Upon the descent into Princess Juliana International Airport, Saint Martin/Sint Maarten’s natural beauty is visible at just about every vantage point; emerald green hills that peak dramatically above the horizon, cream-coloured dunes, mind-bogglingly blue waters. I’m here for SXM Festival, a five-day event that promises to combine day-and-night dancing with all of the bells and whistles expected from partying in paradise: Sunset and sunrise parties on the beach, poolside dancing, fire performances, cocktails beneath a palm tree canopy. The festival’s glittering promotional videos across social media allude to a union of idyllic island getaway and technicolour rave — serene horizons, intricately-decorated booths brimming with ecstatic DJs and punters, staggering production and a crowd mostly consisting of bikini clad girls with diamanté-encrusted faces. Hell yeah!
Named after Saint Martin/Sint Maarten’s airport code, and its unofficial nickname, SXM is set to welcome 5,000 punters to this 88sqkm Caribbean island across March 12 to 16. Split in half, Saint Martin and Sint Maarten are technically two different territories, with the north being an overseas collectivity of France (and therefore part of the EU) and the south a constituent country of the Kingdom of Netherlands. Despite this, visitors are rarely aware of when they are crossing over into a different territory; if you do notice, it’s usually from a tiny sign on the side of the road that announces “Bonjour!” or “Hallo!” respectively.
With a population of around 74,000 — Saint Martin/Sint Maarten punches above its weight in personality. Its tourist board-approved nickname “The Friendly Island” is present on license plates across both its French and Dutch sides, and honestly… It’s a completely truthful claim. The locals are more than happy to stop for a chat, hang out, share a cig with overseas strangers — everything comes with a smile.
The country’s tourism officials claim that the island is made up of “well over 100 cultures” and is “uniquely diverse” due to both immigration from the surrounding islands, alongside North America and Europe. A melting pot of Creole, Caribbean, European and American sensibilities — here you can find cars blasting out soca parked up outside bakeries serving fresh-out-the-oven baguettes in the morning, while at night, baseball grounds and football pitches lit up by floodlights side-by-side.
To mark its eighth edition, the festival has locked in a mixture of household and up-and-coming names for this year’s line-up, including Danny Tenaglia, Nicole Moudaber, Camelphat, Âme, Kitty Amor, Sam Divine, Tinlicker and many more. While much of the festival’s format has remained the same from last year’s edition, SXM confirmed that it would be “eliminating” its VIP program for 2025 to stress the festival’s “ethos of unity” — though, it’s important to note, “designated bottle service areas will still be available.” Tickets for the festival come in three and five-day packages, while those wanting to really go in on their SXM experience can also buy passes for its Satellite parties, one which is set to take place at the highest point on the island’s Dutch side – Sentry Hill – for a special day-to-sunset-party, and the other a party at a glamorous villa which features prominently in SXM’s pre-event promotion.
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Having first visited the island in 2003 for a New Year’s Party, SXM’s founder Julian Prince – a Canadian DJ and producer – quickly recognised its potential as a holiday-meets-festival hot spot: “But back then, there weren’t many festivals that people would travel to,” he says. Spurred on by the growing popularity of Coachella, Burning Man and BPM – the latter of which takes place across the Caribbean Sea in Costa Rica – Prince threw the first edition of SXM Festival, a four-day boutique event, in 2016. It’s clear that these three festivals have had a massive influence on the overall aesthetic and vibe of SXM, which seems to lie somewhere between bohemian luxury and jaw-clapping, EDM-inspired luminescence — whether it’s the feather and sequin-adorned headdresses worn by attendees or the ostentatious, laser-fuelled stage design.
My first taste of SXM Festival comes courtesy of Thursday’s kick off party at Bamboo Beach, which transforms from a laidback beach-side venue in the daytime to glowsticks akimbo by night. Consisting of two stages, the Forest Stage and the Beach Stage, Bamboo Beach still retains the markers of its non-festival function as an easy-going beach bar for holidaymakers on arrival, with driftwood benches directed at the horizon and palm-frond-topped bars. A local toilet attendant even divvys out bottles of citronella in squeezy ketchup bottles to us as we wash our hands to avoid getting bitten by mosquitos in the cool evening air — beaming with pride as I explain that it’s the greatest invention I’ve ever seen.
The change in gear comes just after sunset, as throngs gather on the beach to watch a dance troupe, clad in gold chain bikinis, perform a fire dance as the sun goes down — all soundtracked by Phil Conti playing a mash-up of familiar house anthems. Seemingly out of nowhere there are drones circling overhead, multicoloured lights adorning the trees in every direction and light-up bottles of Grey Goose visible on every surface. By the time French DJ and producer Notre Dame steps up to the decks for his synth-laden, hypnotic closing set, the crowd is packed around the booth, entranced.
- Source: NEWHD MEDIA
