When Excision announced three years ago that he was going to have a dinosaur-themed bass music festival, I knew that I had to make it to Lost Lands someday. I’ve always loved dinosaurs, and I needed to experience Lost Lands for myself. This year, I finally made a leap of faith and decided to travel across the country from Seattle. Although Lost Lands is a camping festival, my friends and I decided to stay at a hotel since we were all traveling from out of state.

I usually don’t consider myself a headbanger but Lost Lands was one of the best festival experiences I’ve ever had. Not only was the music and production phenomenal (the main stage, Prehistoric Paradox is the biggest stage I’ve ever seen!), but the dinosaurs and the vibes from other attendees really made the whole experience unforgettable. Here is a day-by-day run through of my experience at Lost Lands:

Day 1

I wore iHeartRaves for the 1st day, my outfit included Boa Babe Crop Top and Boa Babe Booty Shorts! I also wore festival braids for the first time so I was really feeling my outfit this day. Since it was the first day, my group and I decided to get there a little early to figure out the parking situation and explore the VIP areas a little bit. 

The day started out strongly with an amazing set by Subtronics, and I got to see Ghastly, BTSM, Zeds Dead, Excision himself, and Rusko. Ghastly’s set was especially memorable since he mixed a little bit of house music with dubstep, and I absolutely love house music.

My highlight from Day 1 was being able to see SKUDDA, who won the Producer’s Den Remix Contest play after Excision’s set on the mainstage. Even though I was really tired at this point and my body hurt from the long day, I went the hardest during this set. 

Day 2

My group decided to take Day 2 a lot easier since we were all the most excited for the Day 3 lineup and we wanted to conserve our energy for that day. We got into the festival around 5pm, and got to start with an amazing set by Sullivan King, and saw Boogie T. RIO, 1788-L, Dion Timmer, Liquid Stranger, and ended with Ganja White Night. My favorite set of the day was Boogie T. RIO, just because I really liked the jam-band feel from the set, and it was a nice break from listening to hard dubstep. However, Liquid Stranger was a close second for me, since the lasers and visuals used during this set were breathtaking. 

Since Lost Lands is well known for the dinosaur displays throughout the festival, we also got a lot of pictures when we got in for Day 2. All the displays were almost life-like in size and ranged from human-sized dinosaurs like velociraptors to building-sized long-necked brachiosaurus. The consistency of the dinosaurs and the pre-historic theme throughout the festival really made Lost Lands unique for me, and it was amazing to explore and see everything when I needed a break from the music.

Photo Credit: Lost Lands/Julian Bajsel 

Day 3

Since this was the last day, my group got in around 2PM so we could explore parts of the festival we hadn’t seen yet. Our first stop was The Cavern of Illusions, which was art and audio display shown in a dome with a 360-degree view. The featured art was drawn by Andriod Jones, and it was an amazing way to start out the final day.

I was looking forward to the music from Day 3 the most. We started out with LSDREAM and saw Figure b2b Protohype, Dirt Monkey, Said the Sky b2b Dabin, Excision detox set, Peekaboo, Slander b2b Spag  Heddy, and Excision b2b Illenium. Being able to see the four b2bs were a huge treat for me, especially since they were all very different sets that I would probably never get to see again. My favorite non-b2b set was Peekaboo, it was my first time seeing him and I really enjoyed his set. My favorite set overall is tied between Spag Heddy b2b Slander and Excision b2b Illenium. Excision b2b Illenium was such an epic way to end the weekend, and I had such an amazing time headbanging and singing along to the music with my friends.

My group decided to do VIP for Lost Lands since it was our first time there and other friends who had previously gone recommended it. VIP had amazing perks such as a separate VIP entrance line, VIP viewing areas, VIP food and alcohol vendors, and air-conditioned flush bathrooms. The VIP viewing areas were especially nice since there was a lot of room to headbang and dance. One of the areas had seats for people that wanted to rest while the other one was grassy, so both VIP areas were ideal if we wanted to take breaks during some sets. I got a lobster BLT from one of the VIP food vendors at the Wompy Woods stage on Day 3, and it was AMAZING. The air-conditioned bathrooms were also a godsend since Day 2 was very hot and humid and it was nice to be able to cool down a little bit. Overall, even though I would have still had an amazing time doing GA at Lost Lands, I definitely would say VIP was worth it for this festival.

Lost Lands was such an amazing experience, and I definitely want to go back again next year. This was my second festival in the Midwest, and one thing I noticed was the vibes from both the staff and the attendees there were amazing and everyone was extremely nice. If you have any questions about traveling to Lost Lands, please leave a comment, and I will also be updating my Instragm @loanabana82 and will be talking about my experiences there. Hope to see you at Lost Lands next year!