Neither rain nor mud came between headbangers and their annual trek to Lost Lands.
Last month, Excision’s flagship festival returned to Thornville’s Legend Valley Campground for its ninth edition, welcoming more 150,000 attendees for three days of earth-shaking bass, dinosaur-sized production and camping chaos. While the festival officially ran from September 18-20, some campers arrived as early as Tuesday, committing to nearly a full week at the prehistoric themed dubstep event in Central Ohio.
That kind of dedication is exactly what the Lost Lands experience demands. In the face of torrential rain, slippery mud-soaked dancefloors, and significant flooding, most festivalgoers partied on unbothered. But after severe weather warnings gave way to an unorganized evacuation and the ultimate cancellation of remaining programming on the festival’s final day, this year’s experience paled in comparison to other previous and sunnier editions.
Poor etiquette and questionable antics in the pit and operational struggles due to the storm loomed over an otherwise strong showing, featuring standout performances from the likes of Sullivan King B2B Ray Volpe, Subtronics B2B LEVEL UP, ILLENIUM, and the closing Excision B2B Space Laces set, all backed by the massive production Lost Lands is known for.
This year’s festival also introduced several changes to stages and the grounds, including an opinion-splitting alteration to Lost Lands’ laser-heavy Crater stage. As much as the music, we’ll be remembering this one for the bonds formed when festivalgoers weather a weekend like this together.
Read EDM Maniac’s full report on Lost Lands 2026 below.
Quick Takes
Best moments: Excision & Emma’s gender reveal (it’s a girl!). Gaming with new friends in the arcade. The drone shows.
Needs work: Emergency preparedness. Gate screening at camp and festival entry. Security.
Hidden gem: The secret B2Bs behind the red door.
Audience Match
Who this festival is for: Loyal headbangers. Full-time wooks. Riddim fanatics. Production nerds. Laser lovers.
Maybe skip if: You prefer a broader spectrum of genres. You’re unprepared for unpredictable weather and a rustic camping experience.
Vibes: B+
Lost Lands’ loyal crowd is hardcore: the ravers who don’t mind getting filthy, losing sleep, and getting rained on, and emerge from the weekend asking when they can do it all again.
More than bringing it on the dance floor, there was a real charm in how much this year’s attendees contributed to the experience. Kandi changed hands constantly, strangers were sprouted, and communities hosted meetups. When the rain came, neighbors lent a helping hand and a noodle tent passed out free ramen to ravers in need. For all the dinosaur-sized moments, it’s the little things we’ll remember most.
The fashion is hard to miss, too. People dress loud and go all out, from tie-dye fits to anime-inspired looks and DIY getups that surely involved lots of hot glue. You’ll find every kind of music lover at Lost Lands, each taking self-expression in their own direction.
Still, the sheer size of the crowd weighed heavy on our experience. During peak hours, some stages became so densely packed that we skipped them altogether, and trying to squeeze past people on the dance floor was consistently a chore.
As the weekend went on, mosh put etiquette seemed to worsen, with perhaps the low-point seen in the unhinged behavior in this viral clip from TikTok. Not exactly the safe, inclusive energy we try to cultivate, however hard you like to go.
Overall though, we’re choosing to revel in the small acts of kindness and random moments of connection that brought us joy. Lost Lands is generous, strange, occasionally exhausting, and certainly not for the faint of heart. You’ll have to decide if you’re up for the challenge.
Production: A
Lost Lands rejects moderation. If there’s room for another laser, they’ve got one.
Last year’s Prehistoric Stage design made a return appearance as the festival’s main attraction, upgraded with a larger LED screen to pair with its dramatic lasers, strobes, pyro, firework, and T. rex skeleton facade.
From the hard-hitting anything-goes energy of Sullivan King B2B Ray Volpe to the emotional drops of ILLENIUM, main stage production moments swung from completely unhinged to downright cinematic depending on who was on the decks. During Excision’s Sunday detox set, the DJ and his wife Emma organized a gender reveal for their baby girl on the way, lighting the stage in pink.
