Nocturnal Wonderland returned to Glen Helen Amphitheater last weekend for its 31st edition, spreading immaculate vibes and featuring a stacked lineup. We’ve got the full rundown for anyone looking to see what they missed or relive the festivities again.
Stages
The main stage of the festival this year was Mystic Wild. It sat in perfect alignment with the mountains, which led to some beautiful sunset sets by Malaa on day one and Said The Sky on day two. The giant LED screen in the middle of the mountains gave festivalgoers a perfect mix of visuals, background, pyro, and, of course, lasers. This stage hosted some of the biggest names in EDM: James Hype, Deorro, Seven Lions, Sidepiece, Deadmau5, and Illenium.
Next to Mystic Wild was the Aurora Plains stage, home to the house music crews for the weekend. This was a very unique stage, with green shrubbery hanging from it and LED panels spread across it. It was both mesmerizing and welcoming, drawing people into the house vibes. With artists like Green Velvet and Dombresky shutting it down, plus Walker & Royce and Ragie Ban, this stage was bumping from open to close.
Dawn Mountain was home for the bassheads for the weekend. This stage could have caused an earthquake in the surrounding areas with all the heavy bass from Svdden Death, Layz, Kompany b2b Samplifire, and Nghtmre. It was nonstop headbanging, mosh pits, and walls of death. This stage had the most lasers of all the stages and great visual design. Dawn Mountain was set atop the hill, and the stage looked like a pyramid cascading into itself. The biggest surprise here was Teddy Pain, aka T-Pain, closing out day two for his Nocturnal debut.
In addition to the main stage, the Beatbox Boombox had artists throwing down banger after banger all night. My personal favorite stage, if you are lucky enough to find it: the Rave Cave. It has the best vibe in the entire festival.
Festival Grounds
There is so much more to do other than the music at Nocturnal Wonderland. One of the coolest art installations this year was the infinity pyramid in between Aurora Plains and Dawn Mountain. People marveled at its artistry, staring at it with amazement. Moon installations and giant mushrooms were scattered throughout Dawn Mountain, while a big canopy sat in front of Mystic Wild. Every day there was a parade of “animals” throughout the festival grounds. While walking around from stage to stage, everyone I encountered was amazing, and the vibes were at an all-time high.
Nocturnal Wonderland is a festival that ravers around the world wait for every year, and year 31 did not disappoint. If you missed out on this year, be sure you don’t miss 2027. Tickets will be on sale soon, so keep an eye out here and secure your spot early. We look forward to seeing you back at Glen Helen next year!
