In a clear-skied canvas of tangerines and fuchsia stretching endlessly over the softly swaying waters of Central California’s mostly -majestic Modesto Reservoir, the Monday dawn is met with thousands of melancholic faces all departing the eighth edition of Dirtybird Campout. All sad because it’s over, but also awash in gratitude for the moments they shared.
Here the summer camp-themed music festival reached new heights as artists like Roni Size, Goldie, Honeycomb, and Mr. Carmack delivered high-octane performances on the fan-favorite stage, The Bass Lodge. Then, representing the next generation of ceiling-smashing talent, the label also marshaled hard-hitting acts like Chocolate Sushi, Nala, Mike Kerrigan, VNSSA, and N808 to the main stage, The Birdhouse. Claude VonStroke aka Barclay Crenshaw aka DJ Tree played six (!) sets over the weekend. Weird-o-meters in the campgrounds were topping out at a solid 11 as crews assembled from Costa Rica, Ukraine, France, Mexico, and more with over 20 separate renegades in full, unfettered swing. The festival’s first all-night stage, affectionately called ‘The Hideout’, added icing to the cake as “camp counselors” (the crew behind the event) gathered to throw their own soirée.
2022 was punctuated with operations that were smoother than our editor on a greased-up slip N slide. The festival achieved faster build times, more robust stage designs, and was accompanied by some of the coolest and weirdest kids the small-town folks in Modesto may ever see. During the event, campers competed in obstacle courses, dodgeball, archery, game show-style bingo, and so much more. Perhaps the most surprising part of the weekend was how effortlessly dance music fans at the event combined wide-eyed nostalgia with relentless sex appeal.
To relive the weekend or glimmer a bit of what you missed, take a few moments to peruse the pics below. And, buckle up, because if festival fashion, twerk-offs, and lap dancing can be a vehicle for communal seduction, then you’re definitely in for a wild ride.
