Tulum · Festival season
Which Tulum party is right for you? The brands, from the inside
By Charli López, founder of MATIE · been to all of these parties
In Tulum every party is its own tribe, with its own music, visuals, stage, and even its own way of dressing. I've seen people go just for the hype, because everybody says a certain party was insane, and then once they're there they don't like it at all: some find the music repetitive, others find the vibe way too heavy. That's why I wrote this guide: so you pick the party that fits you, not the one that's trending.
One rule before we start: the DJ's name doesn't define the party, what gets played that night does. The same DJ can play multiple brands, and each one brings out a different side of them. Every brand has its own mission and vision, and that's what you're going to live.
First, where it all happens: Zamna, Day Zero and Tehmplo
Before the brands, the container. There are three, and all three are big; what changes is the format.
Zamna
A full season, from late December to mid-January, with a different brand every night and a separate ticket for each night. It brings several brands together under one roof, but each one is independent. Dates, tickets and this year's lineup: Zamna Tulum 2027 guide.
Day Zero
One ritual night, sunset to sunrise, curated since 2012 by Damian Lazarus. The most exclusive: it sells out first and the price climbs fast.
Tehmplo
A permanent venue hidden in the jungle that brings in big names on its own. A rawer energy, more jungle rave than polished production.
And something almost nobody tells you: the parties here run all night, until the sun comes up. Watching the sunrise while you dance in the middle of the jungle, near the ruins, hits with a serious charge of energy. The Maya were there for a reason, and if they knew one thing, it was how to live well.
The brands, one by one
To start: the soft way in
RÜFÜS DU SOL
Band with vocals · deep and progressive house · indie dance
They're one of those acts everybody knows, and a lot of people figure that means they've lost their edge. They haven't: it's incredible how they play. The time I saw them, the stage wasn't anything spectacular, but their music felt like a melancholic journey, full of love, with a touch of the spiritual. They make you feel vulnerable, like you want to hug your friends and tell them how much you love them. I saw so many little huddles of friends thanking each other for the friendship.
Who it's for: If you're not hooked on electronic music yet. It's the party that makes you feel welcome.
CORE
Tomorrowland's experience brand · house and techno
Stages that are sculptures: a giant head with butterfly wings (we are one with the earth), another split open down the middle with a stone inside (every head is a world). It's multisensory: bubbles, colored smoke, even scents. I caught two, one was the Zamna closing that year, and watching the sunrise with those stages was unreal. Really good, but light: it's not as loaded as some of the others.
Who it's for: If you're just getting started, or if you're into the visuals.
Groove and African roots
Keinemusik
Afro house · deep house · melodic techno, with hip-hop and afrobeats
"The cloud is landing": their symbol is a cloud with the peace-and-love sign. I picture them as the Adam Sandlers of music: people who don't sweat anything and just enjoy what's around them. The music is relaxed, it evolves with patience, and sometimes they slip familiar songs into their remixes: at the last one I went to, they made me tear up with "Creep." Time disappears while you make a ton of friends. It's kind of a cult: people even start to look alike.
Who it's for: If you want to dance relaxed and meet people. Unofficial uniform: cap, bandana, long shorts and a loose shirt.
Black Coffee
Afro house · afro tech · deep house
The stage was a lot simpler, and you understood why: in here the stage is the last thing that matters, it's the music. Lots of African sounds, new to me, and I didn't stop dancing. Sophisticated, without the super intense emotional peaks, but you enjoy it just the same. He shows his roots and knows how to pass them on: he opens the door to sounds you want to keep listening to afterward.
Who it's for: If you like the music to be the star, no show.
To dance up close
Solomun
Deep house · melodic techno · indie dance, with lots of vocals
They call him "the King," and after one of his parties you get why. He's in my top three, if not number one. He felt like a puppeteer: he moves his hands and you dance to his rhythm, there's no resisting. He mixes tracks with no vocals, with vocals and even pop songs like nobody else. That party ended around noon; they came in and pulled the plug, and I still wanted to keep going. My feet were killing me and I couldn't stop dancing.
Who it's for: If you want the party that leaves the bar sky-high afterward.
Epic, dark and intense
Afterlife
Dark, cinematic melodic techno
Completely different: amazing, but very heavy. At one point I had to calm myself down for a bit because of all the emotions you feel in there. It's dancing like you're in the underworld: a dark kind of bliss. People in black, you can barely walk, and suddenly a chain of 15 hands holding on to each other cuts through. You feel danger, but the kind that makes you want more. The visuals have always been next-level and say a lot about humans and technology. One time they played opera and I felt like I was about to meet the villain of the movie. It was the most intense party I've ever lived and one of the ones I've loved the most: you really are reborn after a good night here.
