How to find the best music at Burning Man
80,000 people are currently flocking to the Nevada desert to find music, community, art and themselves.
They're headed to the fabled Black Rock City for Burning Man, which makes its long-awaited return on Sunday, August 28th and runs through September 5th.
This year's theme, "Waking Dreams," has the feel of a palpable one. It's not long before Burners find themselves rubbing playa dust out of their eyes as if emerging from a dream to discover magnificent mutant art cars, mind-bending structural art, visceral sound camps and more.
Every attendee is strongly encouraged to digest the 10 Principles of Burning Man to make the most of their burn, as well as the Survival guide and the What, When, Where guide.
The What, Where, When guide lists theme camps and activities to explore. The Survival guide, on the other hand, is loaded with helpful tips about packing adequate supplies for safety and self-sustainable living in the harsh desert climate for a week. Temperatures soar during the day and drop drastically at night, and dust storms can spontaneously erupt at any given moment.
What you won’t find in any of these official guides is a list of artist lineups at sound stages, theme camps and art cars. Why?
Burning Man is cautious about not defining itself as a music festival. Music is just one element of art to explore on the playa—and the process of discovering it is essential to the overall experience.
EDM.com has compiled a list of pointers to help you find some of the best music at Burning Man.
BIKE IT
One of the best ways to find music at Burning Man is by simply hopping on your bike and following your ear.
Oh the places you will go!
FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH THE BLACK ROCK CITY MAP
Black Rock City is designed in a radius with intersecting clock numbers and alphabetical street names. The centre street ring is called the Esplanade, and is your entrance to travel out into the playa to see the man and temple. Further beyond the radial city is the deep playa. Check out the 2022 Black Rock City Map to familiarize yourself with the layout.
FOLLOW THE LASERS AND BASS TO LARGE SOUND CAMPS
Most large sound camps are found around 10:00 or 2:00 and Esplanade, as they can broadcast heavy sound out into the deep playa away from camps.
Look for signs outside of camps with lineup details.
Tip: always lock up your bike to prevent theft around large sound camps and crowds.
DOWNLOAD THE ROCKSTAR LIBRARIAN 2022 MUSIC GUIDE
The Rockstar Librarian is an excellent guide that lists lineups and the locations of sound camps and art cars. It’s not an exhaustive guide, however, since some camps and art cars voluntarily submit and others don't.
With anything on the playa, content, times and locations are subject to change without notice.
Rockstar Librarian 2022 Music Guide.
Kate Houston/Rock Star Librarian
FOLLOW SOUND CAMPS OF INTEREST ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Some camps share their programming ahead of time, like Ego Trip and Opulent Temple.
FOLLOW YOUR FAVORITE DJS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Many artists share their upcoming performances on social media, with some divulging their location with ample time.
DOWNLOAD THE TIME TO BURN APP
This helpful app is full of events, camp listings, locations, a GPS map and other helpful tips about getting around.
You can download the app on iOS and Android.
Time To Burn GPS map.
BIKE OUT TO THE DEEP PLAYA
Don't be afraid to explore and bike out into the playa, where you'll encounter dreamlike art cars such as Robot Heart, the Mayan Warrior, Steely T and many others, whose organizers don't actively advertise their schedule.
BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT TRASH FENCE RUMORS
It's been a longstanding rumor and joke among Burning Man vets and novices that Daft Punk plays at the perimeter trash fence.
Fans will agonizingly recall the release of Daft Punk's cinematic "Epilogue" video in 2021, when they revealed their shocking retirement by imploding themselves on the playa.
Needless to say, this is probably not the best year to chase Daft Punk trash fence rumors.
The Trash Fence surrounds the perimeter of Burning Man to prevent garbage from blowing away.
TUNE INTO RADIO STATIONS WHEN RELAXING AT CAMP
We suggest listening to BMIR 94.5FM, KAEZ 96.3FM or Camp Fuego 88.3 FM.
CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE BURN?
Tune into the Burning Man Live Webcast all week to take in the sights, sounds and stories.
