Walking away from Lightning in a Bottle festival with tired feet, dust-coated lungs, but most of all, a full heart. Attending LIB festival was unlike anything we’ve experienced before, with a major highlight being the community of people that make up this special event. I’ve never experienced a more respectful crowd who’s there for the right reasons… the music! And the dancing was nonstop. Everywhere you turned, bodies moved with effortless freedom, strangers locking eyes for a moment of shared rhythm before spinning back into their own flow. The crowd moved with a collective heartbeat, pulsing through every stage, every sunrise set, and the dusty campgrounds we called home.
Photo Credit: Elena Cassady
Lightning in a Bottle let us hear many different EDM styles last weekend, and ultimately we began to understand how these beat sequences can shape an artist’s individual sound. Entering the weekend, we were mainly bass, house, and techno fans, but we realized we hadn’t even scratched the surface of these genres. Our neighbors were big fans of house legends like Desert Hearts and Brunello and took us out to their sets to experience their sound. We heard Sara Landry play a more intimate set at the Woogie (LIB’s DoLab style stage) and Mary Droppins throw down at the bass stage. Melanie’s most transformative set was experiencing Zeds Dead at the Thunder Stage, where their retro television screens mesh with their lasers blasting overhead as they play their headbanging tunes. Sammi was a big fan of Chase & Status, waking up the crowd after a laid-back house set, showcasing how a drum & bass set can get people moving.
Photo Credit: Elena Cassady
Every single set we attended, passed on the way to another stage, or heard on the campgrounds, left a lasting impression on how we both viewed EDM music from here forward. EDM usually is a type of music heavily disregarded by the general public, with people heckling, “How can you enjoy that? It’s just sound.” But, at certain sets, you can feel yourself being a co-author with the artist, shaping and embracing the music with your body, putting you at ease. You start noticing the differences between different DJs and pick a preference for certain sequences rather than others. We expected to learn more about EDM as a genre this weekend, but not more about ourselves. In the end, Lightning in a Bottle allowed us to grow altogether as listeners, festival-goers, and people.
Photo Credit: Elena Cassady
No pushing, no trampling, space to dance, space AT BARRICADE, and genuine kindness were what the festival-goers at LIB had to offer. While LIB had its difficulties with temperatures reaching 85 degrees at 8 a.m. (meaning no sleep) and the fact that this was a 5-day camping festival, if the crowd was also bad, we wouldn’t have made it out alive. Sammi and I were astonished by how we could easily move around and that the festivalgoers were there for the music, not to get close enough to post for people back home. We had conversations with strangers that quickly turned into let’s meet at this set later or go to the pizza class in this tent or let’s wake up and run a 5k (which actually happened). Our biggest blessing, though, was truly the neighbors that gave us helpful tips on surviving a 5-day festival, up-and-coming artists to catch, and cooking for us, which we all appreciated more than they know. LIB was truly ten times better because of all of these factors, and I genuinely thank you to the friends along the way: Will, Danny, Beacalini, Gio, Troy, Sunny, Ben, and Sadie.
Photo Credit: Elena Cassady
I think it’s safe to say our first Lightning in a Bottle Festival will not be our last. Whether you lived at the Woogie, bounced between Lightning and Thunder stages, or even caught a Junkyard set while floating on the lake, it was a weekend to remember. As the dust settles, what lingers is not fatigue but the feeling of being part of something so authentically and beautifully human.
Photo Credit: Jess Gallo