Elements Music & Arts Festival brought its fifth consecutive edition to the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, PA. From an early entry and pre-party on Thursday, August 6, to the three-day main event from August 7 – 9 and all the Vibe Village parties in between, Elements 2026 completed another Mission Success.
First and foremost, full credit is due to the tireless production teams working behind the scenes to make this festival happen. Despite pockets of thunderstorm cells causing torrential downpours and forced evacuations over the first few days of the festival, the Elements team did their very best to facilitate safe entry into the campsites and festival grounds, reschedule many headlining artists, and provide festivalgoers with timely updates and announcements. All things considered, Elements pulled off a Herculean feat to squeeze so much programming into the abbreviated time on the festival grounds.
Once again, Elements brought a stacked lineup spanning a wide range of genres, offering a plethora of artists to suit people’s diverse tastes, including some new artists to discover. Programming at the Wellness Center and Fun Factory remained stacked all weekend despite the abbreviated schedules. Our Moon Lvnding squad survived Thursday’s initial storm, albeit a bit moist, and caught the epic back-to-backs from Chris Lorenzo & San Pacho, then Wooli & Crankdat. Mersiv closed out the “Night 0” pre-party that got an extended curfew until 2 am to allow for both b2bs to play on Water Stage while the wooded Air Stage was fittingly closed to air out!
Despite the adverse weather, the spirit of the Vibe Villages in the campsites could not be stopped. What amounts to Elements’ version of group camping, the sound camp area of the Vibe Villages allows for EDM brands and camping collectives to set up shop and host complementary mini-stage programming in the wee hours of the morning and the early hours of the afternoon. Everywhere one looked, there was live music to enjoy and a sidequest to be had!
Friday started with my first Wonka Willa set, a ride of wonktastic disco bass vibes. Effin followed for more bass at the Water Stage, which seemed like a fitting destination after the wet start to the weekend. I made my way to the newly designed Earth Stage for the first time to catch a mesmerizing performance from festival veterans Above & Beyond. With the light-mapped deer imagery above the stage and the encouraging messages flashing across the LED board, A&B pulled at our heartstrings and gave us lifetime memories. After A&B, I split from my crew to take in the sultry saxophone styling of Big Gigantic on the Water Stage. Logic’s rap from “All Of Me” still hits after all these years, and Big G had a few new tunes to tease during the set.
Day 1 concluded with Boys Noize, my only stop at Air Stage all weekend. Controversial decision as my entire crew headed to Excision, but back in 2019, I remember seeing Boys Noize in NYC as part of DOGBLOOD, and to this day, that is one of my favorite festival sets. At Air Stage in 2026, Boys Noize did not disappoint despite the muddy conditions in the Neon Forest. With my trusty rubber rain boots, I was prepared for an epic set of tech house tunes from the talented producer, and we all got what we deserved. By the way, did you know Boys Noize co-wrote the GRAMMY-winning Lady Gaga hit “Rain On Me?”
And so ended Elements Day 1, as we headed back to our Airbnb to dry off for the rest of the weekend. Although they never got their big moment on the Fire Stage, rumor has it that Mikayli and DiCE MaN got to make their mark on quite a few of the Vibe Village afterparty stages over the weekend. Sadly, I didn’t get to witness any of the action this year, but from trusted sources I heard the afters were where it’s at.
Day 2 proved to be another diverse day of mainstage EDM acts, filling our hearts with joy and keeping us light on our toes. I started the afternoon with what might have been my favorite set at Earth Stage all weekend from Nikita, the Wicked. Then my crew showed up for a pair of sunset sets, first from Louis The Child at Fire Stage followed by CloZee at Earth Stage. There is something magical about being at a festival stage as the sun drops out of sight and the daylight gives way to the bright lights shining in the dark night. They both commanded the decks with tasty tunes from all eras of their careers, showcasing the depth of their discographies. I even snuck away for a solid 20 minutes of DnB mayhem from Hedex at Water Stage.
I returned back to Earth Stage for Level Up, as she showed off her mixing skills to step up for Women in STEM! She played mashup after mashup as I raged to her dubstep masterclass. Matroda followed at Fire Stage with heater after heater from his stacked tech house repertoire. The tunes might have been even hotter than the Fire Stage itself, now punctuated with pyrotechnics in the night sky. His 75 minutes flew by as my crew got their dancing shoes moving.
