2024

We’re back. Dripping returns to the woods of Sparta, NJ for our second edition. The first year was an experiment, a mission statement and a leap of faith. Ultimately, it was a dream come true. For 2024 we’re extending that same energy: rich and emotive live performances, singular DJs — some feral, some cerebral, all fun as hell — and a strong representation of the local community. We exist to shine a bright light on the music & art that moves us and we’ve invited a massive crew to take you on a soul ride. Tap in. 

Tickets

Tickets are available through Resident Advisor.

Artists

Artists
Ayesha
I became more aware of my desire to make visceral body-hitting music that was inspired by my diaspora. I wasn’t finding enough of it while digging as a DJ, so I wanted to try making it for myself.
Azu Tiwaline
The house where I live, surrounded by this palm grove, at the gates of the desert, is very special. The energies present are very strong, intense and incredibly liberating. I consider this place a sacred temple open to all who feel its call, of which I am the guardian. When I am there, cut off from the world, isolated from everything, the only presence is this nature around me, the sound of insects at night, the song of birds in the morning, the water that flows when I irrigate the palm trees, the radio of one of my neighbors in the distance, the calls to prayer a few kilometers away in the nearest village. So yes, it’s an integral part of my sound environment that I integrate in a natural way into my music.
Bendik Giske
You can’t fake, you have to actually live it, that’s what it is. I found that there is interesting clarity and vulnerability on the limit to exhaustion. I enjoy working on momentum. I move my body, prolong my breath and control all these aspects to the point where it gets risky. I enjoy getting to that point, which also has a very strong empathic power. That’s where I start to connect with people, where it feels risky.
Carmen Villain
I think it's just the presence of breath. It brings humanity in very strongly, it makes things more intimate, which is the key.
Elena Colombi
I never plan the whole thing out, I hate structure! Influences come from all over, and I realize if you focus on each song individually perhaps it might make little sense! But my admittedly anarchic taste is what glues the whole thing together and makes it “mine.”
G. Zifcak
But I’ll ask the question back to you: How do you see your creative identity fitting into the contemporary modes of social interaction that happen across corporate-controlled platforms on the internet?
Gaze (Relaxer & aka-Sol)
There's a space, like an ecosystem of sound. A hissing, humid mental landscape… the music not just as layers of parts or instruments, but as an interacting ecosystem.
Jake Muir
My general artistic practice is indebted to hip-hop. The idea of sampling as far as hip-hop goes is taking the best part of something. You’re taking the sick parts, putting them together, and getting rid of the rest of the trash. So is it somehow worse or less than the original? I don’t think so. In fact, I’d argue it’s the other way around.
Kilbourne
Many contemporary records are so glammed up that I’m like, why do we need to hear another recycled speech about violence, or man’s purpose, or aliens? Get to the damn kick drum.
NTHNL
The flute is the oldest instrument we have evidence of, dating back at least 40,000 years to both humans proper and neanderthals. This instrument is almost as universal as music itself, across human culture it serves as the gateway between the spiritual and the corporeal. The cosmic flute music is joyous and absurd. You are supposed to come away feeling free, like you have permission, like the world is huge and expansive and full of beauty and possible meaning.
Nailah Hunter
My art is about healing. My art is about creating safe and lovely places for the mind, body, and soul to rest. My art is about reminding others of their capacity to be soft in a world that encourages & rewards the opposite. I hope that people who experience my art are reminded to go outside and appreciate the sun and the moon and our planet. I also hope to encourage other black girls to play the harp!
Nexcyia
My approach is to convey a sense of otherness and alienation – I like to abstract my melodies as much as possible while layering textures and field recordings – the main aim is to connect to those who have felt othered while sonifying a sense of resilience.
Pent
People call me “ambient” a lot and I wholeheartedly disagree. I do like Brian Eno’s definition that it’s as ignorable as it is interesting, but I’m not trying to make something that’s ignorable. I’m trying to make something that’s confrontational.
Sigrid Lauren
Creating with dance, it’s undeniable, the body is political. My earlier works focused on the politics of the female body and creating new archetypes of what this body is. But again, to me, dance is movement and movement is change. Beyond gender, beyond class; my relationship continues to shift and I believe I am still at the very beginning.
Sully
When I listen to music I like that direct line to someone’s way of thinking and feeling, it doesn’t matter what the genre is, it’s that strength of voice that grabs my attention. That’s something I strive for.
Surya Botofasina
Every place, every key, every piano I feel a deep desire to honor and greet. My keyboards and synthesizers are electronic expressions of soul calling and joy.