Well-suited for artists who build visual-heavy shows, Wompy Woods maintained its famously screen-focused look with an enormous LED wall, framed by a handful of life-sized dinosaur homies. Elsewhere, the Subsidia Stage, Forest Stage and Raptor Alley were stacked with their own sensory delights, as organizers continued to put serious production behind the event’s smaller stages rather than treating them as afterthoughts. The Red Door continued to host secret programming and surprise B2Bs.
The biggest change this year came to The Crater. Lost Lands’ laser-packed 360-degree stage returned with a larger footprint but a dramatically different physical layout. The exterior walls surrounding the dancefloor were removed, opening up dancefloor sightlines to its rotating DJ booth and a tall central lighting structure. Lasers and strobes fired outward from the light pole and terminated in the distance, eliminating the enclosed feel that defined previous iterations.
Sound was as important to the production as the visual effects. PK Sound systems powered every single stage, and a handful of reported sound issues came down to placement rather than widespread technical problems. Raptor Alley felt noticeably quiet during Lil Texas and other hard dance sets at the same stage on Saturday. Sound bleed was noticeable at the back of Prehistoric, where its dance floor meets that of Wompy Woods. Otherwise, the festival delivered the chest-rattling bass fans came for. Pack extra earplugs.
Music: A
Lost Lands is still a kingdom built for dubstep, but nine editions in, its borders have grown wider, amassing a lengthy lineup of leading names in other bass-heavy sounds like drum & bass, UKG and even hardstyle.
Excision threw down three sets. SLANDER and ILLENIUM delivered their brands of melodic bass with cinematic production. Sullivan King B2B Ray Volpe tore through Prehistoric, Levity played to another enormous crowd, and dubstep’s favorite power couple, LEVELTRONICS (Subtronics B2B LEVEL UP), played a fan-favorite set at Wompy Woods.
Riddim and tearout had their own pockets of extremity, led by Nimda and The Resistance, who brought intense sounds and Star Wars-inspired moments to Wompy Woods. WonkyWilla took the festival into still stranger, wobblier territory.
Raptor Valley featured drum & bass from Subsonic and a special FuntCase B2B Doctor P D&B set, among others on Friday, while hard dance took over the stage on Saturday as Lil Texas and MADGRRL pushed the tempo. Other subgenres under the bass umbrella had enough space to develop their own ecosystems away from the main stage dubstep machine.
Some of our most memorable moments came when artists switched things up. Adventure Club reached into the track archives for a throwback performance, and The Chainsmokers played their first bass set as the festival’s special guest. Between giant headline performances, sonic detours and genre-specific takeovers throughout the weekend, we left excited for what organizers might pull out for 2027.
Venue: C
Lost Lands’ home at Legend Valley is spread across an enormous piece of Central Ohio countryside—slowly sloping hills, dirt paths, trees, and open sky.
Though the venue is well-suited for the festival’s weekend crowd of 150,000 attendees, you’re also frequently traversing inclines and declines, navigating crowded walkways, or realizing that stage you can see in the distance is somehow much farther than it looked. After a few days, our legs were noodles.
The upside is that the setting can be beautiful. In the early morning, when the music finally quieted down, trees standing against huge stretches of candy-colored sky made the place feel serene.
Trying to make moves was a battle at times. This year felt more crowded than ever, and several walking paths became genuine bottlenecks once the festival filled up. Dense crowds and uneven terrain were especially difficult for festivalgoers with mobility issues.
We waited for more than five hours to enter the campground at the start of the weekend, and upon entering the festival, our interactions with security staff only soured the mood. Though no outside food is permitted in the venue, it felt odd watching fans be hassled over small snacks when the aforementioned viral video revealed a stapler made its way into the venue earlier in the weekend.
In one instance, we watched security make a disabled attendee get out of their chair during screening. Though we can’t speak to standard procedure, it stuck out in our minds as excessive and inconsistent. Some security personnel were notably kind, but overall we felt staff were unequipped if not unwilling to help attendees, especially during the storm.
