Sunny Side Festival delivers with sun soaked 3 days on the island of Malta
Malta's Sunny Side Festival 2025 unfolded over three sun-soaked days from May 16 to 18 with an intimate yet expansive celebration of underground house and techno. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Mediterranean, the festival brings classy music to the island's rich culture and attracts a colourful crowd from all over Europe.
It all goes down at UNO Malta, where Ryan Elliott delivered a masterful set at Tropicana on the Friday night and seamlessly weaved deep, driving techno with moody pads from a selection of new school gems and classics. Simultaneously, minimal favourite Sonja Moonear closed the Treehaus stage with her signature blend of paired back grooves and unexpected twists all keeping dancers locked.
Saturday's daytime featured a charming seaside venue where PARAMIDA closed the Sunset Seaside Party with an euphoric set that very much lifted spirits as the sun dipped below the horizon. The evening dancing then shifted to UNO Malta where Margaret Dygas set the tone with her showdown minimal house and was followed by a dynamic B2B set from cultured selectors Lamache and Bruno Schmidt who out did themselves with their future facing cosmic tech. Jonny Rock and Magda closed the night with a hypnotic back-to-back performance full of groove-heavy minimal with Detroit-tinged soul.
Sunday was about the two distinct daytime boat parties. The Trommel-hosted event featured Hamish & Toby delivering carefully dug-out minimal and tech delights, wafty grooves and smart breaks, while the Rhythm Point boat party offered up Doudou MD's eclectic goodness as we took a unique musical and seafaring journey around the Maltese islands. The finale saw Alexia Glensy and Alex Dima's B2B set at Tropicana, and it was full of emotion, got plenty of smiles and great interaction with the crowd, then Dungeon Meat brought hardcore deep house to the Treehaus stage and Carista closed the festival with high-energy that was needed to keep people going after three days of non stop fun.
With a crowd of approximately 2,500, the festival maintains an intimate, community-minded vibe and combined top-tier line-ups and the natural allure of Malta's landscapes and culture, Sunny Side has more than solidified its place as a standout event in the European festival calendar.
