Jun 28, 2022
Colorado’s Sonic Bloom holds a special place in my heart. I’ve been 3 times since 2016 and I knew it had to be my first festival back after the shutdown. The fest has been going on since 2006 when it premiered at Mishawaka as a Burner event and has changed locations several times. I have only been to Hummingbird Ranch, located about a half-hour outside of Rye. This year’s Bloom was held just before the Summer Solstice on June 16-19.
Headliners for Bloom 2022 included Tipper, Lab Group, and Lettuce. The lineup also featured Detox Unit, Of The Trees, Michal Menert, Templo, Yheti, Daily Bread, Shlump, and other local acts and underground bass producers.
The festival features three stages: The Bloom Stage, the Hummingbird Stage, and the Meadow Stage. There are several spaces for workshops and talks, a kids area, and the Yoga D’om (which also serves as a late-night venue). The two main stages convert into Silent Discos during the early morning hours.
My best tip for a successful Bloom is to get early entry. That extra $50 is well worth it so you can snag a camping spot close to the gates and sit back while everyone else sets up Thursday. I usually do GA Camping, but this year I tried Car Camping. GA camping requires you to haul your stuff in but you do get more tree coverage and closer access to the Meadow Stage. Car Camping has its obvious advantages as well, especially because there is usually at least one storm during the weekend. Quality stakes and gear are a must for this fest.
It’s important to keep in mind that Sonic Bloom originated as a Burner event, so pack accordingly. Bring food and drink, appropriate clothing, and quality gear, and you’ll have a great time. This fest is not for the faint of heart. The weather is unpredictable, to say the least, and I have seen many people have to pack up and go home due to not being adequately prepared. It is a high desert, after all.
Early entry also allowed me to attend the opening ceremony for the first time. A group of Indigenous peoples blessed the festival and lead chants. It was a powerful moment to set intentions for the weekend.
While I remain steadfast in my “COME PREPARED” mentality, there was some valid criticism of Bloom 2022. The porta-potty situation was pretty awful during the first half of the festival. I learned this was because the company, United, had signed a contract for another event the same weekend of Sonic Bloom, causing it to take up to 10 hours to service the facilities. The showers were ice cold all weekend. The wind and dust were relentless. Crickets were everywhere and seemed to want to get into everyone’s tents and hair. And, the festival also chose to not sell water bottles (yay for the environment) but did not install any extra water stations (boo for hydration). As a result, long lines at the porta-potties and water refill stations were common. The food vendors were also pretty lackluster, although I certainly appreciated the late-night pizza vendor.
Sonic Bloom more than made up for that with its music lineup, visuals, performers, art, workshops, and the community it inspires. Mikey Thunder, Michal Menert, Daily Bread, Phyphr, and Catparty provided the electrosoul vibes, Lab Group, Supertask, and Of The Trees played perfect sets filled with lo-fi bass, MIZE brought the heady remixes, Lespecial provided the fun cover songs, Tipper packed out the Bloom stage and melted faces, Moontricks premiered new music and provided some folk-soul tunes.
I dragged anyone and everyone to Unified Field Theory, a talk given every year by festival founder Jamie Janover. It is a theory proposed by physicist Nassim Haramein that attempts to explain everything in the universe, and Jamie does a great job condensing it into a 90-minute talk.
I also caught an Ayhurvada workshop, a mushroom foraging workshop, and a flow arts workshop.
The art gallery was a welcome respite from the wind and dust and a chance to check out and purchase some psychedelic art.
High winds plagued the weekend, and ultimately canceled many Sunday events. Attendees were instructed to find shelter in their vehicles in the late afternoon. Detox Unit, The Sonic Bloom Orchestra, and visuals by Android Jones were among the canceled acts. Shlump closed out the fest with a trippy uptempo bass set.
Despite the issues of the weekend most folks managed to create lemonade out of lemons and walked away with amazing memories and experiences. Sonic Bloom is a small festival, with 8K attendees, and it is difficult to not have a great time despite some mishaps and bad weather. I will be back next year, but maybe with an RV.
