Shambhala has long been Western Canada's—and arguably the entire country's—crown jewel for electronic dance music getaways. That reputation holds firm after welcoming 20,000 people to its 25th anniversary weekend from July 26-29.
A poorly kept secret tucked between the river and trees, there's a reason "Welcome Home" is a common phrase among Shambha-lifers and newcomers alike. Friendly faces constantly greet you, whether you're starting or ending your day at 8am.
What separates Shambhala from most camping festivals of its scale is the logistics. Once you’re in, you’re in. There's no queue between the campsite and the festival grounds—you’re free to go as you please. This creates a holistic experience wherein you feel like you’re living in the Salmo River Ranch ecosystem for the duration of your stay, which can last a week for some guests.
Take Sunday, for example. Some early birds and I happily dragged our fatigued bodies to the Living Room stage for LSDREAM’s "Lightcode" set, an hourlong meditative sound bath that definitely didn’t unearth suppressed childhood trauma. It’s okay—I was better for it.
Now spiritually cleansed, we made our way to the river, which runs along the side of the festival grounds, to cool off and unwind. A short walk to camp for dinner and a nap revitalized us for the long night ahead. There are countless high-quality food vendors to keep you fueled during the 18 to 20 hours of music daily, but whipping out a breakfast burrito from my fanny pack and chowing down at a 3am set is the freedom for which my frugal spirit is here.
Shambhala is an independently owned music festival produced on land belonging to its owners. Unlike many festivals, the stages aren’t torn down each year. They are permanent installations that are improved annually. This creates familiarity and curiosity as you revisit Pagoda’s laser-bathed front porch, Village’s coliseum-like halls or Fractal Forest’s endless maze of lights.
Fractal Forest received the biggest makeover in 2024. The jaw-dropping, all-encompassing forest stage was upgraded with more lights and a bigger, higher elevated platform. Fractal was unique for its 360° vantage point, whereby crowds could watch from all angles. It’s still technically a 360° presentation, but the updated design pushed the stage off-center. The location and higher elevation made it difficult to see from behind the artist; it’s a net positive that improves several aspects of Fractal Forest while taking away a component that affects a minority of fans.
Elsewhere, Rabbit Hole, previously one of Shambs' many hidden areas, was renovated into a small, dedicated stage to add to the festival's seemingly endless options for enjoying music.
Shambhala 2024’s biggest success story is its entry process. The lines to get into the camping grounds had been notoriously grueling—you can spend between four and 12 hours waiting with your car to enter the campsites. I was unprepared for my first excursion in 2022 and strongly considered not returning after dry-aging in the sun for what felt like an eternity.
Some suggest bringing canopies for the line or driving overnight to avoid the sun. While I appreciate the spirit of the 20,000 people who do anything to get to Shambhala, I don’t think making camping arrangements for a queue or driving sleep-deprived to escape the heat are appropriate solutions. I am ecstatic to report that Shambhala pulverized those concerns this year.
I was bewildered—and honestly still am—to arrive on Thursday night and find a wait time of 10 minutes. Shambhala not only managed to improve their dreaded queues, but they also eradicated the problem entirely. Asking around, it seems a combination of factors radically improved the process. Organizers opened two points of entry, doubled its manpower and streamlined their security process to fix what I considered their one crucial weakness.
We’ve made it pretty far without discussing an important component in the “music festival” dynamic: the music. I was admittedly underwhelmed when the lineup was announced. The poster had heavy-hitters, including Chromeo, Dillon Francis, Disclosure, DJ Pee .Wee (Anderson .Paak), Excision and Subtronics, but the lineup featured many names we’ve seen at Shambhala in recent years and didn’t quite measure up to comparable summer festivals. Longtime visitors might, however, insist that Shambhala is about much more than a lineup.
The set times, excluding Sunday, weren’t incredibly competitive and that allowed me to experience Shambhala with a wonderful presentness. I moved from stage to stage unencumbered by who was playing where. If I struck a good vibe, I freely enjoyed it without concern for what came next. It also cleared time to explore all the whimsical hidden details tucked out of sight. It was incredibly freeing.
Dimension, Excision and Subtronics shook the foundations of Village, Chromeo and Pee .Wee were the lives of the party at Fractal Forest, Zingara tore the roof off Pagoda and San Holo thrilled at AMP.
One of Shambhala’s great traditions is its surprise sets. We were treated this year to a surprise sunrise b2b between Subtronics and Tape B. This was warmly received considering the two dubstep stars faced stiff competition earlier that evening.
The festival doubled up on special reveals. Eyebrows were raised when CloZee and LSDREAM were scheduled for separate sets at Pagoda considering the success of their supergroup, LSZEE. Well, they heard the feedback and treated fans to an unannounced LSZEE set that ranks among the best I’ve ever seen. Other highlights included The Funk Hunters, AHEE and SkiiTour.
All said and done, Shambhala returned to the Salmo River Ranch in B.C. for its silver anniversary with a weekend that lived up to the occasion. The festival continues to build on its strengths, patch its weaknesses and curate some of the best experiences and fan culture in the global EDM community. Cheers to another 25 years.
