Soundstorm (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) 2025

Soundstorm 2025 ran from 11 to 13 December at Banban on the northern edge of Riyadh, and MDLBEAST rebuilt the site from scratch for it. The grounds were laid out as a temporary city of 14 stages spread over five districts, Downtown at the centre with North, South, West and East around it, and more than 250 artists played across the three days. Organisers reported hundreds of thousands of visitors, which keeps this the largest music festival in the Middle East.

Big Beast, the main stage, opened with Benson Boone, Post Malone and Swedish House Mafia and later carried Pitbull, Anyma, Balqees and DJ Snake back to back with Metro Boomin. Cardi B made her Saudi Arabian debut and closed the festival there. The electronic programme was concentrated in the West: Calvin Harris, Fisher, Afrojack and Armin van Buuren played the Tunnel, Black Coffee, BLOND:ISH and Adriatique took the Plexi stage, and Franky Rizardo and Honeyluv handled the Port. The North Park stage ran Tyla, Zeyne, The Kid LAROI and TUL8TE.

The clearest change for 2025 was the new 6AG Stage in the East district, built specifically for regional and Saudi artists and giving names such as Ayed, Tahani Asultan, Disco Misr and Ibrahim Alhakami a stage of their own rather than a support slot. MDLBEAST has staged Soundstorm in Riyadh since 2019 and published the official 2025 aftermovie in September 2026. The festival remains the anchor event of the Saudi music calendar and the main showcase for its home scene.