Shambhala stands out from the rest in an electronic music landscape where raves have become big business.
The four-day festival held from July 26-29 at Salmo River Ranch, a working 500-acre cattle farm in the British Columbia interior, has earned an esteemed reputation as the premier electronic music event in Canada and, in some circles—the entire North American continent.
A stunning setting in the remote wilderness, top-notch music, astounding production and immersive art, pioneering harm reduction efforts, and remarkably holistic vibes have made lifelong festival fans out of Shambhala’s nearly 20,000 yearly attendees. Many have been returning for a decade or longer.
Despite the many evolutions the festival has experienced over the last 25 years, the overwhelming consensus among the returners is that, at its core, it’s still the same Shambhala.
Staying true to its underground roots, the festival has remained privately owned and operated on private land without corporate sponsorship since its birth as a small one-stage rave in 1998. Without Budweiser logos, bottle service, and VIP tickets, a more authentic and down-home rave experience emerges.
Both in essence and operation, it’s a giant outdoor house party.
That party celebrated Shambhala’s 25th birthday this year, and the “Shambhalove” was as strong as ever. Read EDM Maniac’s full report on Shambhala 2024 below.
Vibes: A+
Little known to many out-of-towners, Shambhala’s location in the BC interior is historically linked with hippie counterculture, dating back to the 1960s when it became a hotspot for incoming draft dodgers and dope growers.
In lieu of this mass movement, the area’s arts scene and legacy of underground parties go hand-in-hand with Shambhala’s birth and growth and have certainly shaped the festival’s flavor for the better.
We were welcomed by multiple generations of festivalgoers for whom Shambhala has become a beloved tradition and who proudly carry its banner. Dancing never wavered, neighbors always lent a helping hand, and we found a smile on every face we met.
In addition to helming festival-sanctioned events like the famous Pizza Float, attendees contributed to a downright magical festival atmosphere with themed group getups, hilarious totems, and even method comedy routines—among our favorites, several roaming geriatrics and Forest Gump out for a jog.
From the moment we stepped foot on “The Farm,” we felt like a part of something bigger than ourselves, thanks to the love, positivity, and inclusivity of our fellow Farmily.
It’s also worth noting that because Shambhala is on private land, police presence at the festival is minimal. There was plenty of adequate hired security, and we felt as safe as ever at a festival.
The marathon party can get unfiltered, but in our experience, all were seen and respected by their fellow partygoers. Shambhala is also a dry festival.
Production: A
The permanence of Shambhala’s site on the Salmo River Ranch allows for some of the most unique stage builds we’ve ever seen and some of the most insane acoustics we’ve ever heard. You can be as ambitious as you want when you don’t have to tear down the stages with each passing edition.
The Pagoda, a regal seven-story temple painted white to provide a blank canvas for 3D projection mapping visuals, was washed in eye-popping color and shape-shifting psychedelic patterns. A new-look Fractal Forest retained its funky charm and furious laser blasts through the trees.
But Shambhala’s pièce de résistance is undoubtedly the Village. Bass music has long had a strong presence at the festival, and the genre-specific stage honors this with an audiovisual experience fit for kings.
Intricately ornate carvings adorn treehouse walkways and gothic-looking spires that tower over headbangers and skankers below, where one of the planet’s most technologically advanced sound systems blasts the very best in dubstep and drum and bass.
Village stage directors Jeremy Bridge and Eroca Colins are also the founders of PK Sound, one of the live music industry’s leading loudspeaker manufacturers and custom sound system operators. Every year, they outfit the Village with their latest and greatest robotic line array system, and the result is glorious.
Shambhala’s other three stages are no joke, either. The Living Room offers a waterfront vibe on the banks of the Salmo River, the AMP is the place for thumping cross-genre bass, and the Grove is a woodland escape.
PK rigs are featured on every stage at Shambhala except the Grove, which uses Funktion-One, another heralded sound system.
Music: A
Operating independently, Shambhala’s six stage directors and their teams each curate a unique dancefloor experience for their own custom-built party paradise.
