Rise Festival 2025 Rises Above Night 1 Weather Issues for an Elevated Desert Weekend With Rüfüs du Sol, Calvin Harris & John Mayer

As Stone Temple Pilots erstwhile said, truthful overmuch depends connected the weather.

On Friday successful the Mojave Desert, astir 30 miles southwest of Las Vegas, Rise festival learned this the hard way, which is to accidental the upwind did not cooperate. High winds and attendant particulate forced Rise organizers to unfastened the gates astir 3 hours late, with the night’s acceptable times subsequently shuffled and the evening’s centerpiece lawsuit — the merchandise of thousands of insubstantial lanterns into the entity — canceled entirely.

Meanwhile, reports of hourslong hold times for attendees arriving from the Vegas Strip by shuttle, positive sparse nutrient options, were posted connected societal media by galore incensed walk holders successful the clip during and aft nighttime 1.

The net pile-on was swift and harsh, and the vibe connected the grounds Friday nighttime was, successful galore moments, challenging. The upwind and particulate got successful eyes and nostrils, for galore necessitating look masks, with chilly winds adding a wound to the air. Some waited successful agelong lines for drinks and nutrient portion others (like us) sailed close up with nary problem. As galore successful the assemblage stood protecting their eyes portion lasting amid hundreds of unlit torches, reminding america that the night’s halfway enactment wasn’t happening, successful moments the acquisition felt much similar 1 to endure alternatively than enjoy.

Still, the amusement went on, with the thousands of attendees connected tract doing their champion to marque the champion of it. A subordinate of the assemblage handed skis goggles to vocalist Emitt Fenn during his evening show truthful helium could proceed playing without hazard. (“Getting sick, having each my cogwheel broken, and destroying my dependable was decidedly not successful my bingo paper but I inactive had the clip of my life,” the creator later wrote successful a station astir his set. “Thank you everyone who inactive came retired to Rise festival and howled astatine the satellite with maine done a sandstorm.”)

Fenn was followed by LP Giobbi, who heroically conscionable danced successful the upwind during her characteristically spirited acceptable connected the Compass Stage, with Ben Böhmer and Rüfüs du Sol some putting connected memorable (for them astir apt arsenic well, fixed the conditions) performances Friday nighttime connected the Horizon Stage. Though the nighttime yet wrapped with the most-anticipated acts successfully performing their sets successful full, online chatter was ablaze with refund requests, complaints connected the festival’s societal media pages, and adjacent nicknaming Rise arsenic “Dustpocalypse 2025.”

Taking spot connected the Jean Roach Dry Lake Beds, an expanse of level godforsaken tucked betwixt the I-15 and rolling hills of the Mojave, Rise bills itself arsenic the world’s largest insubstantial lantern festival. It was heavy advertised connected societal media, with ads besides flashing connected integer billboards on the Strip, with the vibey clip connected connection being a stark opposition to the mega-clubs and magic shows. This year, the selling constituent was besides an eye-popping lineup featuring big-font names Ben Bohmer, Rüfüs Du Sol, Disclosure, Calvin Harris, Goose and John Mayer.

Given its godforsaken location, Rise altogether gave a feeling of a smaller and much metropolitan-adjacent Burning Man, implicit with assorted creation installations, godforsaken manner and an intentionality-focused mindset, albeit 1 that divided attendees into silver, gold, platinum and diamond tier hangout areas depending connected the ...