May 233 min read

Sunny Side Festival: How It Went & How To Come Next Year

Updated: Jun 25

Where: Malta

When: 17th - 19th of May was the first edition

Who: Sunny Side Up, Tracy of Interwave, 356 Entertainment, Uno, Bleach PR, Bold Bishop Digital Marketing Agency, Media Team: Andrew Merieca, Zach Toupin, Kelly Projects, Justine Ellul, and Rosa Scipion

Stage Partners: Trommel, Why Not Zanzibar, Unfocused, Half Baked, After Caposile, Yoyaku, Slapfunk, tINI And The Gang, and Dungeon Meat

🔊 LISTEN TO THIS TRACK WHILE YOU READ

The nice thing about a festival located in Malta, is that it's easy to travel to. There's so many direct flights from around the world, with decent pricing. Once you are on the island, the prices are kept affordable as well, so you can truly relax and indulge. Safer and more underground alternative to an Ibiza Opening for example ;)

Travel Reel

With many festivals kicking off the Summer in May, Sunny Side placed itself at the very beginning and crafted an experience for those interested in underground notes. Come here for the lineup, stay for the scenic beauty and hospitality.

UJ/DV playing the Boat Party

Sunny Side Festival is here to offer you unique lineups, filled with artists that are up and coming as well as household favorites. While many Ibiza events are filled with big names, go to Sunny Side Festival for a more intimate music lover setting where even the music enthusiasts will discover new artists.

Highlights: not over crowded clubs, surrounded around the beauty of an island, affordable taxis and restaurants, party friendly, people like you and me organizing and running the show rather than money hungry elitists, DJs are having fun and being treated well, amazing music, new artist discovery, and so many more elements.

Tortuga Beach Club

Each day, the stages were curated by their partners such as Trommel, Why Not Zanzibar, Unfocused, Half Baked, After Caposile, Yoyaku, Slapfunk, tINI And The Gang, and Dungeon Meat. This brought so many of us together that it was a convergence of ideas and attracted like minded aficionados. Their music curation was the ultimate treat since they brought us names that we don't usually see on the festival circuit. They took some risks as well as brought us the names we greatly admire.

Collection of special moments

Somethings that stood out was the music eclecticism, a balanced male to female lineup, and each day contained a live act. This is important to building a community of music lovers dedicated to the art of raving. Most of the DJs on the lineup are also producers so the music played are tracks that only a few people have.

Next Year's Recommendations

TICKETS

Buy the early bird ticket price because later on the ticket price increases. Note that the boat party tickets are sold separately

ACCOMODATION

Take an apartment or hotel in between the venues, as you will hop from venue to venue and might enjoy a pit stop at home for a shower

LENGTH OF STAY

Stay an extra day or two before and after the festival dates to check out the island's food, swimming, and get a massage. If you spend a whole week, carve out time to visit the other islands off Malta such as Gozo for scenic wonders

FRIENDS

Bring a group of friends or go solo, both you will enjoy and meet new people along the way

PACK

Bring clothes for humid, hot, and windy weather; unexpected rain could occur

GOOD TO KNOW

Bring electronic outlet converters as they are on the UK plug system (and drive on the opposite side of the road). Malta uses the Euro currency, is in Schengen, and their official languages are Maltese and English

Where To Stay

Since the festival is spread out across 3 venues, finding a strategic location is important so you can focus on having fun instead of getting around.

One of the venues is at a beautiful club called Uno which is located in the Attard neighborhood. The Beach Party venue was held at Tortuga which is in Mellieħa. Then the boat party pick up location may change from year to year, so you can expect it to be somewhere near to either of those locations.

Uno

Most people stayed in St. Paul's Bay for the convenience of getting around, however there are great restaurants located in St. Julian's Bay and Sliema. Naxxar is another great neighborhood choice where you will find good places to stay and restaurants. There's many options available and your best bet will be to search on Airbnb, Booking, or Kayak for an apartment or hotel.