Best surprise guest performances from DJ sets at festivals

One of the beauties of festival sets is that DJs can truly be free to offer a completely different live experience for fans from all over the world. We’ve seen some spectacular scenes at the hands of festival sets from some of our favourite DJs in past years, but some of the most incredible moments have been when artists have shocked and surprised crowds by bringing out special and unexpected surprise guests as part of their set. Although a lot of artists love to invite fellow producers on stage to perform their collaborations, or even singers to add an extra dimension to the track by performing it live, there are times where DJs like to go above and beyond to shock and surprise their fans, and in the spirit of this being able to happen again thanks to festivals making a return, we’re looking at some of the highlights below from just a few past festival sets with surprise guests.

When Marshmello brought out Will Smith at Ultra 2018 

Arguably one of the most epic guest performances of all time, Marshmello treated the Ultra Miami 2018 crowd to a more than special treat when he brought out none other than Will Smith to perform ‘Miami’, one of Will Smith’s biggest hits from his debut album. The crowd erupted into screams, reacting to what was definitely one of the biggest ‘wow’ moments of Ultra 2018 out of many, and a moment that no one will forget. 

When Skrillex and Diplo brought out Justin Bieber at Ultra 2015

Skrillex’s Ultra 2015 set was a whirlwind of special guests after special guests. During the majority of his set time, he performed alone and played out dubstep banger after banger. In the last 20 minutes of the set though, it came to life even more with the appearance of Diplo, in which the crowd would soon realise was turning into an unexpected Jack Ü set. Unbelievably, this wasn’t even the highest surprise of the night, as they roped in Justin Bieber for a performance of their biggest hit ‘Where Are Ü Now.’ The set also featured the likes of DJ Snake, Kiesza, Puff Daddy, CL and Kai throughout, making it one big union of huge artists. 

Image credit: Ultra Miami