Tongue In The Mind (Juliana Huxtable, Jealous Orgasm & Via App)
Everything is musical or poetic or a metaphor for me, because I have it in my head all day. I am making symphonic music in my head 24/7. At the same time, nothing literally musical influences my sound. People influence my sound.
Upsammy
When I go out dancing I just want to be surprised all the time. I don't want to have to rely on taking a substance to have fun. I just want to hear the weirdness in the music.
10 Years of Groovy Groovy
Akanbi
I’m just a shepherd to let the music play – everyone who wants to eat is invited to eat.
Ayanna Heaven
That's my thing, every week I just keep digging deeper and deeper. There's just so much music. It's never ending. I like to give people what they're not expecting, tell stories and give credit where credit's due.
BRAVA
Me impulsa mi corazón y decirle al mundo lo que siento supongo.. Y ¿qué siento haciéndolo? Un gustazo.
Baby Leo
Baby Leo is going to seriously fuck you up.
Chuki
Performance, tinkering and pranks predated my formal art practice. I once convinced my high school that I'd lost a leg.
DJ Temporary
I like it when it seems so simple. It seems so simply put, but using these timbres that are very new sounding. It’s not overtly avant garde, it’s still tied to these basic trance or techno patterns that seem to be prehistoric in nature.
LOIF
The mysterious world beneath the shores.
The Large
I’m not afraid to be a walking cliché when I say music is my life.
Human Pitch Showcase
Asa Tone
I’m sure that seeing so much green, getting so much sunlight, and welcoming little geckos into the space had an effect on what we made.
Simisea
Opening up a portal into the Human Pitch showcase Saturday afternoon with tropical psychedelia and bioluminescent flickers of slow-growth percussion.
Tristan Arp
Giving voices to imaginary creatures.
Hannah Baer Presents: Reading & Movement
Hannah Baer returns Dripping to curate a series of readings. As with last years’ day programming, these provide another path of entry, a form of processing, and an expansion of the experience beyond raving. Writers and poets David Velasco, Early Shinada, Juliana Huxtable, Kyle Dacuyan and Zora Jade Khiry will offer a midday outdoor reading. Baer and choreographer Josie Bettman collaborate on an afternoon workshop at The Inn.
Pauline Oliveros’  "Teach Yourself To Fly"
Pauline Oliveros was one of the 20th century’s most seminal electronic composers and a major figurehead of the West Coast’s post-war community of radical artists, performers and progressive thinkers. Dripping 2024 kicks off with a participatory experience of “Teach Yourself to Fly,” a Sonic Meditation from 1974. This will be led by certified Deep Listening practitioners Sarah Van Buren and Grace Woodard. Get ready for liftoff.
"Deep Listening is listening in every possible way to everything possible to hear no matter what you are doing. Such intense listening includes the sounds of daily life, of nature, or one's own thoughts as well as musical sounds. Deep Listening represents a heightened state of awareness and connects to all that there is." – Pauline Oliveros
"Considered as a healing practice — or a "tuning of mind and body" — Oliveros’s Sonic Meditations are, to an extent, unique in the history of musical experimentalism. In these works, experiments were not conducted on the music; the music was an experiment on the self. Anyone searching today for the complete box set of “Sonic Meditations” won’t find it, because, as the composer wrote, “music is a welcome by-product” of this composition. The experiments remain in each listener. Oliveros’s aims were clear: these works were intended to be transformational, even therapeutic, enacting lasting changes on the body and mind." – Katy O'Brien
Pauline Oliveros & the ♀ Ensemble
Sarah Van Buren
Grace Woodard
Past
expand_more
Ehua | SPF 50 | Gaze | Pent & Stuart B. Meyers
Nov 9, 2023
Azu Tiwaline | Nap b2b AKA-Sol | Baby Leo with Bruja | Ben Bondy | Shawn Reynaldo and Avalon Emerson
Sept 21, 2023
Artrice | Earthen Sea | Gaze | James K | Maserati | Raw Unkut
May 18, 2023
Ulla | Ma Sha | K Wata | Relaxer & AKA-Sol | Baby Leo | Ley
Apr 20, 2023
Kiernan Laveaux | Davis Galvin | Jake Muir | Relaxer & AKA-Sol | Emilie Weibel
Feb 9, 2023
Elori Saxl | Trophy Hunt | Ohyung | Relaxer & Baby Leo
Nov 30, 2022
Ben Vida & Lea Bertucci | Ex Wiish | Relaxer & AKA Sol Feat. Gryphon Rue | Stuart Meyers
Aug 10, 2022
Charmaine Lee | Pent | Relaxer & AKA Sol
May 25
Dripping At Nowadays
Nov 9, 2023
Nowadays, Queens, New York
Ehua | SPF 50 | Gaze | Pent & Stuart B. Meyers
Dripping at Nowadays
Sept 21, 2023
Nowadays, Queens, New York
Azu Tiwaline | Nap b2b AKA-Sol | Baby Leo with Bruja | Ben Bondy | Shawn Reynaldo and Avalon Emerson
Dripping at Nowadays
May 18, 2023
Nowadays, Queens, New York
Artrice | Earthen Sea | Gaze | James K | Maserati | Raw Unkut
Dripping at Nowadays
Apr 20, 2023
Nowadays, Queens, New York
Ulla | Ma Sha | K Wata | Relaxer & AKA-Sol | Baby Leo | Ley
Dripping at Nowadays
Feb 9, 2023
Kiernan Laveaux | Davis Galvin | Jake Muir | Relaxer & AKA-Sol | Emilie Weibel
Dripping at Nowadays
Nov 30, 2022
Nowadays, Queens, New York
Elori Saxl | Trophy Hunt | Ohyung | Relaxer & Baby Leo
Dripping at Nowadays
Aug 10, 2022
Nowadays, Queens, New York
Ben Vida & Lea Bertucci | Ex Wiish | Relaxer & AKA Sol Feat. Gryphon Rue | Stuart Meyers
Dripping at Nowadays
May 25
Nowadays, Queens, New York
Charmaine Lee | Pent | Relaxer & AKA Sol

