The beloved Sunset Campout music festival, held in Belden, California, is set to conclude after 16 years due to challenges like event competition and declining ticket sales. Launched in 2009 by DJs Galen Abbott and Solar Langevin, the festival drew about 1,500 attendees and featured DJs, elaborate light displays, and creative workshops. The final event, themed “Star Family Zenith,” will take place June 20 beside the North Fork Feather River. Abbott cites a shift in the socioeconomic climate and changes in ticket-buying patterns as contributing factors to the festival’s closure, while they plan to remain involved in local music events.
A cherished yet modest music festival in a secluded Gold Rush town in the Sierra Nevada has announced its closure after 16 years. In June, once the last attendee gathers their belongings and departs from the riverside in Belden, a small enclave in Plumas County, the Sunset Campout festival will be saying goodbye.
Founded by a duo of DJs and producers from San Francisco known as Sunset Sound System, the festival’s team shared that they reached this conclusion due to various factors like rising competition and slowing ticket sales, making it increasingly difficult to manage smaller, independent festivals in California.
“It’s the sweet 16,” co-founder Galen Abbott shared with SFGATE. “We’re all extremely passionate about this, and we’re calling it the ‘end of a cycle.’ Perhaps we’ll return in a few years, but it feels like the right moment. We’ll dedicate this final year to capturing all that we’ve created and bringing it home.”
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The concluding Sunset Campout, themed ‘Star Family Zenith’, is set for the weekend of June 20 along the North Fork Feather River, roughly 200 miles northeast of San Francisco. Abbott and co-founder Solar Langevin began hosting campouts in 2009, extending from their Sunset Sound System events, which have featured rogue parties and daytime raves in San Francisco since the 1990s.
The duo initially conducted their summer campouts in Willits, Mendocino County, before settling in the Sierra. These gatherings stretch well into the night, showcasing performances from DJs on two stages, along with immersive light displays, unique art installations, and a space known as the Faerie Ring, which hosts yoga, meditation, creative workshops, and ceremonies.
A DJ performing during the Sunset Campout in Belden, Calif.
A sound bath at the Faerie Ring during the Sunset Campout in Belden, Calif.
Since its inception in 2009, the Sunset Campout has been warmly accepted by the town of Belden, which has a small population of around 15 and a storied history of gold mining. The festival occurs near a narrow bridge built in 1937, topped with a martini glass, that spans the river beside the town’s primary establishment, the Belden Town Resort and Lodge.
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Jayme Kaufman, the resort manager, expressed her fondness for the yearly event, noting that attendees often return even during the slower seasons. “Half the people still come up because they love this place so much,” she shared. “Many have tied the knot at the resort after connecting at the Sunset Campout. I know of 20 different weddings resulting from that.”
According to Abbott and Langevin, the event can accommodate roughly 1,500 guests, necessitating a team of about 500 people to execute it. The festival sustains itself through the sale of approximately 900 tickets, but Abbott noted that they encountered a financial loss for the first time last year.
“That was tough,” he recounted. “It wasn’t just one issue that changed things. There’s been a significant shift in the socioeconomic landscape in the Bay Area that started even before the pandemic.”
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Sunset co-founders Solar Langevin (left) and Galen Abbott are credited with shaping West Coast rave culture.
Abbott elaborated on the festival’s dedication to non-mainstream music and noted that since 2009, a surge of summer events has intensified competition for ticket sales. Additionally, he has observed a trend where attendees now purchase tickets much closer to the date, complicating financial planning and organization for the festival.
Similar challenges have been faced by numerous festivals throughout California, including the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, Lucidity Festival, and even Coachella, which has not sold out for the past two years.
Tickets for the final campout start at $374, with options for volunteering or payment plans available. After the last event in June, Abbott is contemplating moving to Amsterdam to be closer to family, while Langevin plans to remain involved with local events. He noted that San Francisco has been “club oriented” for quite some time, but a burgeoning community of independent groups is emerging.
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“In terms of the San Francisco scene, it’s currently thriving, resembling the energy of our earlier days with warehouse parties and renegade events,” Langevin remarked. He mentioned an increase in underground parties in East Bay warehouses, as crews like Parameter host larger gatherings and platforms like SutroFM unite people.
The Sunset Campout festival takes place near a bridge in Belden, Calif.
Sunset is recognized for its role in influencing West Coast rave culture by helping to introduce Chicago acid house and European techno to the San Francisco scene, cultivating a diverse environment. Although the campout is set to end, Abbott and Langevin affirmed that Sunset would continue hosting other annual events, including the Spring Celebration at Yerba Buena Gardens in downtown San Francisco.
“We bring people together in ways that few other events do. It’s very San Francisco, very West Coast,” Abbott elaborated. “It’s also deeply intertwined with the flourishing queer culture here in the Bay. We’ve consciously worked to ensure those communities integrate. It’s been a unique part of fostering acceptance across all backgrounds. That’s not easy, but we’ve managed to achieve it in a way that feels truly meaningful.”
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Even for Kaufman, who usually doesn’t attend events like the Sunset Campout, the allure of the shows is undeniable.
“It’s marking the end of an era,” she stated, adding that, “If you want to experience one of the most incredible light shows in the world, you must come to Sunset. Everything is so perfectly orchestrated. They truly know their craft. I find myself up until 1 a.m., then awake at 4 a.m. to prepare breakfast for them.”