This wasn’t our first time getting lost in Northern California’s Lightning in a Bottle (LIB) festival, but each year we attend, it gets even better. There are so many incredible factors that come together to create this special festival. The PLUR is alive and well in Bakersfield. Let’s recap everything we can about what makes this one of our favorite fests to attend every year.
Credit: Jess Gallo (@helloatlasmedia)
No Bad Set in Sight
Every year, we’re hit with a killer lineup from the DoLab team, and this year is no exception. From huge headliners to niche new names, there are no bad sets. Somehow, DoLab pulls together stellar lineups, and they also throw the sickest surprise sets at us. We still can’t stop thinking about all the artistry.
We’ll start with some of our top sets of the weekend; first up, no surprise here, Zeds Dead stole the show. As the Friday night headliners on the Thunder Stage, these boys instilled some core memories right off the bat for the first big night of the fest. They are taking their last shows before the hiatus to heart and throwing everything they’ve got into them. From new flips and remixes to some unreleased tracks, we were practically in tears while grooving nonstop.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, the fun wasn’t over yet. The Stacks Stage is full of surprises, and it never disappoints, so we had to have more Zeds Dead time well into the late hours. These guys have so much music to play. It’s a treat to see how passionate they are and how wide their variety is. We got the pleasure of more old-school ZD in this set, which reminded us of why we fell in love with them all those years ago.
Next up, Saturday night’s Thunder Stage headliner, Daily Bread. This set was INSANE. Not a second went by that we weren’t dancing. Pieces of bread were flying around everywhere, the energy was crazy high, and everyone was riding the goofiest vibes. The tunes he chose for this set were perfectly suited to LIB’s festival aura. We’re still trying to relive this set and figure out some of these IDs.
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Empire of the Sun a perfect addition
The last standout set we wanted to highlight is Empire of the Sun. A perfect choice for Lightning Stage headliners, they are truly one of a kind. They put so much detail into not just their music, but into the performance as a whole. The costumes, routines, and flow of their set list all make for a unique experience. They are not your typical DJ behind-the-decks setup, so their band’s live vocals and instruments are a most welcome switch-up from the majority. These artists put on a heck of a show, and we’re thankful they made an appearance at LIB.
We’d love to deep-dive into all the sets we were entranced by over the five days of the fest, but we’d end up writing a book. As we said, there are just no bad sets at LIB. The challenge is deciding which ones to stay and groove at for a while. Our best piece of advice for this fest is to follow the flow of the music, go where it draws you, and try not to stress too much about things like set conflicts.
Stages for the ages
Part of what makes LIB so monumental is the iconic stage designs and the creativity throughout the festival grounds. It’s almost impossible not to find a set you like with so many stages to choose from and art cars cruising around. They even set up decks at several other attractions, like the Art Clave. Some of the best beats we heard came from places you least expected.
Credit: Julian Basjel
The three main stages at LIB are Lightning, Thunder, and Woogie. All of them are beautiful setups. The Lightning Stage stays pretty much the same each year with the boxcar design, but we especially look forward to seeing those big googly eyes poking up when we arrive at the festival grounds. Thunder Stage is beautifully opened up with pretty shade structures and a sound system that’ll literally blow you away. Woogie flows in the wind with a colorful sway; we are in awe every year.
Once the main stages wind down for the night, the smaller stages are just getting warmed up. This year brought us a new setup at the Junkyard Stage, and it was totally out of this world. With a new spaceship-style layout and a more interactive build, we were super excited to see the Junkyard get a stellar upgrade.
Credit: Julien Basjel
Changes to the Stacks this year
The Stacks is one of our favorite places to be after hours, and even though we were thrilled with the sets that went down here, we were a little disappointed in this year’s new build. The Stacks has always been a sweet wooden layout in years past, but this year we were surprised to see plastic bins filling the space instead. The cool teal-blue plastic storage crates made it feel a little less inviting, and had us missing the days when we could stand on the platforms the Stacks once supported.
One of our favorite parts of nighttime at LIB is the way the art cars light up the darkness. They make us feel like we are living in some kind of fantasy world with the way they cruise around while blasting sick sets. Every year, we are hyped to see some of the same art cars that have attended in previous years, as well as spotting new ones making their LIB debuts. Everyone always goes hard for the banana car, but we loved this year’s new addition of a lifeguard tower on wheels.
Credit: Jamal Eid
Rulers of the Renegades
One thing about LIB is that there will certainly be elaborate campsite setups for renegade sets amongst the campgrounds. We wandered through more than a few, but we caught up with our favorite renegade runners and spent some time in their wicked dome setup. The dome crew takes their setup seriously and works hard to bring even more music to an already bumping festival.
They don’t mess around when it comes to getting that dome set, making sure their sound system packs a punch, and including some laser setups to really put the cherry on top. There are always awesome hometown artists in here. But they always manage to convince an artist on the lineup to throw down a dome set, too. This year, we had the pleasure of seeing Schmux make a renegade appearance with the dome crew, and it was absolutely perfect.
LIB has roots in the renegades: the DoLab crew started their party in 2000 in Santa Barbara as an unsanctioned, freeform private birthday celebration with about 100 attendees and just one generator to power the sound. By 2004, Josh and Jesse Flemming had officially started a yearly tradition that would develop into Lightning in a Bottle. Truly, some absolute rulers of the renegades on these grounds.
Credit: Dance Music NW
Small Business Stars
On top of all the amazing music and artistry at this fest, there’s even more art in the vendor booths across the grounds. We spent tons of time exploring all the gorgeous vendor tents and wished we could’ve bought a bunch from every single one. The careful curation of all the superstar small businesses is one of the best parts of LIB.
There are so many small brands to discover here, and we were lucky to spend some extra time with our good friends at Enchanted Wings Co. and Seeds of Life Crystals. Their booth was entirely magical, with draping ceilings and twinkling lights that drew people in like a fairy oasis. It was really a joy to see how they interacted with customers and how specific they were about the vision for both their products and their booth. This kind of festival shopping makes us yearn for more interactions like this in everyday life and gives us a new perspective on what it means to shop small.
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What More Can We Ask For
All in all, at least to us, LIB is a near-perfect festival. Above all else, the vibes here are unmatched. People connect here in ways we don’t always see at other festivals anymore. As the EDM scene grows and becomes more popular, LIB holds onto that “old school raver” feeling that is sometimes hard to come by in an ever-growing community.
We will, without a doubt, be back year after year. This is one of those festivals where the line-up is far from the most important part. It doesn’t make or break the decision to send it to Bakersfield. Regardless of who ends up on the lineup drop, the festival is always a huge highlight of the year.
Credit: Julien Bajsel
The memories we make here are the most sacred part of what makes Lightning in a Bottle one of the most special festivals we’ve experienced. It never fails to leave us replaying all the magic moments until the next year comes. Thank you for yet another year of heartwarming moments. See you next time, LIB!
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