Festival FAQ

Festival FAQ
Tickets

Dripping tickets must be purchased in advance through ra.co. Shuttle bus rides and parking passes are also available as add-ons to your ticket. Admission is limited to 750 and no tickets will be sold at the door. If you want to come to Dripping and cannot afford to pay full price, we have a set amount of discounted tickets available. These are for people in marginalized communities or who are experiencing adversity. If that does not describe you, these tickets are not for you. If you want to help pay for someone else’s ticket, donations of any amount can be sent via PayPal. Please include "community support" in the subject heading.

Location

Dripping will be held at 251 White Lake Road, Sparta, New Jersey, rain or shine. Most performances will take place indoors. The site is a beautiful 200 acres of forest, wooded paths, and a large private lake. We encourage you to explore and enjoy the site. Please help us maintain the grounds by picking up after yourself and leaving no trace. Our host venue is called Camp Sacajawea. The name is a holdover from the site’s previous owners and stands as a reminder of both the violent history of colonialism and the erasure and co-optation of indigenous cultures. These are forces which continue to shape our world today. We acknowledge that this gathering takes place on grounds that was, is, and always will rightfully be the land of the Ramapo Munsee Lenape people.

Camping

Everyone at Dripping will be tent camping. If you are new to camping in a tent, do not worry, this is a beautiful and easy place to do it. Convenient gear rental is available through OUTDOORS GEEK, which will ship your rented gear directly to the festival (Use coupon code DRIPPING2024 and order by 5/29/24). When you are done, just pack it up and leave it at the designated spot in the dining tent and we will ship it back for you. If you are a person that is absolutely unable to camp in a tent for two nights but would still like to attend, we recommend booking accommodation nearby as soon as possible. Trailers and glamping structures are not allowed. Camping will be dispersed throughout the site and is allowed anywhere out of direct view of either stage or the lake. The midsummer sun will rise very early, and we highly recommend setting up your tent in a place that has shade. Arrival on Friday June 14th before dark is encouraged. Darkness is a part of the experience at Dripping. The majority of the sprawling site is unlit. This is both a reality of camping and as a part of the unplugged experience. Everyone should bring headlamps and flashlights.

Driving and Parking

Dripping is a 1.5-2 hours drive from NYC depending on traffic. Parking on-site is limited and requires a pre-purchased parking pass. These can be purchased as an add-on to your ticket through ra.co. Carpooling is strongly encouraged and parking off-site is not possible or allowed.

