By: Ally Clark
So what’s the hype about Lost Lands? Last year I went to Lost Lands for the first time with my boyfriend and a few friends, curious if the weekend would live up to all the hype. Was this festival in the middle of nowhere Ohio actually what most people claimed to be Dubstep Disneyland? Getting to Thornville was a little bit rough traveling from South Carolina, my rental car actually broke down during the drive. Also, when we got to the hotel my group was supposed to stay at, the manager informed me that we could no longer be accommodated so last minute we had to rebook ourselves at a different hotel which certainly was not ideal. However, we all rolled with the punches in anticipation of the awesome weekend ahead. I can say in complete confidence that Lost Lands was like no other festival I have ever been to before. Every step you take around the venue there are massive rotating dinosaurs that truly make you feel like you were taken back to prehistoric times. One of my favorite parts of the festival was the addition of the Cavern of Illusions which was a mind-minding 360 degree full audio-visual experience that featured the incredible artwork of Android Jones. I fully immersed myself in a visually and sensory stimulating experience which felt like a small wonderland in its own separate dimension. What I loved most about Lost Lands, aside from the music, was the crowd of people. From my personal experience, I can say that instead of the agressive and hardcore, handbanging fans that an all dupstep festival would normally yield, the attendees of Lost Lands were a more relaxed group of festival goers looking to have fun while appreciating the music. I have never been around such a great crowd of people at a festival before! Everyone was so friendly and genuine; we were all there to enjoy an incredible weekend of art and music together.
I typically never eat the food at festivals because I always have protein bars in my hydration pack, however I did venture to the food trucks day 2 and day 3 and I must say the food was delicious. Excison’s management team actually conducted a survey through Facebook prior to Lost Lands asking festival goers what kind of food they wanted to see from vendors. The variety of food was fantastic. I am a vegetarian, working towards becoming completely vegan, and I had plenty of substantial and tasty food options all three days. In addition, for all my 21+ friends there are fun, prehistoric themed alcohol offered at all of the bars. Free water refill stations were located conveniently all over the venue and vendors sold bottled water for just $2 which was great because most festivals upcharge water bottles to $5.
My favorite state at lost lands was located in the “Wooky Woods” which was encapsulated by trees and tiny twinkling lights. I saw Toadface here night 2 and that was my favorite set of the whole weekend. Each stage is different and unique and I thought each artist played at a stage that was very fitting to their image, visuals and sound production.
This year Lost Lands will be September 25th- 27th in Thornville, Ohio. Last year the tickets for Lost Lands didn’t go on sale until July, however this year tier 3 is already on sale this early and it seems like everyone on Twitter is going crazy over it. If you are considering going to Lost
Lands and waiting for your little sign to send it, this is your sign - definitely go. I never understood the hype over this festival until I actually went and experienced it. From incredible music, elaborate stages, delicious food and genuine crowd of festival goes, Lost Lands is an amazing festival that I hope everyone who listens to dubstep has the chance to enjoy.