America’s longest-running music festival has outdone itself this year. Hosting the 27th year anniversary at Glen Helen Regional Park, Nocturnal Wonderland 2022 did not disappoint. As my neighbors and I packed up our whimsical temporary homes mid-Monday afternoon, all anyone could talk about was how this was the best Nocturnal Wonderland thus far.
Let me take you through all of the details that made Nocturnal so magical this year.
Campgrounds
The campgrounds at Nocturnal were fairly easy to navigate. Everything is placed along the campgrounds trail in a loop formation, making it simple to find your way around. The bathrooms, vendors, and campsite areas are well-lit with twinkling colorful lights everywhere you look.
Showers are located in trailers in the middle of the camp, which is where you can also find food vendors, restrooms, first aid, clothing vendors, camping activities, and the silent disco.
During the weekend I was able to make it to yoga class on both days. It was amazing! The teacher guided the class perfectly with dance breaks, sound baths, and much-needed tension relief in the body after dancing all day and night.
The camping activities are one of my favorite parts of the immersive festival because it allows for fostering connections with ravers around you and stimulation during the warm camp days.
Festival Venue
When walking into the venue you are transported to a technicolor dreamscape. It’s filled with beautiful creatures wandering around while electronic music is pumping through your body. Nocturnal during the day is a sight to see – but at nighttime, it is a whole new world.
There’s so much to discover at Glen Helen, as long as you aren’t scared to get a little lost. I discovered the Rave Cave, Frick Frack Blackjack, and a mini carnival on the festival grounds!
One thing to note about Glen Helen is that the stages are all set up in a line. That being said, the sound from each stage does travel. In order to ensure you are listening to the set you intend to, you must relocate yourself closer to the stage so that there is no background bass from the other stages.
Mic Drop’s Favorite Sets
The most unforgettable sets this year for me were Liquid Stranger, Doctor P, PEEKABOO, and Ganja White Night. This year we spent the majority of our time at The Labyrinth stage. The Labyrinth stage was the stage farthest right from the entrance, which included the heavy dubstep and bass artists for the weekend.
Drum & Bass was a very popular theme this Nocturnal with almost every artist. Whether they were a bass DJ or not, you could count on hearing DNB at least twice each day of the festival.
Liquid Stranger
Liquid Stranger absolutely threw down at the Labyrinth stage, blessing ravers with his unique experimental bass sound. Liquid’s sets are such a pleasure to witness because he includes such a wide range of bass music in his sets. Whether it is dubstep, downtempo, DNB, or alien language bleep bloop, Liquid Stranger delivered his Nocturnal set on an ice-cold, shiny, silver platter for us.
Sunday, at THE LABYRINTH
Sunday, at The Labyrinth, was a movie. Doctor P started the night off with heavy drum and bass and Andy C piggybacked off of the high-energy vibe and sent the crowd into DNB oblivion. Without a break in-between, PEEKABOO wasted no time and came on to bless our dubstep-loving souls.
Last Two, Best Two!
PEEKABOO had me speechless when he dropped a Chef Boyarbeatz track during his set. There’s nothing better than witnessing large-scale artists give praise to the underground bass community. This was the highlight of my weekend.
And last but not least, Ganja White Night. What a duo. Watching them perform was such a profound experience. I’ve never felt so connected to artists while they were playing. These two make it feel like you’re chilling at home with the homies while they mix and fuck around on their CDJ’s. The wobble was real and every chance I took to look at the crowd around me, everyone was wobbling to the same tune.
Truly, a phenomenal sight to see.
Until next time, nocturnal wonderland!
This being my second Nocturnal in a row, it is safe to say that this was one for the books. If you are new to the rave scene and Insomniac events in general, this is definitely one to add to your bucket list. It is one of Insomniac’s OG festivals and they make sure to transform Glen Helen into the most beautiful, magical, whimsical, electronic music village you’ve ever seen.
The energy here is unmatched and there is plenty of room for new friendships and connections to bloom. I’ve received the most kandi from ravers at Nocturnal, witnessed some jaw-dropping drops, and discovered new talent at this place.
If you want to start your Spooky Season right, make sure you start it with camping at Glen Helen next year. Come join the community for the love of music, friendship, and unapologetic expression. Until next time, Nocturnal Wonderland!
Check out our TikTok recap here!
