A Unique Celebration Unfolds: Texas Eclipse Festival Welcomes All to Experience Music, Yoga, and Immersive Art Under the Solar Eclipse
Amidst the anticipation of a celestial rarity, the organizers of Texas’s grandest celebration are abuzz with excitement, affirming, “This is one for the memory books.”
Texas is gearing up for an extraordinary influx of over a million individuals on Monday, April 8th, eager to witness a rare total solar eclipse gracing the skies, stretching its celestial canvas from the Texan border town of Eagle Point to the city of Texarkana.
In commemoration of this extraordinary event, Texas will host a plethora of festivals, each embodying the vibrant essence of Texan culture. From the renowned Salt Lick BBQ festival paying homage to the iconic Driftwood brisket and ribs establishment nestled in the heart of Texas Hill Country to the rugged escapade of Texas Traditions camping fest, where attendees willingly embrace the thrill of nature amidst the backdrop of “poisonous snakes, reptiles, spiders, and insects; diseased or startled animals, dogs, snares, and traps; ladders, deer blinds, trucks, jeeps, and four-wheelers.”
Yet, towering above all is the Texas Eclipse festival, unfolding its splendor across the vast expanse of Burnet, Tex., a hundred miles north of San Antonio. Spearheaded by a dynamic alliance of independent promoters, including the esteemed EDM luminary James Estopinal, under his newly rebranded Texas concert endeavor, Disco Presents; visionary technologist and entrepreneur, Mitch Morales, serving as the festival’s founder and guiding force; and the seasoned festival orchestrator, curator, and producer Gwen Gruesen from Symbiosis Gathering, hailing from the golden state of California.
At the heart of Texas Eclipse lies a stellar lineup, boasting the likes of U.K.’s musical maestro Paul Oakenfold, the dynamic American indie dance duo Big Gigantic, the seasoned dance virtuoso Tycho, and the electrifying Philly dubstep sensation Subtronics. Joining them are revered icons of the jam scene such as String Cheese Incident, Disco Biscuits, and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, alongside a myriad of others, including CloZee, Boogie T, LP Giobbi, Zeds Dead, and Bob Moses, enveloping the attendees across six meticulously curated stages, crafted in collaboration with the festival’s twelve global partners.
Gwen Gruesen, the sole witness among the trio to have beheld an eclipse firsthand, shares, “Eclipses captivate us with the promise of something greater, something beyond ourselves.” Drawing from her extensive experience orchestrating numerous festivals and immersive experiences around totality events worldwide, she emphasizes the role of event organizers in not merely complementing but spotlighting the eclipse as the central motif.
Echoing this sentiment, Morales asserts, “We refrain from scheduling any distractions during the totality event. The eclipse deserves our undivided attention.”
However, music constitutes only a fragment of the Texas Eclipse experience, as the camping festival unfolds an array of enriching engagements. Attendees can partake in enlightening sessions led by luminaries such as the fungi aficionado Paul Stamets, environmental advocate Adrian Grenier, and over twenty astronauts and researchers from the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. Moreover, the festival offers rejuvenating yoga sessions, invigorating movement workshops, and immersive artistic encounters courtesy of the visionary collective Meow Wolf, alongside enlightening workshops led by the visionary artist and storyteller Hannah Muse.
Reflecting on the monumental task of bringing Texas Eclipse to fruition, James Estopinal, a stalwart in the realm of live music promotion, acknowledges, “This has been one of the most formidable endeavors I’ve undertaken, owing to its remote location and sheer magnitude.” Yet, fueled by anticipation, Estopinal eagerly anticipates the unfolding spectacle, affirming, “This is an event that will be etched in memory, and I am eager to witness its realization.”
The 2024 eclipse will commence its celestial dance in the coastal city of Mazatlan, Mexico, around 11 a.m. CT, before embarking on its journey across the United States, commencing at Eagle Pass, Tex., at 1:30 p.m. CT, and traversing northeastward through Texarkana, Ark., before concluding its American sojourn in Caribou, Maine. Subsequently, the eclipse will bid farewell to American shores, venturing into Canadian territory, with its final viewing destination set in the French islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon.