After Sonic Bloom made the announcement to postpone until 2022, I was really bummed and worried about other events continuing to cancel through the summer. I made the decision to buy my ticket to Untz the day it was announced that they were moving forward and had Covid plans in place. I just needed reassurance that I wouldn’t be paying for yet another ticket for an event that wouldn’t happen. I had liked prior lineups for Untz, but was always hesitant to make the trip to Cali for a camping festival all the way from Missouri. I figured 2021 was the year to make it happen.
I flew out from STL to Sacramento solo on Thursday prior to the festival. I flew Southwest so I was able to check 2 items and have a carry on. My tent was checked as one bag, all my gear and bedding was checked in another bag, with all of my clothes in my carry on. I had dinner with some people from work and ended up having a few drinks. Maybe one or two too many, as I would end up regretting the slight hangover the next day. I had opted not to rent a vehicle and instead used Uber to get from the airport to restaurant, then from restaurant to my hotel in Yuba City. Uber was not so easy to get the next morning, and I ended up taking about a 5 mile walk to the closest dispensary, to secure some green for the weekend. A few hours later it was time to head to the gates, luckily, I was able to secure an Uber from Yuba to Sycamore Ranch.
I got dropped off right at the gates around noon and walked up with my luggage and showed them my ticket and vaccination card. It was a hot one, Friday ended up reaching over 100 degrees. Luckily they offered to give me a ride via golf cart to the area where GA camping was setting up on the Sycamore Ranch side of the creek. I was able to get camp set up pretty quickly thanks to my pop up tent, and stored the rest of my gear and luggage inside of it. I wanted to get out and walk around the grounds to get my bearings before all the evening festivities began. Sound checks were under way on both of the stages as they put on finishing touches, and I was able to get a great preview of the function one systems that would be the heartbeat of the festival all weekend long. Once music began there would be no rest, as it continued until sunrise and started back up at noon each day.
Friday night kicked off with Saka into Potions at main stage. They both threw down and got the vibes flowing. Cheethos was a crazy barrage of my senses and it continued non stop through kLL Bill. Yheti the man closed out main stage with a killer set sending us all buzzing to wormhole stage for more. Chee continued to deliver at the after hours stage, then Yheti and Of the Trees did a B2B of some DNB and 140+. By this time I was winding down and laid down on the grass on a blanket to get what little rest I could. Mr Bill led us into an amazing chLL Smith sunrise set as the sun began to light the sky.
Saturday started off with a couple yoga classes, after running by camp to get changed and washed up a bit. After yoga I was able to catch a little bit of the harm reduction workshop but wanted to see who the guest spots were at main stage. Music began at noon and I was happy to catch most of Honeybee as the 2nd secret guest spot. It was another hot day and I tried my best to keep out of the sun and stay cool. Finally by the time Pathwey took main stage the heat started dying down and things started turning up. Some more of my favorite artists took main stage as we were treated to a hawk. set, Supertask, Of The Trees, and finally closing out main stage was CharlestheFirst. Wormhole stage didnt let the energy stop there, as Digital Ethos, VEIL, and Black Carl drifted into a beautiful Ghost Approach sunrise set.
Sunday again started off with some yoga to get stretched and loose, I was able to catch an acro yoga session where we learned some cool moves to do with a partner and spotter. After yoga I went to take a dip in the Yuba river to clean up a bit. The ice cold water was refreshing as the sun climbed further into the sky for another hot day. I tried my best to stay cool and conserve energy as Spicy Bois and DDD crew would be throwing down that night at main stage. Yheti ended up throwing a surprise guest set and played some more of his unreleased and experimental songs Sunday afternoon much to everyone’s delight. After that I caught a little bit of the cannabis and painting workshops before things got started for the evening.
Spicy Bois crew threw down Sunday evening rising the vibes for our final night at the festival. They finished off with a B2B2B2B of the whole crew and seemed like they had a blast. After Spicy Bois I pretty much stage hopped back and forth between Deep Dark and Dangerous at main stage and Lost Dogs and Bass Waffles takeover at wormhole stage. I planned ahead this time and was able to get a hammock set up for the after hours sets. Ternion Sound finished off the festival with their first ever sunrise set which they slayed. Unfortunately my time in Cali had just about come to an end. I still wasn’t sure exactly how I’d be getting to the airport in just a few hours, and needed to begin packing up camp.
After making my way to camp I was able to get a hold of a taxi service from the closest town to get me to the airport in time for my flight. I packed up my things, gave out my last few party favors, and dragged everything back to the front of the festival grounds to meet my ride. I was lucky to have called him when I did as several others were also now calling attempting to get rides from the festival grounds. I met a lot of awesome people out in Cali and definitely could feel the love on the west coast. The Untz was a total west coast homie fest and everyone was full of love and light. There are a few things I hope they account for better for the future. More porter potties, seemed the amount they had always ended up filling up by end of the night and would be really gross by late night. Also, I heard several complaints about the medic crew not being available or not taking things seriously which is majorly disappointing. Another major issue was several people ended up having catalytic converters stolen off of their cars, which were parked in the festival parking area. I hope in the future they secure the attendees vehicles much better if they aren’t going to allow you to car camp. All in all I cant wait to make a return in the future and see what else Untz has in store. Until then west coast.