For the last 24 hours of Melt Festival, which took place from July 11 to 14 in the former Ferropolis open-cast mine in Gräfenhainichen, Germany, attendees were asked to refrain from photo and video recordings to fully immerse themselves in the final festival day. These were not the last hours of one more edition of the event, which has attracted over 500,000 people from all over the world for over twenty-seven years, but rather the final goodbye to a project that, unfortunately, will not continue. The final farewell to Melt, whose organisers announced more than a month ago that they would not be able to continue with the festival due to various factors, has been a very emotional act of gratitude.
“Anyone who wants to dance through the night with us one last time, experience the unforgettable vibe, and feel the mystique of Melt is warmly invited to Melt 2024,” said the festival organisers a few weeks ago, encouraging all the followers who have been enjoying this unique experience in Europe for more than twenty years to come together to celebrate the legacy of this event and show the world that, although there will not be more editions, its DNA is still intact and shines brightly.
For this special moment, Melt was clear from the beginning that they wanted to share it with some essential names in the music scene. Highlights included performances by James Blake, Sugababes, Bonobo, Paula Hartmann, Sampha, Chase & Status, and many more. “There are some really cool DJs on the lineup! Hopefully, I can see them all. I recently came across Bambii, and I think she’s fire!” told Keisha from Sugababes in our last interview, when asking them what they thought of the lineup for the new edition of MELT Festival.
Nothing and no one prevented this celebration from taking place in style, not even the weather on the second festival day, when the 24-hour programme had to be briefly interrupted around noon due to a storm warning. From the undisputed grime god Skepta to Mount Kimbie, who was confirmed for Melt at short notice, the choir collective A Song For You, featuring special guest Kelvyn Colt, and Paula Hartmann took the stage in a day to remember, and Bonobo, who had performed many times live and as a DJ at the festival, put the finishing touch on.
Romy, Sampha, the electronic breakbeat duo Overmono, and the drum & bass legends Chase & Status, the fantastic horsegiirL who we saw a few days ago performing at Sónar Barcelona, Marcel Dettmann in a back-to-back with VTSS, and Jayda G had joined the Melt stage hours before to welcome us to a very meaningful celebration of music. We are not used to experiencing festivals that have already confirmed, before kicking off their new edition, that it will be the last one. To be honest, it feels sad and melancholic.
“I'm not crying, you're crying!” or “And now tell us it was all a joke and announce the date for 2025” are some of the comments that flood the latest posts of the festival on Instagram, where we find many fans of the event who were in Ferropolis last weekend dancing to the rhythm of John Glacier, Domiziana, and Kenya Grace on the 30KV stage, or Malugi back to back with Marlon Hoffstadt, DJ Mell G back to back Helena Hauff, or X-Club on the Autoscooter stage, among many others.
To say goodbye to this last edition of the Melt Festival and have the best memories of it, the organisers worked on an unbeatable programme. Performances by James Blake, Souly, DJ Heartstring, and Sugababes, the latter with their first festival show in Germany since their reunion, just to name a few. "Dancing one last time under the excavators of the city of iron, discovering and enjoying fantastic music, coming together—it meant the world to us as a team. I want to thank the entire Melt crew, all artists, and especially the attendees from the bottom of my heart—we will never forget this Melt,” said festival director Flo Czok, looking back on the final edition with a mix of melancholy and pride.
As announced in recent weeks by the festival in their latest communications, the organisers will focus on new event concepts in the future. Stay tuned, so you don't miss anything!
