Since its first edition in 2016, SXM has built a reputation around something difficult to recreate anywhere else: an entire island becoming part of the festival. There is no single festival site. Over five days, guests move between beaches, villas, clubs, hilltops and unexpected locations across both the French and Dutch sides of St. Martin — the island isn’t simply where the festival takes place, it’s part of the experience.
For its 10th edition, SXM returns to the idea that started it all: exceptional music, extraordinary places and enough freedom for the unexpected to happen.
Music has always come first at SXM. Rather than building the biggest lineup possible, the festival has developed its identity through a carefully curated mix of established artists, respected selectors and emerging talent, and the 2027 lineup continues that approach.
French house icon Bob Sinclar joins global electronic trio MEDUZA and progressive house pioneer Sasha, alongside Claptone, Guy Gerber, Dombresky (Disco Dom) and a new generation of artists shaping the international electronic music scene. Across previous editions, SXM has welcomed artists including Carl Cox, Jamie Jones, BLOND:ISH, Bonobo and Richie Hawtin, while introducing its audience to emerging names at pivotal moments in their careers. Every artist has to make sense for the island, the location and the moment.
SXM is as much about St. Martin as it is about the lineup. The island’s French and Dutch sides each have their own culture, atmosphere and rhythm, and during SXM, guests experience both, moving between venues and discovering the island along the way.
A day might begin on a beach, continue over lunch in a small village, move to a sunset party and end somewhere completely different from where anyone expected. You run into people you met the night before. Someone tells you about another party. A quick stop turns into three hours, and the same faces start appearing at restaurants, on boats, on beaches and eventually back on the dancefloor.
With guests travelling from more than 58 countries in recent editions, SXM creates an international community that feels surprisingly familiar by the end of the week. And at a time when almost everything is planned, posted and documented as it happens, SXM still leaves room to disappear for a while. Some of the best moments aren’t on the schedule.
SXM Festival Founder Julian Prince says “From the beginning, I never wanted SXM to be the biggest festival. I wanted people to go home with stories they would still be telling years later. You come for the music, but then the island takes over. You discover places you didn’t know existed, meet people you never expected to meet, and suddenly you’re watching the sun come up with friends you made two days ago. Ten editions later, that feeling is still there. Protecting it is what matters most to me.”Ten editions don’t happen without an island that believes in you. When Hurricane Irma devastated St. Martin in 2017, the SXM community rallied around the island and supported its recovery. The pandemic brought another interruption, but the relationship between the festival and St. Martin endured — through it all, SXM kept coming back.
Today, local crews, suppliers, venues, restaurants, hotels, drivers and businesses across both sides of St. Martin remain integral to the festival. Its impact extends beyond the dancefloor: international guests stay in local hotels and villas, eat in restaurants, rent cars and boats, and discover the island throughout their stay. For SXM, sustainability is not only environmental — it’s about building an event that maintains a positive, lasting relationship with the place that hosts it.
The 10th edition celebrates the artists, island partners, team members and international community that have shaped SXM since its beginning. Ten editions later, St. Martin isn’t simply the backdrop to SXM — it’s the reason SXM feels like SXM.
As SXM enters its second decade, the festival remains committed to the spirit that defined its beginning: bringing people together through music, discovery and the freedom to experience St. Martin in their own way. The 2027 edition will celebrate that legacy while opening a new chapter, with further artists, parties and anniversary experiences to be revealed in the coming months.
Ten editions. The island is your dancefloor. Tickets and travel information are available now at sxmfestival.com