The last Eclipse Festival was held seven years ago in Oregon, in the ideal location along the path of totality. In 2024, the place for ideal viewing of the eclipse is Burnet, right in the heart of Texas, north of San Antonio and west of Austin among the central plains. The Oregon Eclipse was hailed as one of the best American music festivals of all time, and now the international coalition of 13 event organizers are back to do it again. Can they create the same magic with the Texas Eclipse Festival?
Among the 13 are the Berlin-based art and event collective Bachstelzen; Cosmic Convergence, a transformational festival organization in Guatemala and Austria; Earth Frequency, a festival out of Australia, and many more. Our Texas overlord, Disco Donnie is hosting this coalition, and we can expect much more than just a music festival with all the collaborators bringing in different experiences. With Austin quickly becoming a tech hub, the festival will showcase new developments in tech and digital spaces.
From the NASA center in Houston to the new SpaceX locations outside of Waco, Texas has deep roots in the space world, and provides opportunities to learn about the industry's history and what lies ahead. Seven astronauts will be in attendance, along with NASA engineers, AI Professors, leaders in sustainable design, and much more. In the consciousness, health, and wellness section, the great Paul Stamets and Dr. Pamela Kryskow from the Psychedelic Association of Canada will be giving a talk.
Immersive art installations will also bind the festival grounds together, with different vibes and worlds created by artists. Wandering through a festival is a major part of the experience, as it creates opportunities for conversation and moments of wonder and amusement. Among the visual and interactive artists are Alex and Allyson Grey, the visionary psychedelic artists, and Android Jones, the celebrated digital artist behind the visuals of artists like Shpongle, Tipper, and more. He is beyond just a VJ and is a leader in multimedia psychedelic art today doing projection mapping installations at festivals like Burning Man, Lightning in a Bottle, and many more. Among the EDM community he is as much a headliner of the festival as LSDream and Zeds Dead.
Texas Eclipse Festival Stages
The Lone Star stage is dominated by funky groovy jam bands and electro-instrumentalists, like the incredible String Cheese Incident, who I have seen many times at their annual residency at the festival Electric Forest. They and groups like Oteil and Friends will be fully instrumental, and have, in my experience, brought a tremendous and different energy to typically electronically dominated music festivals. On the other end of this stage's spectrum we have acts like Big Gigantic and The Floozies who have a much more electronically influenced sound, with CDJs, MIDI boards, and laptops right alongside drum kits, guitars and horns. Make sure to catch this stage at least once a day and see if the funk isn't a fresh breath of air.
The Eclipse stage sets the Bass genre in its rightful place among the top billing. With bass subgenres like freeform and liquid among the most popular in Texas, a stage hosting the likes of Liquid Stranger, Subtronics, and Of The Trees, will be the largest musical draw for the locals. One of the undisputed highlights of this stage is Barclay Crenshaw, the true name and new project of the legendary dance music producer, Claude VonStroke. Under the new project, Crenshaw has been exploring bass, dub, jungle, funk, and hip-hop. With the ability of a veteran DJ and producer, this is an unmissable set.
The Sky stage hosts the main collection of house, techno, and dance artists. One of the oldest and most popular sections of electronic music, icons like Paul Oakenfold and psytrance pioneer Goa Gil are two of the anchors of the stage. Desert Hearts and Bob Moses are among some festival favorites of the newer generation that will be drawing the dance crowd in.
The Sun is our psychedelic stage for the festival. Top Psychedelic and Trance artist, Captain Hook out of Israel brings experimentation with analog equipment and live elements into his production, while the Russian born Perfect Stranger (also out of Israel) with a techno-influenced psytrance sound. Psytrance is much more popular in Latin America and Europe than in the United States, so this stage will show some love to the trance community here, and allow the rest of us to explore the genre in a live setting.
The Moon stage is a mix of eclectic bass genres like the lineup brought by the label Deep Dark and Dangerous out of San Francisco, electronic instrumentalists like Josh Teed, and the Australian party starters, Mood Swing & Chevy Bass. Deep Dark and Dangerous is one of the best young record labels around with an impressive stable of bass artists. They are bringing Truth (their founder), Abstrakt Sonance, Khiva, and one more yet to be revealed. Ivy Lab and potions on this stage round out some of the best of the underground bass hosted by this stage. all:Lo Collective out of Denver will be there with their blend of hip-hop and sound system cultures that they use to create downtempo bass and lofi hip-hop. This is the stage of surprises, with the most genre-eclectic lineup of the festival. Drop by the Moon stage at any time and you might find your new obsession.
The Earth stage appears to have the most instrumentalists not in the Jam Band category that most typically accompanies electronic music festivals. Acts like Fanna-Fi-Allah, who have brought Sufi Qawwali music to the global stage, has two sets. There is also the solo instrumentalist Kr3ture out of southern California producing melodic bass, and Plxmtrees, the chill hop/lofi side project of the electronic artist K+Lab. Elephant Heart is interesting, a collaboration between Jason, acclaimed producer/instrumentalist, and Victoria, a powerful singer and songwriter. I love seeing dance music with live vocals and instruments so they are right up my alley. There's even Atash, a Austin-based superband with elements of Jazz, Arabic, Classical, and boasting a global lineup of musicians. Another Austin-based act here is Vincent Antone, who I had the chance to see in Austin recently and plans to bring the high-energy funk.
Four days and four nights of some of the best and most cutting edge music in the world, as well as the immersive arts, tech and science exhibitions, means you'll have any experience you choose. Race around from stage to stage catching every set on your list or wander through the grounds soaking in the experiences. Spend the day going deep with tech or space before going deep in the crowd with a DJ you've never heard of. Start your morning off with yoga and guided meditation then attend a lecture on psychedelics in medicine. Its the ultimate pick your adventure, or let your feet carry you to whatever the festival picks for you.
This festival is unmissable, so make sure to get your tickets and camping passes all squared away as soon as possible. The bigger your group the better! Or keep it small and tight, all options are available in the campgrounds! You can look at your options here.
See you there!
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