After a winter of hibernation interspersed with sporadic nights out (which took some hefty convincing from our mates on the group chat to make it out in the first place) and then a string of wholesome Iftars for the month of April, springtime is now in full swing, which means one thing for the dancers and DJs among us: festival season is back.

Cue the bucket hats and 6am breakfast burritos after a sunrise set. Egypt’s upcoming Sandbox Festival, taking place this 11 - 13th May 2023, is perched on the beach shores at the Red Sea resort of El Gouna, with a tastemaking line-up of local and international selectors for our listening pleasures. With Soundcloud mixes on shuffle to get us hyped, here’s a few of the visiting DJs we’re excited to listen to live in Egypt.

We’ll be hearing from Seth Troxler, one of electronic music’s most recognisable artists and voted the world’s number one DJ on Resident Advisor, on Thursday, the opening night of the festival. The same night welcomes Glasgow’s Denis Sulta, whose playful ‘Sulta Selects’ shows have taken him to Manchester’s prestigious Warehouse Project. Headlining the Thursday is Sweden’s dance music heavyweight, DJ Seinfeld.

Friday’s stage will host house music connoisseuse and Grammy nominee, Jayda G – we’re waiting to hear her iconic track ID ‘Both Of Us’ go off live – as well as UK-based disco-house legend Dan Shake, who conjured grooves at Lebanon’s Aegis Festival last week. Another act we’re ready for that night is Moodyman, for his classic soul and jazz samples and low-slung basslines, plus Berlin’s Madmotormiquel and Kotoe hopping on a b2b. We’re expecting slick minimal, breaks, electro and techno from deep diggers Palms Trax and Palestine’s trailblazing Sama’ Abdulhadi.

Checkout the full line-up below. Tickets are available at sandboxfestival.com