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The High Sierra Music Festival took place July 3-6 at the Plumas County Fairgrounds in Quincy, California. Thousands of people came to the event and here’s what a handful had to say about it:
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2025 High Sierra Music Festival
The High Sierra Music Festival took place July 3-6, 2025 at the Plumas County Fairgrounds in Quincy, California. Photos by Kyler Klix of the Nevada Appeal.
‘IT’S REALLY SPECIAL’
Lyndsey Boyer and James Edmiston came from Carson City. Boyer said it was her 10th year at the festival, and they have a big group of friends they camp with who travel from all over the region. They camp over in Hillside and name their camp “The Jaminals.”
“We have a pretty big camp, so friendship is a really big part,” she said. “It keeps us coming back.”
She said she likes the comfort and spaciousness of the festival and being able to lie out in the field and look at the trees and scenery. She said the festival brings in amazing music and the vendors have delicious food.
“It is very comfortable, accessible and unintimidating,” Boyer said. “Everyone is so kind and accepting and the place comes alive at night.”
Boyer said her favorite set of the weekend was John Craigie with the Coffis Brothers, which was a unique set for the festival.
“That was really lovely,” she said. “We’re big Craigie fans and that was really special.”
Edmiston said: “It was good to see him with a full band and the full shebang and so many guests.”
When Boyer was asked any last thoughts, she said: “High Sierra is very special and I know it’s kind of in jeopardy, so I feel like it’s an invitation to anyone who has ever been here or been on the fence or never heard of it. There’s kind of something for everyone. It’s such a family-friendly space. It would be pretty devastating to thousands of people for this event to not happen.”
She said even with their busy lives, they always make the festival a priority and make it happen.
“It’s really special and I hope it can continue.”
KIDS TALENT SHOW
Amber and Dan Vitale came from Reno with their two children, 3 and 5. They first came to the festival in 2018 and came every year except during the pandemic and the year after when they had their first child. Amber said it’s a good festival to bring their children to.
“It was a little hard, but they make it so easy with all the kids events,” she said. “It’s amazing, there’s a lot of activities.”
The 5-year-old daughter danced on stage at the kids talent show in the Family Village. The daughter had been doing a dance routine, and when she saw a talent show in the activity book, she decided she wanted to join.
When asked what they think of the festival, Amber said: “We just love it. It’s one of those special things where, until you come, you don’t really understand the magic of it.”
Dan said: “We hope it continues forever.”
FIRST TIME
Mike Godbe was a first timer at the festival, and he came from Bishop, California, to meet up with childhood friends from out of the area. He is a new parent, so this was the first time in a year and a half that he was able take a trip away from his family.
“I did not know much about it before and I didn’t know all the little components and parts,” he said. “Seeing all the musicians play with each other seems to be a real component of this. There’s a real sweetness between the artists that really shines through.”
He said he went to the Troubadour Sessions late at night, which puts singer songwriters together to tell stories and play acoustic songs.
“They don’t know what they’re going to play, and it just comes to them,” he said. “It feels like a musician’s festival.”
He said he also noticed how many children were running around and said it seemed like a good space for people with kids. Being a new parent, he said he would consider that in the future.
“I am thinking about bringing my kid,” he said. “I would not have thought it would be possible, but now I do.”
For any last thoughts he said: “Come experience it. I’d like to come again.”
THE VETERAN FESTIVAL-GOER
Danika Griffin from Truckee has been coming since 1996 and only missed one or two years.
When asked what keeps her coming back, she said: “Meeting incredible musicians, discovering new bands, family and community.”
Her favorite thing from the weekend was bringing new friends to the festival and getting to camp with them. She said it’s nice being able to share the experience with them.
“I hope High Sierra lasts for many more decades to come,” she said.
MISTERS AND ICE CREAM
Lykka, age 10, came for the first time with family and friends from Truckee. She said her favorite thing at the festival was the water misters and ice cream.
