Everything to know about California’s Northern Nights Music Festival

If you hear electronic dance music pulsing from a waterside stage that looks like a giant octopus while you get a Tarot reading from a cannabis farmer seated in a velvet recliner, you might be at the Northern Nights Music Festival.

This annual gathering spotlights the precious trinity of EDM, camping and cannabis, and may be your favorite weekend of the summer. Celebrating its 10th year in 2023, the boutique festival typically attracts around 6,000 attendees to Northern California's so-called Emerald Triangle — the fertile lands of Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties.

We caught the most recent Northern Nights Music Festival in July and have written about our experience at the festival below, as well as tips on planning for Northern Nights 2024. Read on for everything you need to know about this NorCal music festival that celebrates tunes, weed, art and nature.

Where is the Northern Nights Music Festival?

You could argue that the Northern Nights Music Festival's location — in the nation's largest redwood campground — is the true headliner. Straddling Mendocino and Humboldt counties at Cook's Valley Campground, a few hours north of San Francisco, the gently flowing Eel River and towering redwood forests make a whimsical backdrop for the art, music and weed-filled weekend. And you can support the surrounding economy by buying from the mostly local lineup of vendors, which includes independent cannabis purveyors and farmers that define the lush area.

In addition to a stunning backdrop, one of the best things about Northern Nights is its diverse programming, which includes live performances, art-making and wellness activities. During the day, the shaded Grove Stage hosts yoga classes amidst towering redwoods before transforming into a magical home for the festival's eclectic musical acts. The River Stage offers the chance to take in live music from a floatie on the lazy Eel River. By sunset, the festival's main stage, in the middle of the grounds, comes alive with headliner acts, while a silent disco and the tucked-away Bunker Stage provides dancing until the wee hours of the morning.

Unfortunately, at 2023's event, more space dedicated to camping areas meant less communal places to chill — notably, the epic hammock lounge that popped up in the Redwood grove in previous years was missing this time around. Fewer shaded places for relaxing coincided with the hottest weekend in the festival's history and ice temporarily running out during the weekend's triple-digit temperatures.

The Northern Nights music experience is truly diverse

Known for attracting EDM acts as well as genre-blurring artists to its five stages, the 2023 Northern Nights Music Festival lineup included live multi-instrumentalist duo Big Gigantic and electronic music master G Jones. Mura Masa was billed to be performing a DJ set on Saturday but disappeared from the lineup at the last minute. Thankfully, the night's headlining set from producer and Young Art label head TOKiMONSTA was fantastic, taking away the sting.

Live performance duo Elephant Heart gracefully powered through technical difficulties on Friday night while still managing to set the tone with their uplifting, love-filled lyrics, while Sunday's live electronic duo Night Tales helped wind down the weekend with an introspective, vocal-forward sunset show. Daily Bread's electro-soul-hop, the future-funk beats of Megan Hamilton and Random Rab's downtempo, world-inspired dubstep delivered sets that prove this festival shines brightest when multi-hyphenate artists take the stage.

The main stages may house the bolded names, but every year "secret stages," or less official ones, pop up throughout the grounds thanks to the festival's partners — and sometimes you'll feel downright lucky to stumble on these smaller DJ sets played out in whimsical settings. 

The riverside Octopus Garden stage, (complete with giant tentacles) expanded the floating-to-the-music opportunities by day and kept the party going after main-stage acts finished their sets. The Farmer and the Felon stage, in the riverfront camping area, pulled me in with Bay Area hip-hop on Sunday. And the favorite in 2023 seemed to be the semi-hidden LFO stage, which came with a hang-out spot inside a spaceship and giant balls you could sit and bounce on without losing your groove.

Friday's midnight performances at the Grove Stage by Cloaca, Natalie Ray, Evora Baden, Gaudy and Jordana marked the festival's first-ever drag show. Performers parodied "The Little Mermaid", "Alice in Wonderland" and other fantasy favorites and reminded the audience that their art is illegal in some parts of the world.

