An all-expense paid trip, lounging with the top DJs in the world, and all the heat he can handle.

That’s what Scene Ultra DJ Competition winner Evan Bailey, aka Evan Evolution, will be experiencing this week when he heads to Miami, Florida, for the Winter Music Conference’s highlight event Ultra Music Festival.

The 11-year veteran of Kent, Ohio, took top place in the competition hosted by Cleveland’s Scene Magazine at Twist Social Club in Lakewood from Feb. 21-23.

The Scene Ultra DJ competition, sponsored by parent company Village Voice Media, took place in cities where its alt-weeklies are present.

And the house DJ is no newbie to this DJ battle.

Last year, Evan made it to the finals for Scene’s contest, however local dnb DJ Robtronix took first place.

“You are only allowed to win once,” Evan said. “So I haven't won this particular (Scene Ultra DJ) battle before.”

In 2005, however, he was named the Free Times Music Award "Best DJ,” another of the city’s alt-weekly paper’s competitions.

“In Cleveland, contestants enter mixes for consideration to Scene Magazine,” said Evan. “A dozen semi-finalists are selected by Scene Magazine to compete in the DJ battle. Semi-final rounds are held, where two finalists from each night advance to the finals on Saturday. … The big idea here is that cities around the country send their representatives to Ultra.”

Other locals earning a semi-finalist or finalist status included Jack Ruby, Stout XTC, Jason Damman, DJ Gozinya, DJ Adio, Jason Allen, NOX, misterbradleyp, Brandon Andrews, Bac and DJ Moose.

“All of the DJs sounded great,” said Evan. “What I love about Cleveland is the camaraderie we feel for each other. Throughout the competition I saw a lot of examples of showmanship.”

Evan is affiliated with TRU Nightlife and Disco Productions. You can catch his set in Miami at Ultra on Friday, March 28, 2008, at 6 p.m. or check him out at http://www.myspace.com/djevanevolution.