You don’t expect to attend a music festival in Baku and accidentally stumble upon someone’s blueprint for world domination.

That’s exactly what happened at Dream Fest, which was hosted for its second year at the mega-luxury resort Sea Breeze. Sea Breeze is the brainchild of Azerbaijani musician and developer Emin Agalarov (aka EMIN). Agalarov is building a self-sustaining metropolis with the best elements of global hotspots. Out on the Caspian Sea, a large artificial island is rising, shaped like a flame to pay homage to Baku’s nickname, ‘Land of Fire’. These ideas sound wild: supposedly relocating Formula One racing there, adding a new concert hall, and what they claim will be Europe’s largest casino. Since casinos are banned in Azerbaijan, this artificial island exists in a convenient legal grey area. As ambitious as it seems, Agalarov might just pull it all off.

All this luxury created the perfect backdrop for Dream Fest 2025, a four-night spectacle that transformed Sea Breeze from a tranquil retreat into a high-energy scene from July 23 to 26. Against this surreal setting of construction cranes and utopian dreams, the festival became more than just a music event. Here are my highlights.

Shisha & Familiar Chaos

Walking into the festival grounds that first night, I was hit with serious déjà vu. It reminded me of those chaotic Greek outings to the Bouzoukia, where every table is overflowing with drinks and everyone’s dressed to impress. The best way to describe this is as a wedding reception meets rock concert, where dancing on tables is the norm. Here, though, the crowd was more subdued despite their enthusiasm, and the table-side shisha and aromatic smoke revealed the unique cultural mix.

I hadn’t listened to EMIN before, but the so-called ‘Elvis of Azerbaijan’ proved he could command a crowd with his smooth, confident vocals on hits like “MMM” and “Нежная”. Then, wearing a sheer lace catsuit, American singer Nicole Scherzinger absolutely killed it with Pussycat Dolls classics like “Buttons” and “Don’t Cha”, and I was dancing instantly. Her set, sadly, ended way too soon.

The Feels and the Flashbacks

The second night took a more emotional turn with tributes to EMIN’s mentor, the late Muslim Magomayev, one of Azerbaijan’s and the Soviet’s most beloved voices. The real goosebump moment came when EMIN joined Italian tenor Alessandro Safina and Azerbaijani baritone Elchin Azizov for Magomayev’s “Синяя вечность”. Easily one of the most powerful moments of the entire festival.

Night three delivered pure ‘90s nostalgia. I got to see Scandi Europop group Aqua perform mega club hits “Barbie Girl” and “Doctor Jones”. The acoustic guitar renditions by No Mercy’s Bronx-born Marty Cintron captured the raw essence of his songs, including “Missing”, which happens to be one of my absolute favourites.

The Night Everything Clicked

The final night completely won me over. The energy was electric, the crowd was massive, and I discovered artists that have since been added to my Spotify playlist. 

Before Azerbaijani-born, Russian-raised ALIZADE took to the stage, I learned she was quite a controversial artist. Even so far as to be deported from Turkey in 2023 for allegedly promoting drug use in her music videos, but this doesn’t take away the impact she’s already made on the music scene. 

I completely fell in love the moment ALIZADE strutted onto the stage rapping “ANORMAL” while rocking that ridiculous Mickey Mouse hat, with ears and oversized hands. Her sound brought together her ethnic roots and Turkish pop, somehow working perfectly despite being a wild cultural mashup. And now I’m genuinely curious what she does next. Even her catchphrase ‘Miao, Miao’ is still lodged in my brain weeks later!

Next up was Kazakh-Azerbaijani rapper Jah Khalib, whose versatility completely blew me away. One minute he’s rapid-firing verses in “Воу-воу, палехчэ”, the next he’s singing these soulful ballads like “Любимая”. American rapper Tyga brought the house down for the finale, keeping the entire crowd dancing to bangers including “Dip”, “soak city”, and “SWISH” until the very end.

Drone Shows and Honest Confessions

The 500-drone light show started breathtaking, turned hypnotic, and by minute eight had us silently begging to get back to the music. Although festivals are meant to be all about live music, I did catch a few artists, who I won’t name and shame, clearly lip-syncing. It was also a bit frustrating that some artists only got to perform one song, which barely gave me enough time to figure out if I liked them!

This whole experience was so different from the festivals I’m used to, but that’s exactly what made it unique. It opened my ears to music from cultures I hadn’t explored before. Sure, the big international names draw crowds, but I was even more interested in discovering these local and regional artists. Maybe it’s my Greek background, but I found myself connecting with rhythms and emotions that needed no translation.

Beyond the Sea Breeze Bubble

This resort seems to have everything you could ever need or desire. Emin jokes about wanting to ‘lock people in and never let them out,’ which sounds way more sinister when you hear it out loud. While the development creates this perfect luxury bubble, it can feel a bit disconnected from Baku’s vibrant culture. It’s worth the 20-minute drive to venture into the capital for the historic Old City, the futuristic Heydar Aliyev Center, or the iconic Flame Towers that inspired this ‘Fire Island’ project.

Word is Sea Breeze may expand to Kazakhstan, the Maldives, Montenegro, and Uzbekistan with similar Dream Fest events, so who knows where ‘Emin’s world’ will pop up next! Emin clearly doesn’t do small, and at this rate, we’ll all be citizens of his empire soon enough.

For more info, go to Dream Fest and Sea Breeze.

Words Angeliki Sofronas