The 2025 edition of Lightning in A Bottle brought together like-minded people from all over the world, bonded by openness, music and sense of community. Taking place over five days at Buena Vista Lake during the Memorial Day Weekend, the weather was warm topping off in the mid-90s for some of the days and warm evenings made for a really comfortable experience throughout the entire event. Many who attended the annual event were decked out in their best fits, chilled out for the day while enjoying the warm weather and Buena Vista Lake, and changing into a wide array of colorful and unique attire. The soundtrack to this year’s event was led by amazing music by headliners Jamie XX, John Summit and Four Tet, while the daytime sounds were highlighted by killer sets by Claud VonStroke, Phrva, Balthvs and Jaguar. Making it even more special were a handful of artists who were celebrating their birthdays during the weekend. Channel Tres gave a killer set on Sunday, the same day as his birthday and was presented with a cake by his crew on-stage after he finished his set. BOTH members of the legendary Underworld also celebrated their birthdays this month prior to and after their Saturday set, and were truly inspirational. Producer Richard Smith turned 65 a day after their Saturday set, while singer/producer Karl Hyde turned 68 earlier in the month on May 10th and showed no signs of slowing down, as the smile on his face as he danced on-stage clearly showed.
As the event opened up with campers coming in on Wednesday and Thursday to setup, the music lineup got everyone acclimated and prepped for the upcoming days ahead. DJ Dials, The Blessed Madonna and Luka were highlights from the opening days. With the warm weather and a lake that wasn’t too crowded, it truly kicked off the unofficial start of summer. The vibes were immaculate with attendees making friends during musical sets, walking around to check out the activities and campsites. The announcement of Zhu being a surprise performer for Friday night started to spread throughout the campgrounds and the event during Friday as things got into full swing. As people got settled in during the event, the sense of wonderment and positivity was everywhere. The energy during sets by Sofia Kourtesis, Lupe Fuentes and Sammy Virji was infectious and had people dancing with huge smiles seen all around.
The festival during the day versus night is what makes the event so unique. With workshops, classes and yoga going on throughout the day, there was ample opportunities to expand the mind. Speakers from all over the world shared their experiences and learnings to get people thinking. This curiosity was evident during one of many workshops that focused on achieving for one’s own expectations versus social standards that got many in the audience nodding in agreement.
Musical sets by Magdalena Bay and Khurangbin seemed to truly represent the essence of LiB, where unique presentation and sounds fit right in with the audience, who were dressed as expressively as the performers. It’s the audience and people who make Lightning in A Bottle a must-go, with the amazing musical lineup that’s the cherry on top.
Check out some of our photo highlights! All photos by Pete Mar.
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