Feature Articles
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Shambhala Is A Ritual, Not Just A FestivalShambhala's power is not only its lineup. It is the Farmily ritual: returning to a rural BC site where sound, care,...
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Bass Coast Has Its Own GravityCredit: Bass Coast Festival. It is hard to talk about British Columbia festival culture without Shambhala entering the room. Shambhala has...
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Electric Forest Is Built For WanderingElectric Forest's deeper magic is not only the lineup. It is the way the site teaches people to leave the straight...
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Bonnaroo Has To Earn The Farm AgainAfter a rain-stopped 2025, Bonnaroo's 2026 return is not only about the lineup. It is about whether a massive camping festival...
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Lightning in a Bottle Is A Temporary CityCredit: Lightning in a Bottle. Lightning in a Bottle is not compelling because it is effortless. It is compelling because it...
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Joshua Tree Is Small On PurposeJoshua Tree Music Festival makes the case for a different kind of festival value: not bigger, louder, or more famous, but...
Festival Guides
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Shambhala Sound GuideShambhala's 2026 lineup is a farm-sized electronic map: bass weight, house and techno movement, DnB speed, funk, global rhythm, melodic release,...
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Electric Forest Survival GuideElectric Forest is beautiful because it asks you to wander. That also means shoes, layers, dust strategy, water, and camp planning...
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Bass Coast Sound GuideA Sparked Magazine guide to reading the Bass Coast 2026 lineup as curation, discovery, and dancefloor mood rather than a simple...
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What Is Shambhala?Shambhala is the BC farm-world with the mythology: six stages, 150+ artists, no ordinary sponsorship gloss, serious harm reduction, river-and-dust logistics,...
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Bonnaroo Survival GuideBonnaroo is a marathon on a farm: hot days, long walks, possible storms, campground logistics, and enough late nights to make...
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Electric Forest Sound GuideElectric Forest 2026 reads like a forest map for bass, house, jam, melodic electronic, indie crossover, and all the strange routes...
Artistic Stories
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Turn Cellphones Off, for a Better ConnectionLast year I attended Lighting in a Bottle Music & Arts Festival in Bradley, California, for the very first time. I...
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Working for FunIndentured servitude is a lot more exciting than it sounds. Nearly every festival provides the opportunity to work on different volunteer...
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Somewhere between Nudity and a OnesieI try to stand up but I cannot find my balance. My happy place has become a nightmare. The main...
Festival Photo Essays
Illustrations & Art
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ILLUSTRATIONS- Fairy Tale Worlds by Mercedes KnappMercedes Joy Knapp an illustrator, painter, designer and activist from Michigan, who paintings caught our eye at several festivals. We had...
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ILLUSTRATIONS- Beauty by BrushOver the past twenty years illustrator, painter and designer Ursula Xanthe Young has become known for her unique flowery urban fairytale...