The Northern Nights drag show was one example of the festival's attempts to diversify its offerings and provide a platform to LGBTQ+ performers. Oakland-based attendee Jules Peithman, who's been going to the festival for four years, said they felt the crowd and musical acts were more diverse compared to other years. Peithman suggested organizers brainstorm ways to make the cost more accessible to a wider group, such as by sponsoring or subsidizing camps, as ways to further improve the event's reach.

Cannabis at the Northern Nights Music Festival 

In 2023, Northern Nights became the first music festival to create its own cannabis strain, with seeds and samples available. The strain was created in collaboration with the local Humboldt Seed Company and was offered at the cannabis-centered Tree Lounge, a staple of Northern Nights. This area moved in 2023 from a shady oasis near artist and VIP camping to the much hotter (in multiple senses of the word) location near the main stage and the other festival vendors. 

Compared to 2019 when the festival made history as the first to offer on-site recreational marijuana sales and the vendors pulled out the stops with bespoke wellness experiences, 2023's Tree Lounge felt separate from the festival's wellness lineup and less ample, feeling like a reflection of California's struggling cannabis industry.

Cannabis sales were powered by Weedmaps, which required attendees to use tablets at kiosks throughout the festival to shop and upload their ID to purchase, even if they already had a wristband verifying they were at least 21 years old. While they likely made the transaction process easier, tablet kiosks seemed to diminish the feeling of being in a utopian cannabis farmers market — something that had made Northern Nights stand out in the crowded music festival landscape.

However, femme power in the cannabis industry was on full display at the Tree Lounge, from the women-helmed Space Gems, which had its head chef, Sierra Martinez, dispensing mocktails infused with the brand's cosmic tincture during 4:20 happy hour, to the sweet flower crown activity led by Little Bo Beep.

Beth Dunlap, who has been growing cannabis in Humboldt for 34 years and was at Northern Nights repping Dry Farmed Cannabis, a collective of three women-owned farms along the Eel River, said she felt the foot traffic was better by the main stage. She said she sold out of her pre-rolls. Dunlap provided demonstrations of dry farming, passed joints wrapped in rose petals from her vintage velvet recliner as she dispensed sage wisdom with the help of her bespoke artist-rendered Tarot decks.

Costumes are a way of life at Northern Nights

The fashion seen at the 2023 Northern Nights Music Festival could be described as a reclamation of childhood playtime. Neon space-y cowboys and cowgirls reigned, as did cosmic woodland fairies and hipster elves. Festivalgoers dressed like kings and queens, high priestesses and wizards and folks of all genders embraced burlesque as an avenue for body positivity.

Attendees could get the looks from the many festival-wear vendors on the ground and can continue to shop them back at home, thanks to SF-based designers like The Neon Tiger and Kimono Dave that had shops on vendor row this year.

Is a Northern Nights VIP ticket worth buying? 

Like most music festivals, Northern Nights offers tiered tickets, with a VIP option that offers extra perks at a premium price. The main benefit of a Northern Nights VIP festival pass is having access to a private viewing area next to the main stage, featuring a lounge space under an epic oak tree. Free oysters popped up there in the late afternoons and there was special programming from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., such as massages and face painting.

However, many of those experiences were also available in other parts of the festival. There were no separate VIP entrances or luxury bathrooms in the VIP areas around the main stage, perks that are often provided at other festivals as one of the main incentives to paying the higher fee.

Given that Northern Nights attracts a smaller crowd, than festivals like Outside Lands and Coachella, the VIP pass doesn't feel as necessary here to find space to dance. It is worth it, however, to splurge on premium camping experiences, such as the reserved Redwood Grove camping or the glamping experience run by Anywhere Outpost, especially if you really need guaranteed shade and toilets that flush.

