This past Memorial Day weekend, DoLaB’s Lightning in a Bottle captivated its largest audience to date. More than 20 thousand people came to the town of Bradley, CA to attend this magical gathering. This was my first year attending LiB and it was surely an unforgettable experience.
I checked in early Friday morning and set up camp on the outskirts of the festival. What seemed like a far off location, was only a 5-10 minute walk into the actual festival grounds. As I roamed around, I was pleasantly surprised by the many amenities the festival had to offer. There were three stages, Lighting, Woogie, and newly added Thunder. Each stage had its own unique design, which provided the perfect setting for the amazing acts that LiB had lined up for us. Lighting stage was lit up each night with super star performances by Flume, the euphoric sounds of electronic duo Odezsa, and of course, the lovely AlunaGeorge. The Woogie stage, also probably my favorite stage, had artists play in a wonky treehouse, where there were lots of colorful canopies to cool off and groove to some good ol’ house music from Thomas Jack, Shiba San, and old school legend John Digweed. The Thunder stage rumbled all day and night with bass centric music from the likes of Santa Cruz’s own G Jones, while also bumpin’ to some r&b inspired UK goodness by Snakehips and Stwo.
Aside from the amazing music, what was different about this festival is that it was a fully immersive environment that provided interactive things all around you. The Temple of Consciousness offered a variety of activities that festival goers could check out when taking a break from getting down to the music, or in my case, trying to beat the heat. There were tea ceremonies, live art, yoga, dancing, and even a cooking workshop that taught you how to make healthy food to nourish the mind, body, and soul. One thing that I have to note about this festival is the food selection – there were so many healthy meals to choose from! You could find a lot of vegan and veggie centric dishes, but could also satisfy your junk food cravings. Who knew vegan corndogs could taste just as good as the real deal??
There was never a dull moment at LiB, and I wish I could have experienced everything the festival had to offer. I really enjoyed and appreciated the panel of speakers they had at the Temple of Consciousness. I got to catch a speech by one of LiB’s cofounder Dream Rockwell, where she shared her life endeavors with us – how she got here, to make this all of this happen. Her journey inspired me to pursue my own dreams, and to just go for it.
Overall, this has become my favorite festival that I’ve ever attended. The lineup was amazing, the people were wonderful, and there was just so much to see and experience. LiB is said to be considered as a “transformative” festival, which means that you go into the festival and take something from it. What I took from it is that it really inspired me to pursue my career path, which involves having music in my life at all times. I left the festival with a positive look on life, feeling lucky to have shared this incredible experience with my amazing friends, new and old.
Until next year, LiB!
To catch a glimpse of LiB magic, make sure to check out Woogie Weekend, July 17 – 19 @ Oak Canyon Park in Silverado, CA!