March 3rd marked the return of the beloved Okeechobee Music + Art Festival, with four days of music, art, camping, experiences, community, & more. Respect My Region had the opportunity to hit the Florida festival, experiencing everything the relatively young event has to offer. Between six stages, various retail and food vendors, experiences and rides, art, and seemingly never-ending campgrounds, there’s so much to see at this four-day festival.
Okeechobee Music Festival 2022 Recap
We explored nearly every inch of the festival between the two of us and caught dozens of artists performing at multiple stages. Continue reading to hear about our experience at Okeechobee Music Festival 2022, including the scoop on performances, activities, camping, as well as tips & advice for a more prepared Okeechobee trip.
This year’s edition brought in 30,000 attendees, exceeding previous years. But not only did the attendance numbers grow, but the stages and sound also were grander, the lineup was stacked, and the activities & experiences were nearly endless.
Photo by Alex Perez for Insomniac Events
Music at Okeechobee
Though Okeechobee is a favorite amongst festival-goers for much more than just the music, the lineup is always stacked. This year was no exception and very much exceeded expectations.
Between four full days of music, we witnessed (and danced to) dozens of artists of all genres, from bass music to jam bands to hip-hop to house to psychedelic rock to R&B and everything in-between.
Photo by Juliana Bernstein for Insomniac Events
Be, Here, & Now Stages
The main stage, aka the Be Stage, hosted some of the festival’s biggest acts. At this stage, the RMR team caught Two Feet and Rezz on the first night, who both charged the crowd with energy for the rest of the weekend. On Friday at the main stage, we saw experimental Canadian artist Caribou and the Australian rock legends Tame Impala. On Saturday, we found ourselves at the main stage almost all day, catching performances from Papadosio, The Glitch Mob, Megan Thee Stallion, and Griz. Then, on Sunday, we put our focus on Here and Now.
The Here Stage was easily a favorite amongst ravers due to the stacked electronic lineup and the vibrant and shaded design of the stage area. Here, we caught Elderbrook, Lab Group, TroyBoi (our favorite EDM set of the whole festival), A Hundred Drums, NotLö, VEIL, and CloZee.
The Now Stage was nestled close by to the main stage and hosted huge talent. We caught Tobi Lou, a favorite amongst our staff, as well as Cannons, Mindchatter, Smino, and Flying Lotus. Each of these acts produced mind-blowing sets in their unique ways.
Photo by Lauren Decanio for Insomniac Events
Aquachobee, Incendia, & Jungle51
In addition to the main stages are Aquachobee, Jungle 51, and Incendia. Aquachobee was a raver paradise, hosting some of the hottest emerging DJs right along the water. At this stage, we caught Chee, Tsuruda, and Of The Trees. We only got to pop into Jungle51 briefly, but House and techno were roaring through the neon forest all night long, until sunrise. Incendia was also a late-night stage, hosting a range of bass, dubstep, drum n bass, and more.
Photo by Kasey Fillmore for Insomniac Events
Camping
We opted for regular car camping because roughing it makes for a great bonding story, and we like it. The process of getting to the campsite as a group was a little challenging because you had to arrive all in one line at the same time to camp together. To achieve this, we used car paint to number our vehicles and make it easier to see our cars in all the mix.
When our group finally got to the campsite, we set up our tented village for the weekend, and it was perfect. The spaces for camping were about the length of one vehicle.
The nights were cold, and the mornings were sweltering. Because of this, we would promptly wake up around 8 AM to jump out of the sauna that became our tents and shivered home every night around 2 AM. The weather didn’t put too much of a damper on our time, though, because it awarded us more time in the day to wake up, make breakfast, and charge our phones before the festivities. We would come back to camp in the middle of the day, recharge and replan the day, and head out when the sun started setting.
It can be a long walk to and from the campsites if you are in regular camping, so make sure you are wearing the right shoes and get an excellent mental and physical map of the layout. Also, service and wifi aren’t as easily accessible as you may have guessed, so our group used walkie-talkies to communicate when we split up. There are no charging stations in the camping area, so getting a car power converter can help tremendously if you want to contact the outside world.
Photo by Brian Hensley for Insomniac Events
Activities & Experiences
Other than an electric lineup, Okeechobee has everything from an assortment of shops to scheduled activities. They had rave gear vendors selling pashminas, fans, cool glasses, light-up accessories, and more in the shopping areas. Additionally, you could even buy and make Kandi at one of the stands. Kandi is rave accessories made from beads; often, people give them to each other during a festival ritual called PLUR. We made a bunch and proceeded to give them to all of our rave family and friends.
Photo by Ivan Meneses for Insomniac Events
Additionally, various activities scheduled for the weekend include yoga, barter gambling, a Ferris wheel, and more. The barter gambling activities were a part of Frick Frack Blackjack. It is a trading area where people bring all types of things to exchange what the organizers have. You can find Frick Frack at Hulaween and other festivals as well. Furthermore, there were several different yoga and meditation sessions throughout the week. Some included guided sessions, and others listened to music and centered themselves.
Contributing writers: Madi Forbes & Hannah Gershowitz
