From the Woogie to the Junkyard, a portal opened in the California hills – and these were the artists who never let it close.
Photo credits: DONSLENS / Elena Cassady / Jess Gallo / Julian Bajsel / Rachel Kupfer
Is this place even real?
Lightning in a Bottle is not so much a festival as a portal – one where world-class music, handcrafted art, human connection, and a community of people who genuinely give a damn about them all converge into something nearly impossible to replicate. Not a corporate behemoth, just three brothers with the vision and the taste to build something beautiful. No phones raised above the crowd, just bodies lost to the beat, experiencing music exactly the way it was designed to be felt.
From the art cars to the Grand Artique, from renegade-style moments at The Junkyard to the breezy dance floor of The Woogie, there is something here for everyone. More importantly, there is something for the part of you that doesn’t yet know what it needs. The magic finds you eventually.
What follows are the sets that stopped us cold, made us forget what day it was, and confirmed, once again, that this place is unlike anywhere else on earth.
- Hot Since 82
Daley Padley has been working the underground for over a decade, and at this point, his command of a room is effortless. The UK house veteran eased Thursday night into motion with rolling disco-laced grooves, deep rhythms, and the kind of cool control that only comes from years behind the decks. Everybody was loose. The dance floor simply melted into itself as strangers locked into the same pulse beneath the trees.
- Lee Burridge
Coming off the release of his documentary Sound of a Dream, Burridge’s Friday set felt especially emotional. His music – the warm, lush, patient, and deeply layered sound he’s spent a career refining into the All Day I Dream aesthetic – reads differently once you understand the sacrifice and persistence behind it. The set was deeply human; music that transforms The Woogie into something almost spiritual during daylight hours.
Every transition carried intention, never rushed, allowing the crowd to fully sink into the journey alongside him. It is a rare and particular gift to watch someone do exactly what they were put here to do and to dance it out alongside them. The vibes were all-time.
- Brunello
Saturday afternoon at The Woogie descended into complete theatrical chaos and a full sensory experience. Giant clowns bounced through the crowd. Caution tape and parachutes appeared. The sun hammered down, and somehow the whole thing felt like house music heaven had gone delightfully sideways. It felt absurd, euphoric, and unmistakably LIB. The set continued escalating until the emotional release of ‘Please’ by Frankel & Sandrino sent the crowd fully over the edge.
- Marsh
British Anjunadeep signee Tom Marshall carries his influences with him openly: the emotionally rich trance of the early 2000’s, the melodic intelligence of drum and bass crossover, the kind of music that made teenagers feel like the universe was communicating with them directly through the sound system. As Marsh, he’s distilled all of that into a progressive house sound that’s warm and soulful instead of mechanical.
He slotted in as the sun softened Saturday afternoon, a mid-day exhale before the night ahead. The dance floor settled in a collective sway, and somewhere in the crowd, a gentleman and his son passed out watermelon, complete with tajin. Absolute perfection. No notes.
- HOVR
One of the best things about LIB is getting found by music that you weren’t particularly looking for, only to leave wondering how you could have ever lived without it. We popped by the Junkyard and stumbled directly into the Berlin-based Dutch artist’s set, a high-energy collision of dance and UK-inspired electro beats that felt like pure electronic sunshine. Playful, uplifting, propulsive – the type of set that makes you grin so hard your face hurts. Unexpected and completely unforgettable.
- Barry Can’t Swim
Joshua Mainnie, the classically trained Scot who built one of electronic music’s most acclaimed debut albums by fusing jazz-inflected production with house coupled with dance music instincts sharp enough to earn a Mercury Prize shortlist, showed up to Lightning in full experimental mode. He continues to feel like one of the most exciting artists in dance music because his sets never sit still.
The set was equally parts playful, chaotic, and perfectly coherent, with blurred jazz textures and house grooves – a kaleidoscope of color in sound. Nobody could stop dancing.
“No phone in sight, everybody with their dancing feet all the way on…this is what it sounds like when music lands exactly where it’s supposed to.”
The debut of his upcoming track ‘Return to Bhibo’ was a genuine standout moment and ‘Get Funky’ by Pirupa sent the whole crowd into orbit. Visuals matched the energy: funky, technicolor, and wide open without inhibition.
- Maceo Plex
Maceo Plex doesn’t play sets so much as he world-builds.
The longtime electronic icon guided The Woogie through layers of deep tech-house, giving way to minimal grooves and minimal accumulating into full headliner momentum. Hypnotic tension continuously evolved throughout the night. He dropped an audacious 21 Savage remix that had the crowd going sideways before closing with his track ‘Shadow’ with Chromatics – a cinematic ending from an artist whose catalog has shaped dance floors for more than two decades.