Put them all together, and you get one of the most eclectic electronic lineups on the North American festival circuit. Where else can you find Ganja White Night, Ben UFO, and Anderson .Paak all on the same bill?
This year’s headline acts also included huge bass names such as Excision, CloZee, LSDREAM, and Tipper, dynamic chart-toppers such as Dillon Francis and San Holo, and unique DJ sets from Disclosure, Bonobo, Chromeo.
Throughout the weekend, our highlights included house heroes Kyle Watson, Justin Martin, and Chris Lorenzo, face-melting experimental bass performances from AHEE, Chmura, and Zen Selekta, a riotous G-house B2B from Dr. Fresch and Destructo, and many more.
Anderson .Paak’s all-vinyl set as DJ Pee.Wee was a groovy and soulful experience. We were stoked to catch a rare North American appearance from cutting-edge French bass artist The Caracal Project. House duo PINEO & LOEB brought the energy to the Fractal Forest on Sunday, and festival favorite Longwalkshortdock’s electro-bass madness was delightful chaos.
We had so much fun diving into the local scene. Canadian artists have been instrumental to Shambhala’s growth and success over the last quarter century. They deservedly shine at the festival, comprising most of its bookings and leaving their mark with curated programming.
Chief among them is the Fractal Funk Jam. The beloved festival tradition hosted by Calgary house duo Smalltown DJs invites a slew of Canadian DJs to play their best old-school funk records in a five-hour Sunday jam sesh in the Fractal Forest. It was a delightfully loved-up parting impression of the festival by daylight.
Venue A-
Shambhala’s remote home in the wilderness is truly something to behold. Mountain views, towering old-growth cedar trees, and a serene position on the banks of the Salmo River add an unquestionable magnitude to the event.
It’s a living, breathing festival that has evolved with the land over 25 years and leaves much of the area’s natural beauty untouched. As a result, four days of camping on The Farm is a markedly rugged adventure devoid of creature comfort amenities found at other major festivals. Uneven terrain and lots of walking contributed to plenty of tired legs and made the weekend a true marathon endeavor.
We emerged from the festival as dirty and dusty as ever and frequently had to kick rocks out from under our feet on the dancefloor, but that’s just part of Shambhala’s charm. You’re out in the middle of nowhere, and everyone is in it together.
Once on-site and through security, attendees—and their stuff—can move freely between the campgrounds and main venue. Many attendees customized their daytime Shambhala experience with wagons, chairs, tables, and other camping gear. We were happy to see that at night, chairs were always swapped for dancing shoes.
One of just two stages open on day one, the AMP was packed on Thursday, but a new canopy meant more people could shelter from the heat. Throughout the rest of the weekend, with more stages to choose from, we never had any issues moving around at or between any of the stages.
Though the venue and its facilities are more DIY than polished, every man-made piece of Shambhala, from art pieces to benches and secret hideouts, has been deliberately placed there to serve a specific purpose. There are surprises around every corner.
Shambhala’s pioneering harm reduction efforts, including on-site drug testing, overdose prevention training, and other safety education, are second to none. Medical tents and staff were visible and well-equipped, and several on-site wells meant drinking water was always readily available.
Even amid reports of a record-high number of early-entry campers, entry to the festival site was quick and painless, a far cry from the 12-hour waits reported in years past.
Overall: A-
Shambhala isn’t just one of the most notable festivals we’ve been privileged enough to attend—its spot in the mountains is one of the unique places we’ve visited full-stop. The Farm is hallowed ground, and we can’t wait to return.
Many of today’s festivals and electronic music events are a mere distant cousin of the renegade raves of decades past.
But by sticking to a winning formula where attendee experience is paramount and remaining steadfast in its commitment to serving underground artists and creatives of all kinds, Shambhala exists as a rare time capsule of an authentic rave vibe we thought might have been gone for good.
We expect that magic to continue for another 25 years. Happy birthday, Shambhala.
