Hear Exclusive Lightning in a Bottle 2024 Sets From Aqutie, Jubilee & Shermanology

At the tail end of May, the faithful ravers of SoCal and the Western United States beyond descended upon the dry landscape of the Bakersfield, Calif. area for the annual pilgrimage of beats, vibes and psychedelia-tinged wellness that is Lightning In a Bottle.

Skrillex was there camping out for the weekend ahead of his mighty festival closing performance; Rüfüs du Sol turned up for an unannounced golden hour DJ set on the shore of the man-made lake the festival is situated around. There was yoga. There were so many breathwork classes. There was a rollerskating rink and shots of pickle juice available at a bar designed like a western saloon.

And of course more than anything, there was music. The 2024 lineup was arguably one of the festival’s strongest in its 21 year history, with the aforementioned Skrillex headlining set (“Lightning In a Bottle, thank you for the experience, I’ve always wanted to do this” the producer announced as he closed the show) happening amid a lineup that also featured James Blake, M.I.A., Nia Archives, Of The Trees, Aluna, CloZee Fatboy Slim, Honey Dijon, IsoXo and many other electronic luminaries, along with a stacked undercard.

This year, the event also featured two new stages, Lighthouse and Crossroads, with the latter focused largely on afrobeats and serving as a packed late (like 4 a.m. late) night hub and a welcome addition to the sonic landscape. Here and on other stages, music went until the early hours nightly, with daytime programming focused on workshops (with topics including things like “pluriversal AI for equitable futures,” “the galactic akashic records,” and “rites of the rose ritual”), along with sound baths, meditation and general recuperation from the night before.

Drafting off the success of this year’s event, Lightning In a Bottle’s producers The Do Lab have noted that the presale for the 2025 event is their biggest of all time, with these early tickets already sold out.

So, let us revisit the immaculate vibes of the weekend with these three exclusive sets from the festival from Aqutie, Jubilee and Shermanology.

Aqutie

The New York City-based producer played two solo sets during the festival, once in the Crossroads tent on Sunday night and another on the Thunder stage Saturday afternoon. Heard here, this latter set leans heavy into afrohouse, classics like Groove Armada’s “Love Sweet Sound” and Masters at Work’s “Work,” the Adam Port remix of Dua Lipa’s “Houdini” and material from the producer’s recently released Coolest In The City EP, recently released via Aluna’s Noir Fever label. (Aqutie also made an appearance during Aluna’s set on the festival’s biggest stage, Lightning.) “I had such a beautiful time omg,” she wrote on Instagram after the fest. “Words can’t describe how much fun I had. I can’t wait to do it again.”

Jubilee

Shermanology

Longstanding Dutch brother/sister duo Shermanology played a Sunday afternoon set perfectly suited to ass-shaking in the afternoon sunshine. Happening at the festival’s Woogie stage — which this year featured a new design that was debuted when the Woogie served as the Do Lab’s stage at Coachella 2024 — the high-energy performance had loads of singalong moments (including their deeply funky Fisher collab “It’s a Killa” and their totally undeniable 2021 track “Boyz N Da Club”) and was just plain fun, cool, feel-good music — the essence of the Woogie’s legendary daytime vibe.