- RICHE
The Junkyard’s new stage feels like the inside of a spacecraft, and RICHE – in what was her Lightning in a Bottle debut – flew that thing to another dimension entirely. We went in unfamiliar with her game and came out total converts. The vibes were immaculate from the jump, building a trance-like hold that never let go. The kind of set that doesn’t just mark a night, but leaves an imprint on you. She closed on ‘Without You’ by Matillo, a moment of genuine ache that landed like a final transmission from somewhere far away. Welcome to the family! Queen of the Junk.
- Rodríguez Jr.
Rodríguez Jr. and sunset at The Woogie remain one of dance music’s great combinations.
His synth-heavy style – euphoric, melodic, and deeply immersive – felt tailor-made for the final evening of the festival beneath the fabric-covered trees. Blending unreleased material with tracks like ‘Kilian,’ ‘What Is Luv’ by Mita Gami & Rafael, and ‘Give Me Luv (Sébastien Léger Remix)’ by Alcatraz, he guided the crowd through the final golden hours of LIB with elegance and emotion as the legend does. His full set is out on Soundcloud now. Hear it.
- Tripolism
Fred, Ras, and Bryn, the Copenhagen trio who broke through in 2023 with ‘Dope Dance’ (Pete Tong’s Essential New Tune, one of the year’s most-played tracks in DJ sets worldwide), are making music that blends melodic house and afro-house flavors with a dry, understated cool that is distinctly Scandinavian yet entirely their own. Their sound bends genres without announcing it; the basslines hit and the atmosphere builds, then before you know it, you’re somewhere else entirely.
Sunday night, the Danish trio delivered one of the weekend’s defining crowd moments with their remix of ‘Lola’s Theme’ by The Shapeshifters, sending Woogie to a new level. Their atmospheric, groovy sound felt massive without ever becoming overpowering.
- Avalon Emerson
Avalon Emerson delivered not only the best set of the weekend but arguably one of the best DJ sets I’ve ever witnessed.
It was a masterclass in tension, restraint, and emotional release. Acid house melted into techno, euphoric breaks dissolved into unexpected left turns, and every transition felt impossibly seamless…sometimes without even touching headphones. Rather than simply playing tracks, Emerson manipulated energy with technical precision while still making the entire experience feel wildly human and spontaneous. The whole crowd went somewhere we never expected to go, and nobody wanted to leave that dance floor. Her genre-spanning tracks had us all at the height of our emotions, and it was pure magic to experience her flawless taste and expertise as the ending to a perfect weekend.
- The People’s Banana
The art cars are their own universe, and The People’s Banana delivered hard this year with brand-new sound that had us buzzing. Alexis Tucci carried us on a journey with tracks like ‘Feeling Memories’ by Nitecc, Massio brought heaters including ‘Where to Begin’ by LDR:K – due out soon on RYTHMICA – and Fleetwood Smack brought it home as always. Dancing alongside the Banana as the sun comes up is one of LIB’s unscripted rituals, and this year, as always, it delivered pure magic.
- Honorable Mentions
Desert Hearts (Mikey Lion, Marbs, Lee Reynolds): The collective returns, bringing house, techno, and the particular warmth of a crew that has been doing this together for years. Still buzzing.
Overmono: The Welsh duo’s trance-inflected electronic sound arrived with serious anticipation and fully met it.
Zeds Dead: Phenomenal crowd energy. Cooking in real time.
Chase & Status: Relentless drum and bass. The moment they dropped into Etta James’ ‘At Last’ was pure euphoria.
Dimension: Downright filthy, high-energy melodic D&B. A full rave takeover.
Nia Archives: Jungle and D&B through an emotional, fast-moving, warm and soulful lens. Extraordinary.
DJ Trixie Mattel: The dolls were dolling. Dance moves: all time. “Let’s have a Kiki”, anybody!?
Of The Trees: Immersive bass and dubstep operating at the spiritual frequency. Life-changing is not an overstatement.
Jayda G: The best crowd, the best disco moves, pure warm joy radiating in every direction.
Atish: Deep, tech groove done with precision.
DJ Heartstring: Party mode: activated. Cloud 9: confirmed.
As always, Lightning in a Bottle reminded us that the best dance music experiences aren’t just about sound but about connection. The strangers who become friends, the sunrise conversations, the moments where thousands of people lock into the same feeling at once.
We’ll be back next year with the best humans, music, and vibes in this world. See you there.