YOGA INSTRUCTOR
Tara Hostnik of South Lake Tahoe led a yoga class Sunday morning in the Grandstand field. She’s been coming since 2010 and this was her second year teaching a yoga class because her good friend Anne Marie, who has been teaching there for 23 years, asked Hostnik to do the Sunday class.
“She’s a really good friend of mine and asked me last year to take a day, and I was more than enthusiastic about that,” she said. “Super stoked.”
She said she enjoys having activities besides music to enjoy such as the puppet shows for kids, the parades and Shabbat Tent.
“Having little things to do that is just not music-centric is great and it allows people to connect in a different way, and I think it builds community a little bit more than just having music,” she said.
Hostnik said what she likes about the festival is the community and seeing everyone’s faces, the outfits they dress up in, and the different shenanigans at camps. She really enjoys the music the festival books and the intimacy she gets with smaller bands. She said it’s nice to see them in the crowd and engaging with the community.
“It’s so much about the smaller music, the smaller bands too for me,” she said. “Every time I come, I am just going to go with this new band because I’m sure they’re going to be amazing. It’s so great to discover new music.”
Last thing she’d like to add: “I love this festival.”
ENJOYS THE MUSIC
Brian Tierney was relaxing in a hammock waiting for a music playshop to start. He said it was his fourth time at the festival. He lives in New Orleans, and he stores a camper van in Grass Valley, so he can come to the festival and spend the month of July on the West Coast and visit other events while he’s here.
What keeps him coming back: “The music mostly,” he said. “I love the bands. They’ve always picked the style of music I like the most.”
He appreciates how most bands there play two sets on different days.
“That’s what I like most about the festival,” he said. “If you miss them the first time, you can often see them the second time.”
One of his favorite bands of the weekend was Dogs in a Pile.
Tierney is worried for the future of High Sierra, and he hopes the organizers find a way to make it happen. He said one complaint people had before the festival started was not having any big headliners, but that didn’t bother him.
“I have no complaints about that at all,” he said. “I like the second-tier bands just as much as I like the top-tier bands, so it’s all good.”
GIANT PUPPETS SAVE THE WORLD
On every day of the festival there is a parade that marches throughout the fairgrounds. They are held by Giant Puppets Save the World, led by Toni Mikulka from Grass Valley. This was Mikulka’s 10th year leading the parade after taking over from Third Planet Ceremonials, who were some of the leaders in the 1980s and started the giant puppet tradition, she said.
Mikulka creates the puppets and teaches workshops and stores them all in her studio in Grass Valley. One of her highlights from this year was taking the Giant Puppets parade through the John Craigie set, while he joked about it on stage.
“It was awesome,” she said.
She said she’s been to many other festivals and much larger ones and she said nothing compares to the live music she hears at High Sierra Music Festival.
“I’ve done EDC and other really big dance festivals, but they’re just not nearly as good as the pure, live musicians,” she said. “It’s a lot of really good live music here.”
You can see all Mikulka’s work and more online at giantpuppetssavetheworld.com and social media pages.
SILENT DISCO
Alex Nigro, from Southern California but currently living in Oakland, works doing the Silent Disco at night and it was his fourth High Sierra. He said he enjoys working at the event and it keeps him busy, but it’s fun.
“People really enjoy it and that’s good to see,” he said. “I guess I’m getting paid for it, but really the pay is the festival pass and getting to enjoy the festival when I’m not working.”
His favorite set of the weekend was seeing Andy Frasco & the UN. He mentioned Frasco’s antics of crowd surfing and having a rowdy time on stage but still being able to perform.
“It was completely nuts but still very tight musicianship,” he said. “It’s just really, really good. It’s just stacked with order and chaos to the extreme. They’re all really skilled musicians doing really difficult stuff.”
A new band he discovered was The Slip.
Nigro said he really enjoys the size and comfort of the festival. He works at many different events and says High Sierra is a healthy medium, with fair prices and no long lines to wait on bathrooms or other things.
“It feels like a festival, not just a sardine can where you get to see some concerts maybe if you show up 3 hours early,” he said. “I think this is the vibe that most festivals should be going after.”
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