Taos Vortex was this past weekend, and from the looks of it the New Mexico art collective Meow Wolf was able to pull off a truly immersive and psychedelic weekend for the lucky festival-goers in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Imagine being trapped in the world of Alice in Wonderland, but instead of wanting to evade card-Queens and creepy cats, you’re just trying to get to the stage to watch Lykke Li, Empress Of, and Flying Lotus. Don’t get us wrong, the Queen of Hearts and Cheshire Cat are there too, but they’re busy catching CocoRosie and seeing what the Desert Hearts crew is up to.
If that seems at all like a super weird way to describe a festival well, have you even heard of Taos Vortex? Last year’s Taos had a laser harp and a gummy bear pyramid and this year featured a medicinal sage seminar and hot air balloon rides. It’s legit nuts. The collective that puts on the even, Meow Wolf, is arts-focused — so Taos offers something that a lot of other summer festivals don’t: unchecked creativity. Sorry [insert literally any major festival], but I just don’t feel as inspired by your stages-named-for-sponsors when there are fests like this keeping it weird.
Enough of that, let’s get into the madness. Aside from our on the ground coverage — a reminder you need to follow the Uproxx Travel Instagram — we collected all the best photos from the Taos Vortex grounds. Let’s jump in!
