Lighting in a Bottle is coming back to Buena Vista Lake for its 22nd year in a row for the 5-day festival featuring artists like Empire of the Sun, Tinashe and Mau P. This festival leads up into Memorial Day weekend as a place for community and fun music. With opportunities for artists and attendees to have fun with music, art experiences, and a marketplace for creators.
In a report from Kern Economic Development Corporation, they describe how an estimated 26,000 people attended the 2025 Lighting in a Bottle. They stated how this is a 10% increase in attendance compared to the year before. While many of these people come from out of Kern County, 3% of attendees are local.
One artist many people are looking forward to is Empire of the Sun, the electronic duo with over 40,000,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. The Australian duo just recently announced their last installment of their “ASK THAT GOD tour,” which will take place in North America. This comes after also announcing their latest European leg of the same tour. They are most notably known for many other artists incorporating the duo’s songs in their own music such as “Walking On a Dream” being sampled in Wiz Khalifa’s “The Thill.” Or their song “Half Mast” being sampled in “The Spins” by Mac Miller.
While Lighting in a Bottle is commonly known as a music festival there is much more to it than just its spectacular artists. The festival also offers workshops and programs of different themes. Such as a program called “Visioning The Future” where there are daily workshops, seminars, and lots of conversations about topics like “climate, psychedelic ecology, sexuality and the future of rave culture”. This is a part of Lightning in a Bottle’s Compass 2026 where they allow festival goers to “dive deeper into the ideas, questions, and connections shaping the world around us.”
Not only is Lightning in a Bottle pushing their audience to dig deeper mentally but also push harder physically with its “Lighting Run Club.” This is a 5k starting early in the morning that goes throughout the festival map.
“Visioning The Future” and “Lighting Run Club,” along with other activities hosted by Lighting in a Bottle help the festival create a welcoming environment for all who are interested in these many events. This further helps them create a community that leaves the audience yearning and missing the festival throughout the year.
To find out more about the upcoming festival and check out the artist line up, go to their Instagram @libfestival or their website https://www.libfestival.org/.