We finished Day 2 back at Earth Stage for one of our favorites, Subtronics. Seeing him play at the newly designed Earth Stage was a real treat, as the light projections accentuated the already captivating LED production for his music. His heavy dubstep set was the perfect way to end the day together with my full rave family. I was once again on driving duty for the early car home, so no Vibe Village afters for me.
And in another sad development for off-site living, I missed LSDREAM’s Lightcode set Sunday morning for the first time at an event that he’s offered it. I cherish those moments at a festival when space is given for people to slow down and truly connect with the music. LSDREAM uses Lightcode as a sound bath of sorts, playing ambient, meditative music. From what I heard, it was another successful hour of sound healing and guided meditations, so I hope those that attended found it a meaningful experience.
My relaxing Day 3 started with the “Cloud Conductor” set from Daily Bread. Then I mosied over to Fire Stage for the striking violin melodies performed over booming dubstep basslines by Josh Teed. We transitioned from live violin to live saxophone, as GRiZ took over Fire Stage for his “Chasing the Golden Hour” set. GRiZ was accompanied by two more bass instruments, a trumpet and trombone, to round out the live sound of his golden hour set. ProbCause, who performed a solo set earlier in the weekend, came out a few times during the set to lay down his lyrics over GRiZ’s tunes.
After outlasting days of rain, the skies cleared for GRiZ, and his set was my favorite of the weekend. Surrounded by my beloved old friends and freshly made new friends, his music was healing as he blasted his saxophone over the uplifting lyrics and melodies of his music. I spent the last few hours of the festival running around between the different stages, soaking in as much different music as I could before Elements came to a close.
But after GRiZ, I finally stopped by the Eco Hub to see the MOOP-sterpiece, a collection of garbage glued together to form a work of art. The Eco Hub also did a great job providing prizes for festivalgoers who helped out with cleaning the venue over the weekend. People could bring in bags of trash and receive merch and other prizes as a reward for their effort. I think they even gave away a VIP ticket to Elements 2027 for the person who bagged up the most trash. Elements did a great job incentivizing festivalgoers to do their share in keeping the venue clean, so credit to the Eco Hub and the Elements team for their sustainability efforts to minimize the trash ending up in landfills. Now back to the big finish of Elements 2026.
Know Good and Daily Bread had the Earth Stage grooving, while YDG brought his high-energy bass music to tear up Water Stage. LSDREAM spread the good vibes back at Earth Stage with a set he recently uploaded for everyone to enjoy. I stopped by to hear Sub Focus finish his DnB set at Water Stage before ending the weekend with I Hate Models at Fire Stage. Honestly, I couldn’t think of a better act than IHM to bring the energy for the last set of Day 3. His pulsating heavy techno managed to keep my feet moving for the entirety of his 90-minute set. I ended the weekend with my energy tank drained but my soul full with vibrancy.
Elements also stood out with their new take on the merch booth experience. Rather than having people queue up to look at the festival and artist merch from behind a big table, Elements instead set up a gallery walk with all the merch strung up on the wire rack walls. If you wanted to buy an item, you could take a tag from the wall and bring it to the cashier to get your size and pay for the items. This allowed the festivalgoers to get up close to the merch, look at the garment tags, and get a better idea about their purchase without waiting in a long queue.
Dozens of artists brought goodies for their fans, including a useful Lumasi tote bag, a woven Daily Bread blanket, and an eye-catching red flannel shirt from GRiZ. I couldn’t say no to the Hedex tour T-shirt that copied the famous West Coast burger chain, /In-N-Out. Elements also went all out with their 2026 merch, featuring stylized gear for each of the four different Elements. Each stage had its own jersey and lineup T-shirts based on the four different Elements. Based on sales, it looks like the Earth T-shirt was the most popular, as it was the first to sell out, but I sure looked long and hard at that pink and blue Water Stage checkered jersey. Maybe I’ll have a second chance when Elements posts their remaining 2026 merch, coming soon!
If you want something to buy now, look no further than the loyalty sale for Elements 2027. For festivalgoers who registered their bracelets, loyalty codes were emailed, and the loyalty sale started Tuesday, August 18. It is only open for a limited time, so lock in your passes for Elements 2027, and return to Long Pond next August 6 – 8. Keep your eyes out for the 2026 after movie, which should be dropping sometime soon, by connecting with Elements Music & Arts Festival on social media. Hopefully we’ll catch you in the Poconos next year.