Everything to know about camping at Northern Nights

The three-day festival is as much about being in nature as it is about getting lost in a beat. As such, camping is a key part of Northern Nights. Places to camp are as varied as the musical acts and require a bit of advanced planning — free tent camping is included with each pass on a first-come, first-served basis, but you'll need to purchase a parking pass for each car in your party. The free tent camping is tight and tends to fill up fast, but there are additional premium camping options available for purchase. Here's the breakdown of each camping option to help decide which is best for you.

Tent camping

First-come, first-served free tent camping is available along the river and in the meadow by the main stage. Be prepared to carry your stuff to your campsite as it's a bit of a walk.

Riverfront camping is ideal for groups and camps that require more space. Come prepared with a shade structure, water storage and mattress padding, since the ground is river rock. Meadow camping always fills up fast thanks to its central location near the main stage and soft, grassy ground. Get there early to secure a scenic spot by the pond.

Vehicle camping

If you'd like to camp next to your car, you must purchase a vehicle-camping pass in addition to your festival ticket. Car camping is available in the north and south sides of the festival, with a 10-by-20-foot space for your car and campsite. If you have four-wheel drive and don't mind extremely rugged ground, you can score a discounted camping rate with the all-terrain camping pass.

RV camping

While RV hookups are not available on the grounds, buying a pass for RV camping ensures you a 10-by-30-foot space. 

Reserved premium camping 

If you love the creativity of setting up camp, but you don’t want to worry about having to claim your camping spot, splurge on a reserved space, which entitles you to a 10-by-10-foot space in the shady Redwood Grove or the semi-shaded Persimmons Camp.

The Redwood Grove allows you to camp at the base of the trees, right next to the Grove Stage where yoga and movement workshops took place during the day during the 2023 festival and mellow-er grooves played until 3 a.m. While this is one of the noisier camping spots, due to its central location, it remained the coolest place, temperature-wise, throughout the weekend. The Persimmons camping site is on a hill, situated next to artist camping. Campers had more space here, but required a longer walk to reach the action.

Anywhere Outpost glamping 

For those looking for a bit more luxury and quiet to retreat to during the festival, the Northern Nights glamping experience might honestly be worth the money, especially if having a nice bathroom is essential to you. Hidden away on the quieter side of the festival grounds, this area is home to lounge tents, air-conditioned restrooms with flushing toilets, hot outdoor showers, a complimentary beverage bar with hot coffee in the mornings and ice water, lemonade and iced tea all day.

Glamping tents accommodate one to four people and come fully furnished, complete with crisp sheets, a cozy down comforter, a Casper foam mattress and pillows, two side tables and lanterns, and even a clothing rack for your costumes.

What should I bring to the Northern Nights festival?

Northern Nights is a rustic camping festival, so pack like you're about to spend three days in the woods, where the temperature can swing from hot during the day to chilly at night and in the early morning. There's an on-site general store for basic necessities you may have missed, but supplies are limited and tend to be expensive. Free purified water is available at hydration stations to fill up reusable containers, but it's suggested to bring your own water supply, too. There are many food vendors, but you can also cook your own using a small propane stove.

What to pack

• Warm clothes for colder nights.
• Swimming gear, including river shoes and a floatation device.
• Camping gear.
• Reusable water bottles, plates and utensils (glass is prohibited in the festival grounds).
• Eco-friendly biodegradable sunscreen and body products.
• Dry bag.
• A propane stove and food, if you want to cook for yourself.
• Comfortable shoes.
• Shade structures and soft places to relax at your camp. 
• Camp flair, like tapestries and lights, for extra fun and to help you find your camp after a night of dancing. 
• A cooler with snacks and up to one case of beer per person (no glass is allowed), if you’re over 21.

In addition to the obvious prohibited items, like weapons and fireworks, glass is prohibited at the festival as is all open fire (save for joints), including campfires, grills and fire dancing, due to the area's extreme wildfire danger.

Find it: Northern Nights Music Festival, Cook's Valley Campground, 83950 Road 442E, Piercy, CA 95587

This story was edited by Hearst Newspapers Managing Editor Kristina Moy; you can contact her at kristina.moy@hearst.com.