Soundstorm 2025: How Riyadh’s Biggest Festival Rewrites the Nightlife Rules
What is Soundstorm 2025 Riyadh?
Soundstorm is MDLBEAST’s three-day music festival held every December on a vast desert site in Banban, north of Riyadh. Launched in 2019 as part of Riyadh Season, it has grown into the largest music festival in the Middle East, covering around 5.5 million square metres and drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors in recent editions.
The 2025 edition of Soundstorm runs from 11–13 December 2025 in Banban, bringing together international stars and regional DJs across multiple stages.
The 2025 line-up: global headliners meet regional talent
For 2025, organisers have announced a heavyweight international cast. Among the global names on the bill are Post Malone, Calvin Harris, Ava Max, Halsey, The Kid Laroi, Tyla and Benson Boone, alongside dance-heavy acts such as Swedish House Mafia.
Soundstorm 2025 will also mark Cardi B’s first performance in Saudi Arabia, part of a line-up that includes artists like Lil Yachty and Miguel, showing how the festival has expanded beyond pure EDM into hip-hop, pop and R&B.
Alongside the global stars, MDLBEAST traditionally programmes a strong roster of Saudi and regional DJs, using the festival to showcase local electronic and live talent to an international crowd.
From Riyadh Season to Vision 2030: why Soundstorm matters
Soundstorm was created in 2019 within Riyadh Season, the capital’s months-long entertainment programme, and is closely linked to Saudi Vision 2030, the national plan to diversify the economy and grow culture, tourism and entertainment.
By hosting one of the world’s largest multi-genre music events in the desert just outside Riyadh, Saudi Arabia signals two things at once:
a commitment to opening up to international visitors and touring artists
an investment in giving its young population new large-scale cultural experiences
In 2023, the festival reported more than 600,000 attendees over three days, underlining how quickly it has become a centerpiece of the regional festival calendar.
VIB decks, balconas and desert views: how the Soundstorm experience works
Part of the Soundstorm story is how it packages the experience. The festival offers layered ticket tiers, from General Admission (GA) up to premium “Very Important Beast” (VIB) categories:
GA & GA+ – access to the festival grounds and all stages, with complimentary parking and built-in wallet credit for food and drinks. GA+ adds faster entry lanes and enhanced viewing areas.
VIB & VIB+ – elevated platforms, dedicated entrances and parking, larger wallet credit amounts and, at the highest tiers, side-stage viewing platforms, valet parking and golf-cart transport between stages.
Balcona & VIB Boxes – semi-private platforms facing the main “Big Beast” stage, table service, and high wallet-credit packages, with full hospitality in the case of private boxes.
These tiers are designed to attract both regular festival-goers and high-spending guests who want a VIP experience with lounges, raised views of the main stage and concierge-style service.
Saudi youth culture at the heart of Soundstorm
While international headlines focus on big names and giant stages, Soundstorm 2025 is also about Saudi youth. The festival takes place in a kingdom where large-scale public music events were rare only a decade ago. Today, Soundstorm has become a symbolic space where young Saudis and regional visitors gather, dress up, and engage with music scenes that range from global pop to home-grown electronic acts.
For three nights in December, Soundstorm 2025 Riyadh turns the desert outside the capital into a fully built nightlife district – complete with towering stages, immersive visuals and highly structured VIP zones – reflecting Saudi Arabia’s broader move to position itself as a global entertainment destination.
