The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though grey ...

, Lee Burridge, Jamie Roy, Loco Dice and Luciano. The 10th edition was held in January 2017, with its line-up featuring

, Cassy,

Dubfire Ali Shirazinia (), commonly known by his stage name Dubfire, is an Iranian American house and techno DJ and producer. Prior to his solo career, Dubfire made up half of the duo Deep Dish. Dubfire's style is noticeably different from that of Deep ...

Erick Morillo Erick Morillo (March 26, 1971 – September 1, 2020) was a Colombian-American disc jockey, music producer, and record label owner. Having produced under a number of pseudonyms, including Ministers de la Funk, the Dronez, RAW, Smooth Touch, RBM, ...

, Guy Gerber,

John Digweed Thomas John Digweed (born April 1967) is a British DJ and record producer. As well as achieving success as a solo act, he has collaborated with Sasha as Sasha & John Digweed, and with Nick Muir as Bedrock. Digweed was voted as No. 1 DJ in DJ ...

, Lee Curtiss, Lee Foss, Marco Carola, Nicole Moudaber,

Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong (born 30 July 1960) is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as '' Essential Mix'' and '' Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for ...

, Seth Troxler,

Skream Oliver Dene Jones (born 1 June 1986), known professionally as Skream, is an English electronic music producer based in Croydon. Skream has released records on several British record labels, such as Tempa, Tectonic, and Big Apple Records, and ...

, Solomun, Soul Clap,

The Martinez Brothers The Martinez Brothers are a duo of disc jockeys, music producers, and remixers from The Bronx, New York known for their long-term residencies at clubs in Ibiza. In 2014, they were named as DJs of the year by ''Mixmag'', who wrote that "no other ...

, and

2017 shooting

On 16 January 2017, four people were killed and fifteen were wounded by a "lone shooter" during a closing event for the festival at the Blue Parrot nightclub where Seth Troxler was playing. A woman also died in a stampede that ensued as a result of the gunfire. Organizers identified three of the victims killed as being part of the festival's security staff. An image of a narcomanta claiming responsibility for the attack, left by the

drug cartel A drug cartel is a criminal organization composed of independent drug lords who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the illegal drug trade. Drug cartels form with the purpose of controlling the supply of the i ...

Los Zetas Los Zetas (, Spanish for "The Zs") is a Mexican criminal syndicate and designated terrorist organization, known as one of the most dangerous of Mexico's drug cartels. They are known for engaging in brutally violent " shock and awe" tactics suc ...

, circulated following the shootings. The message contained specific references to BPM and Philip Pulitano, stated that they "didn't get in line", and also contained threats against rival gangs. While authorities had not yet connected the shootings to Los Zetas, a person familiar with the matter told

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

that the attack might have been the result of non-compliance with the gang's demands. Following the shooting, it was reported that the organizers had gone into hiding. On 16 January 2017, Mayor Cristina Torres Gómez stated in '' El Universal'' that the city's stance was to no longer allow BPM's organizers to hold events there. Maria Helena Mata Pineda, president of Riviera Maya's Business Coordinating Council, called for a ban of all electronic music events in the region, stating that "We don't want BPM here anymore, or any other similar event. We don't want it and we thank the authorities who are listening." On 24 January 2017, organizers released their first official statement regarding the shooting, reporting that 14 of the 15 attendees wounded had been released from hospital. The organizers also stated that news reports attributing the shooting to cartel activity were "based on speculation and misinformation from unidentified sources".

Relocation to Portugal

Organizers canceled future events in Mexico while they considered moving the festival to Brazil or Portugal. Organizers announced in April 2017 that their next festival would be held at Praia da Rocha,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in September that year. The next festival took place 20–23 September 2018 in

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro (district), Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2022 was 63,079 in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão. In ...

, with artists including: Craig Richards, Joseph Capriati, Octave One, Patrick Topping, and more performing. The 2019 edition took place 12–15 September in

, with Laurent Garnier, Paco Osuna, Loco Dice, and Stefan Bodzin performing.

Relocation to Costa Rica

In 2020, the festival has relocated to Tamarindo,

. It was held there in 2024, and the (January) 2025 festival is at an advanced stage of planning. The January 2025 festival permits for Tamarindo were not renewed and is now being is being held without permission or permits in Avallenas. It is being protested by locals due to the massive disturbances and strain it brings to the communities.

References

External links