Shuttle Bus

If you are traveling from NYC, we recommend riding the shuttle bus. Buy a bus ticket as an add-on to your general admission ticket on ra.co. Bus pickup and drop off will be at Nowadays.

Check-in

If you are taking the shuttle bus, check in will take place when you board the bus at Nowadays. For those driving, check-in will be from 3pm - 12am on Friday next to the parking area. Saturday check-in hours will be limited from 1-5pm. Please plan your trip accordingly.

Trash and Cigarettes

Respect for the site is essential and we need all attendees to help us maintain the natural beauty of the grounds. We have a Leave No Trace policy, and ample trash cans will be provided. Do not leave any trash on the ground, period. Cigarettes must be disposed of in designated orange buckets. We want to keep working with the venue for many years to come, please help make that a reality.

Facilities

Ample portable toilets and showers will be brought in for the weekend (showers will be hot this time). Please bring biodegradable soap (ie: Dr Bronner’s) as all shower water will drain into the ground.

Swimming

Swimming at the lake is allowed when a lifeguard is on duty. There are some boats available and people are welcome to bring their own floatables. If you do so, please remember to take them with you.

Food

Our food offerings have expanded since 2023. We’re putting in extra effort to make sure that everyone has a delicious weekend. This year we’re working with four chefs from within the community to provide a variety of options for all diets. Taqueria Ramirez will return alongside Kowloon Baby, Lj Almendras, and Picklejuice NYC. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served. At every lunch and dinner, there will be two separate teams offering different meals. Full menus will be announced in the lead up to the festival. Coffee, tea, and snacks will be available from 109 Montrose, and The Dungeon cafe will return with a variety of earth’s blessings. That said, if you prefer to bring your own food, please do. Outside alcohol is not allowed.

Wellness

An EMT can be found during all hours at the Wellness Center, behind the dining tent.

We also have a team of safe space workers at the stages who are available to assist with any wellness-related issues or dancefloor concerns. They can be identified by their glowing wristbands. Security will be on site as well to help you. Testing by a DanceSafe affiliate will take place from 6-11pm both nights in the Wellness Center.

What to Bring
  • Cash/Card/ID: Our vendors will accept cash and card. An ID that matches your ticket will be required for entry. If you use a different name than your ID, please be able to show the purchase confirmation email.
  • Waterproof camping tent, sleeping pad, blanket/sleeping bag: We don’t expect rain, but you want to be prepared for it. Again, we also recommend finding a shady spot to pitch your tent as it will be hot and the sun will rise early.
  • Refillable water bottle. Free drinking water will be readily available throughout the site.
  • Flashlight/Headlamp. It gets very dark at night. There are paths, but you are in the woods, and site lighting will be minimal.
  • Swimsuit and towel. There is a large natural lake for bathing, boating, and playing. There will be a lifeguard on duty for limited hours. Swimming outside those hours is not allowed.
  • Picnic blanket for relaxing. Some performances will allow for floor/lawn seating…get cozy.
  • External battery. Again, we are in the woods and there are no outlets available. Charge up and come prepared.
  • Sunscreen, bugspray, wetwipes etc. Bring anything you need to feel comfortable outdoors for a peak summer weekend.
  • A good attitude: All are welcome at Dripping. Please treat fellow attendees and staff in a kind and respectful manner.
What NOT to Bring
  • Absolutely NO weapons, alcohol, drugs, laptops, electronics, fireworks, illegal stuff, expensive stuff, confetti/glitter, camping stoves.
  • A bad attitude. Discriminatory behavior, cruel or abusive language, aggression towards others, burdensome entitlement, and leering will get you kicked out and banned from future events.
  • Trailers or glamping structures: Glamping, RV camping or anything involving much more than setting up a tent is not going to work here.
  • Extra speakers or instruments. We’ve got you covered.
  • Pets, anyone under 21 years old, people without tickets.
Information Sharing On-Site

Last year, some set times and locations had to be changed during the event. If that happens again this year, updates will be shared on a bulletin board just outside The Inn. 

We will also be sharing updates on our Discord, which is now public. Join here for the most immediate notifications in the lead up to Dripping, to coordinate carpools, share camping tips etc. 

Connect

Dripping is organized by Daniel Martin-McCormick and Leo Miller. Dripping at Nowadays is organized by Daniel Martin-McCormick and Sol León. Design and website by M.C. Madrigal.
All Content © 2024
We'll be back on Feb 20th at 12PM EST