In the venue and campgrounds, basic facilities ticked all the boxes. Showers and restrooms where we camped in Nest 1 were kept clean and had short lines. Though VIP passholders had designated seating in the venue, GA attendees had no choice but to sit in the grass. More shade and rest areas in GA would have been welcome, particularly at a festival where walking between stages is a trek.
Standing up to this year’s wet weather was where the venue struggled most. Multiple evacuations were called throughout the weekend, and once heavy rain moved in, dirt paths turned to mud, cars and RVs got stuck, and the venue became harder to navigate. This became a safety problem when tens of thousands of people suddenly needed to move at once.
Sunday was the clearest example. Severe weather warnings triggered another evacuation, but we encountered many attendees who were left confused about where they were supposed to go. On their way back to the campgrounds, dense crowds were forced to shuffle through a flooded tunnel to seek shelter.
By Monday morning, when it was time to leave, cars and RVs struggled for traction in the mud, some sliding through camp and running over, thankfully, unoccupied tents. Seeing vehicles lose control so close to where people were sleeping made the stakes painfully obvious. Lost Lands offered free towing, but getting a tow took hours for some.
There is a tendency among some Lost Lands attendees to accept its ruggedness as part of the deal. Ohio weather is unpredictable. Camping gets muddy. Lost Lands cannot stop a storm. All true. But we felt organizers can be more responsible for what happens once headbangers arrive.
Clear evacuation routes, staff who know where to direct people, and contingency plans for moving vehicles through a flooded campground are not matters of endurance. They are matters of safety. Lost Lands turns 10 years old next year. We’ll be watching to see how organizers answer.
Sidequestability: A-
By day, Lost Lands is a playground. We caught an “air rail-riding” competition where winners took home wristbands to Lost Lands 2027, wandered into a live reptile meet-and-greet, took mosh-pit etiquette classes, and attended yoga, stretching and sound baths. Fan and bandana decorating, bingo, and other camp activities kept people occupied well into the night.
The camping village gaming area felt substantial enough to actually hang out in, rather than just pass through. Inside, the Dragon Ball XENOVERSE 3 Road Tour fit naturally alongside classic arcade games and modern consoles.Tucked away inside the festival and accessible only after finding a golden ticket, Lost Lands’ hidden micro-venue, the Red Door, ran secret programming and surprise B2Bs outside the main schedule.
Wandering around camp and making friends also counts as a sidequest, and somewhere along those detours, The Grove became one of our favorite corners of camp. After dark, the stage turned into a silent disco beneath the trees, with plenty of lasers.
Throughout the weekend, underground favorites like Otsukare and SISTO, along with brands, fan groups and different corners of the bass community, also organized their own meetups, scavenger hunts and activities. At Lost Lands, the sidequest economy is truly thriving.
Food & Beverage: C
Food wasn’t a highlight of our Lost Lands experience.
Chomp Steakhouse returned for its second year with plated steaks, fries and stage views. Elsewhere around the festival, most meals cost between $18 and $25. Attendees were forced to wait in long lines for popular options like Spicy Pie, Island Noodles, and Tacos Before Vatos.
More than once, we looked at the wait and decided missing a whole set for lunch wasn’t happening. After a long and hot wait in line for a smoothie, we were charged $18 and forced to leave empty handed when the vendors point-of-sale system glitched.
Fans ate better in the Village. Headbanger Hibachi was our favorite meal of the weekend, even at $30. By the end of the weekend, we stuck to the basics or made noodles back at camp.
Overall: B-
Many attendees carve out an entire week for Lost Lands and spend even longer preparing. Much of this year’s festival experience justified that commitment.
Few bass festivals can compete with Lost Lands’ production, depth of programming or world-building, with and other experiences across the Village and the campground, a camping pass can stretch your experience even further.
Still, the festival’s growth may be outpacing its infrastructure. Crowding, inconsistent security, and confusion surrounding Sunday’s evacuation deserve more scrutiny from a festival approaching its tenth year. None of it erased what made the weekend special, but it complicated the love story a little. With Lost Lands’ 10th anniversary on the horizon in 2027, organizers have every excuse to go all out.
Featured image courtesy: Lost Lands.