Who it's for: If you want something that moves you from the inside. Not the best for your first time. Heads up: Tale of Us, the duo behind Afterlife, now goes separate ways; Anyma is bringing his own show, ÆDEN, to Zamna on January 4, 2027.
ARTBAT
Epic melodic techno · progressive house
Geniuses of music and visuals. They're similar to Afterlife, but more upbeat: they also take you down a road of introspection, just without it hitting as hard. Hearing "Return to Oz" live is one of those moments that stays with you for life.
Who it's for: If you want the epic without the dark. It brings out your most extroverted side.
Tribe and ritual
Mayan Warrior
Underground house and techno: melodic, organic and atmospheric
A Mexican collective with its own art car, the one they take to Burning Man. What impressed me most: almost nobody had their phone out. Everybody was 100% in the music. People showed up dressed like ancient tribes, connecting you to something ancestral, basic. That's where I met people who truly love the party and know how to enjoy it to the fullest. There's nothing to prove.
Who it's for: If you're there for the music, not the photo.
Day Zero
Melodic, organic house and techno, curated by Damian Lazarus
They call it the Mexican Burning Man. I once lost my ticket on purpose, because everybody told me that after Day Zero the bar was set so high that other parties never hit the same. When I finally went for it, it was everything they said and more. People who live for this, in the middle of the jungle, with a lot of connection to Maya culture. What you see in there can throw you off because it's a lot, but if you go in with an open mind it's a reset. I also got to see Solomun play alongside Damian Lazarus there.
Who it's for: If you've already been to others and want the experience that resets them all.
And two more to keep on your radar
Paul Kalkbrenner
Live techno · minimal · ambient
A genius. He doesn't bring the music loaded on a USB stick: he has a table full of knobs and builds it on the spot. There's a really beautiful serenity to it; his music tells stories and it's not like anything else.
Who it's for: If you're interested in watching someone create music live.
Claptone
House with carnival sounds
It felt like a festival in Brazil: carnival sounds that make you dance a ton.
Who it's for: If you just want to dance nonstop.
If you still don't know, start here
Still not sure which one sounds like you? You don't have to pick tonight: with MATIE you lock in your spot for the season and choose your nights later.
Why I'm the one telling you this
In 2017 I worked as a bar manager at BPM, which at the time was Playa del Carmen's electronic music festival. From behind the bar, honestly, I wasn't connecting: from a distance it all sounded the same to me. But I watched people from so many cultures having the time of their lives in the middle of the jungle, and that's where my curiosity started.
On one of our days off they got us into a party where the Martinez Brothers were playing, and that's where I got it: the music wasn't 30 seconds of one song and then another, it was a story. There was a line, sounds rising and falling, showing up and disappearing, and the crowd was connecting with it. On the screens there were skulls dancing: no matter nationality, color or religion, literally just our bones moving from side to side. That night I fell in love.
I've been coming back every season I can since then, first to Playa and then to Tulum, when Zamna started making noise. For a lot of people, Tulum at this time of year is just as good as Ibiza, or better: the DJs who have residencies over there come play here. It's a world-class destination where Mexico holds its flag high. And nobody knows Mexico better than a Mexican.
Frequently asked questions
Which Tulum party is best for my first time?
RÜFÜS DU SOL or CORE. RÜFÜS is a band with vocals, melancholic and beautiful: it's the softest way in if you're not into electronic music yet. CORE is multisensory and light, with giant stages, bubbles and colored smoke. Afterlife, on the other hand, I wouldn't recommend to start with: it's the most intense of them all.
Does the DJ define the party?
No. The same DJ can play multiple brands, and each one brings out a different side of them. What defines the night is the brand (its music, its visuals, its stage and its crowd), not the name on the lineup.
How late do the parties in Tulum go?
All night, until the sun comes up, deep in the jungle. Unlike almost anywhere else, here watching the sunrise while you're still dancing is the normal thing.
What's the difference between Zamna, Day Zero and Tehmplo?
Zamna is a full season, with a different brand every night. Day Zero is a single ritual night, sunset to sunrise, curated by Damian Lazarus. Tehmplo is a permanent venue in the jungle that brings in big names on its own. All three are big; what changes is the format.
What's the age limit?
These are 18 and over only.
Can I go solo?
Yes, and it happens all the time. At parties like Keinemusik or Mayan Warrior you make friends without even trying. With MATIE you also show up with lodging, transportation to every party, and staff all handled.