Sole DXB 2025 at D3

What is Sole DXB and where is it held?
If you have ever wanted Dubai to feel a bit more like a living mixtape than a to do list, Sole DXB is the weekend for you. It returns to Dubai Design District (D3), the city’s flagship creative hub, for its 13th edition from Friday 12 December to Sunday 14 December 2025, and it is built for the kind of three day stretch where you keep promising you will leave after this set, then suddenly it is late and you are still wide awake.

Let me set the scene properly. You step into Dubai Design District, D3 and it feels like the whole area has been tuned for people who care about sound, style, and the little details. There is music in the air, but also that warm buzz of conversation, like everyone is swapping recommendations at once. Someone is pointing out a new drop inside a brand space, another group is clearly here for the basketball, and in the background you catch a soundcheck that makes your brain go, right, this is about to be very good.

This year’s headline is the main stage energy, because three GRAMMY Award winning artists are part of the top billing. Kaytranada is set for Friday, Tyla lands on Saturday, and Miguel closes out Sunday. It is a really satisfying rhythm for a weekend, dance first, then that high energy pop moment, then a smoother Sunday night finish that you will probably feel in your bones on Monday morning.

And it is not just headliners doing the heavy lifting. Sole Dubai always does that clever thing where international names and regional favourites share the same space, not as an afterthought, but as part of the point. The 2025 roster includes acts like Lil Yachty, PA Salieu, Tinariwen, Loyle Carner, Zeyne, Shabjdeed and Al Nather, plus DJ sets from people like Gilles Peterson, Rich Medina and Stretch Armstrong across the weekend. If you love discovering someone new before your friends do, this is where that happens.

Now for the part that turns this into a full day out, not just a concert. Alongside the performances, the festival programmes talks and panels, installations and brand experiences, and the bits that feel very Sole, like the basketball tournaments, Sneaker Swap, and a Vintage and Thrift Market. If you love that kind of winter city energy, it sits comfortably next to the Dubai Shopping Festival drone show at Bluewaters, in the way it turns an ordinary night into a shared spectacle. You can arrive thinking you are only here for music, then end up spending an hour browsing, chatting, and accidentally finding a perfect vintage tee you did not know you needed.

Food is also not a side quest this year. The festival setup includes dedicated food and beverage pavilions and an expanded food offering, which matters more than people admit because nobody wants to be hungry in the middle of a headline set. My personal rule is simple, eat a little earlier than you normally would, then you can relax when the crowds thicken. Also, drink water like you mean it. That desert air sneaks up on you.

Tickets, timings and how to plan your Sole DXB weekend
General admission is all ages, and pricing moves in waves, so earlier buyers pay less. The official festival information has shown three day pass prices starting at AED 350 in presale, then AED 449 in first wave, with later waves higher, plus single day passes and upgraded options like VIP Grandstand and Golden Circle. For families, the most useful detail is that kids 10 and under get free entry, and kids 14 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

So how do you actually do this weekend in a way that feels easy? Start by choosing one non-negotiable moment per day, the set you refuse to miss, and build around that like a flexible plan, not a strict timetable. Arrive earlier than you think on at least one day too, because access to the main stage areas is first come first served and subject to capacity. Early arrival is the difference between a relaxed spot and a stressed sprint.

Wear something you can move in, and bring a light layer. Dubai evenings in December can feel perfect, but if you are dancing or standing still for a while, you will notice the temperature shifts. And please, wear shoes you can actually stand in for hours. This is not the weekend for brave footwear. If you are going with friends, do yourselves a favour and pick a meeting point as soon as you walk in. Not something vague like the big sign, but a specific landmark you can explain in one sentence. People drift, phones get busy, and everyone is having too much fun to be stressed. A meeting point keeps the mood nice.

What I love most about Sole Dubai is how the vibe changes across the three days. Friday feels like the city exhaling after the week, everyone arrives hungry for sound. Saturday is peak energy, the day you start seeing outfits that clearly had planning behind them and you realise, oh right, this is a fashion crowd too. Sunday has that sweet spot feeling, still exciting, but a little more floaty, especially when the sun starts dropping and the lights come up.

By the end of the weekend, you will realise you did not just watch performances, you moved through a whole ecosystem. Music, streetwear, art, conversation, sport, and food, all in one place, all speaking to each other. Dubai does spectacle brilliantly, from Sikka Art and Design Festival in Al Fahidi to big winter concerts, but Sole DXB is more about taste than fireworks. It is where you can catch a world class set, then turn a corner and find a smaller moment that feels oddly personal, like a panel that hits a nerve, or a DJ track that makes the whole crowd move at once.

If you are on the fence, take this as your gentle push. Pick a day, or commit to the full weekend if you can, and treat it like a proper end of year reset. Come curious, come early at least once, eat properly, and let yourself be surprised. By the time you walk out of D3 on Sunday night, you will have a few new songs saved, a fresh appreciation for Dubai’s creative scene, and that satisfying tired feeling that only comes from a weekend that did exactly what it promised.