Reviving the Vibe: A Trip Thru Time at Yahn Dawn 2026

Pretty Lights Yahn Dawn took place at Meadow Creek in Buena Vista, Colorado – September 18-20, 2026.

Words and Images by Jared Root for Festy GoNuts

Yahn Dawn 2026 was my first Pretty Lights experience since catching him at Electric Forest in 2013. To say my vibe has been completely revived after a trip through time aboard the Soundship Space Bus at Meadow Creek in Buena Vista would be a massive understatement.

My very first Pretty Lights concert was back in 2009 at the intimate, 700-person Westcott Theatre in Syracuse, NY. I had so much fun that night that I impulsively hopped a train to Chicago for New Year’s Eve at the Vic Theatre just a few months later. I caught Prett Lights two more times in Philly in 2010 before trading space sounds for banjo runs and mandolin chops.

Having jumped firmly onto the bluegrass bus, I had seemingly forgotten just how much I love electronic basslines and synthesizers.

Yahn Dawn changed all of that.

Friday: The Vintage Genesis & Double Rainbows

From the moment we set up camp Friday morning, neighbors from all over Colorado, Tennessee, and New Jersey greeted us with hugs and smiles. The campground buzzed with a welcoming mix of community, excitement, and sheer wonder about what lay ahead.

Friday evening, we made new friends at the campsite until the skies cleared after a lengthy weather delay. We all howled together at the double rainbows arching across the eastern glow of the setting sun, rallying our campground block to head into the venue as one.

The first set started with the slow build-up of “A Trip Thru Time,” reminding the crowd we were in for a weekend of reflection on the jams that made us fall in love with these artists. The field erupted into a sea of waving arms and bouncing heads the moment the first beat drop hit, accompanied by a wave of perfectly timed lasers illuminating the night sky.

We received our first swirl of the weekend when the band mixed in Muse’s “Knights of Cydonia” to transition seamlessly into “The Time Has Come.” Derek welcomed the family back aboard with a greeting from ground control, swirling in David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” The rest of the night played heavily from the 2008 catalog milestone “Filling Up the City Skies,” featuring crowd favorites like “My Other Love,” “Summer’s Gone,” and “Up & Down I Go.”

​Saturday: The Mid-Era Full Send

Saturday brought a fresh daytime playlist. Pheel opened things up with a groovy set at the Prismatic Playa pond stage, followed by a bass-heavy performance from Thought Process, and Paul Bassic rounded out the afternoon. A short weather delay cleared to reveal another marvelous rainbow stretching from end to end across the campground. As the sun dipped behind Mt. Princeton, Emancipator blended live fiddle with thick basslines to get the crowd pumped for night two.

Derek welcomed us to sync up for the night with deep collective breaths, as a swirl-heavy rendition of “How Can You Lose” layered in iconic guitar chords and lyrics from Pink Floyd’s “Breathe,” reminding us all to breathe in and out. The evening brought heavy synths, deep bass, and dynamic mixes spanning the three iconic 2010 EPs: Making Up A Changing Mind, Spilling Over Every Side, and Glowing In The Darkest Night.

Following a soothing set-break interlude from Mikey Thunder, Set 2 opened with an explosive “Hot Like Dimes” that immediately got the entire crowd jumping. It was full send from the start, delivering a massive, legendary live mashup of Pretty Lights vs. Nine Inch Nails vs. Radiohead vs. Nirvana before sliding directly into a remix of “Time” by Pink Floyd.

Sunday: The Future Future Swirl

Sunday started with Saturna turning the bass up at the Prismatic Pond stage as we danced off the cold from the previous night’s sleep. RJD2 rounded out the afternoon with classic live scratches and hip-hop tracks. Gramatik brought high-tempo funk to the final sunset set of the weekend, leaving the crowd fired up by the time Pretty Lights took the stage.

Sunday night was pure magic. Derek greeted the crowd by setting an intentional tone: “Building a world of love, If y’all with that… that’s what we are doing out here after all!” The band immediately busted into a funky, soulful “Sunshine Coming Through,” magnifying the feeling of community love radiating through the venue. They transitioned smoothly into a slow build of the fan-favorite “Only Yesterday,” getting the crowd bouncing in perfect sync to ethereal space sounds and live scratches illuminated by every color of the rainbow.

The energy peaked with an uplifting, love-filled mashup of Tupac’s “Changes” and Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” After executing a brilliant, psychedelic vocal flip of The Jungle Book’s “The Bare Necessities,” Derek introduced the crowd to the live debut of “And In The End,” bringing the entire chronological trip full circle into the new music the production team is currently cooking up. The weekend rounded out with deep bass, moody, soulful samples about love, and unifying synthesizers that gently faded into the starry Buena Vista sky.

I truly cannot imagine a better experience to remind me of the wonderful community that is the Pretty Lights Family.

Welcome back aboard the Soundship.

~ Root