ANTS at Zamna Festival in Tulum opens the 2026 festival season, merging Ibiza’s industrial sound with the Riviera Maya’s natural energy in one of Mexico’s most anticipated electronic events.
When the metallic pulse of Ibiza’s ANTS METALWORKS echoed through Ushuaïa’s open-air stage last summer, few expected that its next evolution would unfold deep within the jungles of Tulum. Yet as 2025 turns to 2026, the acclaimed house and techno collective known as ANTS brings its industrial vision to Mexico’s Riviera Maya, setting the tone for the region’s most dynamic festival season to date.
From Ibiza steel to Tulum jungle
The global migration of electronic music continues to weave unexpected connections between Europe and Latin America. On Saturday, January 3, the main stage of Zamna Festival will transform into a living factory of rhythm and light, hosting the first international stop of ANTS ON TOUR 2026.
The brand, renowned for its immersive production and forward-thinking sound, reimagined Ushuaïa Ibiza this year as a dystopian playground of metal and motion. That concept now crosses the Atlantic, promising to merge the mechanical precision of ANTS’ identity with Tulum’s organic pulse. The result could redefine what open-air nightlife looks like in the Riviera Maya.
A lineup built for intensity
The upcoming Zamna showcase reads like a blueprint for the evolution of house and techno in the new decade. At its core stands Andrea Oliva, one of ANTS’ founding architects and a symbol of the brand’s underground roots. Alongside him, Italian powerhouse Ilario Alicante joins for a back-to-back performance expected to push the boundaries between groove and grit.
The night continues with Archie Hamilton and Marsolo, bridging London’s minimal scene with the Netherlands’ deeper tones. Cameron Jack brings balearic warmth, while Loco Dice injects his trademark blend of raw rhythm and precision mixing. The inclusion of Maceo Plex marks a milestone, his first appearance with The Colony, adding a cosmic layer that spans house, electro, and techno. SYREETA, one of the UK’s most talked-about new talents, closes the lineup with a fearless, bass-driven statement.
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Each artist contributes to the narrative ANTS has spent years crafting: unity through movement, design, and sound.
As one festival insider observed, “ANTS doesn’t just host a party; it builds an ecosystem.”
Tulum’s festival surge reshapes tourism
The choice of Tulum as the tour’s first international stop is no coincidence. Over the past decade, this corner of Quintana Roo has evolved from a quiet coastal escape into a global destination for electronic music, yoga retreats, and luxury tourism. The winter festival circuit, anchored by Zamna, Day Zero, and Afterlife, has turned January into Tulum’s unofficial high season.
Hotels fill to capacity, and the town’s mix of natural settings and design-driven venues offers a stage unlike any other. But the growth comes with its own tension. Residents and environmental advocates often debate how to balance Tulum’s booming nightlife economy with its fragile ecosystems. For visitors, the discussion adds depth to the experience: paradise is now a crossroads of sound, sustainability, and identity.
The fusion of experience and sustainability
Zamna Festival’s location-a lush, lagoon-adjacent site framed by ceiba trees, embodies the paradox that defines modern Tulum: wild yet curated, ancient yet digital. The festival has made visible efforts to reduce its footprint, from biodegradable materials to local partnerships.
For ANTS, this alignment is more than logistical. It reflects a global shift in how electronic music brands view place and purpose. After years of spectacle-driven production, the industry appears to be circling back toward meaning, connection, and design with conscience.
If Ibiza represents the polished origin story, Tulum might symbolize the awakening of a new chapter: one where global nightlife seeks harmony with its surroundings rather than dominance over them.
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A mirror of global music migration
The arrival of ANTS in Tulum also illustrates how festival tourism now defines the post-pandemic travel map. In 2024, Quintana Roo reported one of Mexico’s strongest rebounds in international arrivals, driven not just by beaches but by cultural events and music gatherings.
Techno and house fans travel across continents following lineups, creating temporary micro-economies wherever they land. For local entrepreneurs, each event becomes a testing ground for hospitality, design, and sustainability trends.
Tulum’s role as a global incubator of electronic experiences keeps growing. It no longer mirrors Ibiza, it competes with it.
What The Colony brings next
ANTS ON TOUR 2026 is expected to visit multiple continents after its Zamna debut, though organizers have yet to release further details. Still, the Tulum stop feels like more than a launch, it’s a declaration. The Colony is signaling that its creative energy can thrive anywhere there’s open air and a shared heartbeat.
For visitors arriving this January, the event offers more than a night of music. It’s a chance to witness the evolution of two global brands, ANTS and Zamna, whose fusion could define the next era of destination festivals.
And for Tulum, it reaffirms its place at the intersection of music, tourism, and transformation.
A season that could redefine Tulum
As the Riviera Maya prepares for another influx of travelers, festivals like Zamna highlight both the promise and pressure facing the region. The blend of electronic artistry and ecological awareness could determine whether Tulum continues to inspire or begins to fragment under its own success.
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The energy of ANTS, industrial yet human, futuristic yet grounded, feels uniquely suited to this moment. It might even set the tone for how 2026 unfolds across the world’s dance floors.
ANTS at Zamna Festival stands as a reminder that sound can travel farther than borders, and that the spirit of a place can reinvent the rhythm of an era.
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Could Tulum’s evolving festival scene become a model for global nightlife destinations?
