With over a decade of experience The Do Lab’s event, Lightning in a Bottle has remained in the top tier of electronic music festivals on the west coast. With performances from Flume, SBTRKT, Odesza, RL Grime, Shiba San, Tycho, Griz, John Digweed, Aluna George, Hermitude, Ame and Mano Le Tough (just to name a few) It has a good balance between genres. The three main stages consist of The Lightning Stage, The Woogie Stage, and The Thunder Stage, which each boast three different sound rigs a PK system, Funktion One and a Meyer system. For those of you who want to make it to sunrise you have the after hours Silent Disco as well as other late night side stages such as the Flavela Bar and Pagoda Bar. In addition to those stages we can expect some more diverse entertainment from Amori’s Casino and Burlesque, The Grand Artique, which has rag time style bands and on the other end of the spectrum some insightful discussions at The Lucent Temple of Consciousness and The Learning Kitchen. They also have a community area called The Village, which is an “education-based environment focused on earth based wisdom traditions and the skills necessary to be a sustainable, thriving, interdependent community.” Appealing to both music enthusiasts and those looking for a more interactive experience LIB offers quite a diverse mix of entertainment, art, and intellectual content to keep attendees engaged for the duration of the weekend.

It’s nothing shy of a first rate event while still managing to maintain a non-commercial vibe. Despite its growth over the years it doesn’t come across as a ‘massive’ type of event experience. Often times larger events like these get very crowded and struggle with keeping the grounds clean. The Do Lab did well at spreading out its infrastructure and making sure trash cans and recycling centers were readily available. Continuing to collaborate with others to expand what the event can offer The Do Lab has integrated an impressive amount of vendors, food booths and elaborate side stages offering everything from workshops, yoga and even cooking classes.

In addition to being respectful of the land also comes a level of understanding and respect for other cultures. LIB has always attracted a lot of diverse fashion and style from its attendees and the staff has made note on their website to be more aware of cultural traditions. They are encouraging people to avoid cultural appropriation through fashion and dress and be conscious of those traditions. By highlighting those issues it shows they are attempting to educate people on these topics and are aware of some of the issues that are revolving around the festival culture.

All in all Lightning in a Bottle and The Do Lab have managed to keep me impressed over the years. It maintains a high quality production value with its sound stages, good organization for camping and a well managed infrastructure, all of which, help to create a more solid experience for those attending.