Lightning in a Bottle 2025 Recap
Story // Will Bollini and Satchi Metaxas
This 12 months’s Lightning in a Bottle remodeled the Bakersfield desert right into a kaleidoscope of music, artwork, and radical expression. From nightfall until daybreak, festival-goers wandered between immersive artwork installations, therapeutic workshops, and 5 epic phases—every filled with genre-pushing expertise. Among the many standout performers, six artists delivered unforgettable units that outlined the weekend.
Sammy Virji
Photograph by: Jess Gallo
UKG maestro Sammy Virji kicked issues off with a vibrant jolt of high-energy basslines and clean 2-step grooves. Identified for his genre-blending finesse, Sammy had the gang bouncing from the primary drop, weaving in bouncy storage with touches of grime and funky home. His charisma behind the decks was infectious, turning the Woogie stage into an all-out dance celebration.
4 Tet
Photograph by:
4 Tet’s set was nothing wanting a religious expertise. Because the solar dipped beneath the horizon, Kieran Hebden took the Lightning stage on a sonic odyssey—delivering textured rhythms, ambient interludes, and bursts of glitchy home. His means to construct stress and launch with minimalist precision made for a mesmerizing efficiency that reminded us why he’s a grasp of the craft.
Khruangbin
Photograph by: Julian Bajsel
Khruangbin’s sundown set was pure magic. The Texas trio floated onto the stage with their signature mix of Thai funk, surf rock, and psychedelic soul. Laura Lee’s clean basslines and Mark Speer’s dreamy guitar riffs wrapped the gang in a heat, hypnotic haze. Their genre-defying set felt like a love letter to international grooves and timeless vibes.
Jamie XX
Jamie xx introduced a wave of UK underground power to the desert. Mixing UK storage, traditional home, and breakbeat, his set was a journey by way of sound that continually advanced. Tracks like “Gosh” and “Idontknow” hit with emotional depth, and his tasteful use of visuals and silence made for a efficiency that felt intimate, but immense.
Subtronics
Subtronics unleashed a bass-heavy storm on the Thunder stage, dropping head-rattling dubstep with psychedelic aptitude. Identified for his technical prowess and glitchy textures, his set was a full-body expertise. With lasers slicing by way of the desert sky and the gang in full frenzy, Subtronics proved as soon as once more that he’s a mainstay within the bass music scene.
John Summit
Photograph by: Ivan Meneses
Closing out the weekend with euphoric power, John Summit delivered a powerhouse set stuffed with uplifting home anthems and cheeky vocal samples. His crowd management was magnetic, shifting effortlessly from deep, rolling basslines to big-room drops. Tracks like “The place You Are” had everybody singing on the high of their lungs, ending the competition on a excessive word of pure bliss.
