The Weirdest Festival I Ever Went To (Bali's Saga Music Festival)

As we approached the gates of the Garuda Wisnu Park, I stopped in my tracks. The park was eerily quiet for a music festival.

Are you sure this is the right place? I asked my boyfriend, Colin. It sure doesn’t look like a music festival is going on.

Where were all the ravers dressed in booty shorts and candy? Where were all the obnoxious drunk college students loading trumpeting their arrival?

Something told me we were going to be in for an interesting night….

My boyfriend and I are big fans of electronic music. And we go to a lot of festivals in and around Los Angeles, plus a few times a year will even travel outside the state (and even country) for various occasions. But hands down the strangest festival I have ever been to was Saga Music Festival in Bali over Christmas.

We had plans to visit Bali around the time the volcano erupted. And although most people were cancelling their trips to Bali - we decided to go thru with it. We had already put a lot of money towards the trip and the reports from within Bali itself seemed fine….after extensive research, it felt that the fear was mainly being driven by western media outlets.

Bali at Christmas time is typically jam packed, but this year the crowds were very much reduced. (Which was just fine by us!!)

Leading up to the trip, we came across a festival that would be going on in Bali during the dates we were there and thought it could be a fun to check out. Neither of us had ever heard of Saga Music Festival & the lineup wasn’t super interesting to us, but we decided to take a chance and do something off the tourist trail. Who knows, maybe it could end up being a blast just like Coachella always is!

It fit perfectly within our plans - between Ubud and heading to Gili Trawangan - so we decided to go for it and grabbed Saturday passes to Saga. (Axwell Ingrosso, who I love, was playing Friday, but that day didn’t work with our schedule sadly).

We festival was taking place in Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park - which is in the south part of Bali, about a 10-15 min drive south of the airport. Feeling very lucky, we managed to get a hotel for the night within walking distance of the park. (That would never happen at home….we book our Coachella house a year in advance and will still be 4 miles away from the festival)

The evening of the festival, we pre-gamed at the rooftop bar and then decided to head over.

The path between the hotel and the park was a short 8-10 minute walk but it took us thru a less touristy part of Bali….no where to be found were the trendy vegan eateries or drunk Aussies.

In fact, as we approached the gates, I realized we really hadn’t seen ANY young folk who looked like they were ready to rage (as an electronic party would suggest).

We pulled up a map. Yep, no doubt about it, this was the right location. But even as we entered the park, there were very few people around.

As we trudged along the path, following the lit up Balinese pillars signaling the right direction, I started to wonder if this was all one massive scam. Was it too good to believe that internationally recognized DJs would participate in this little known festival? I had no idea.

When we got to the ticket booth, we finally started seeing people. Phew. It’s not a scam.

As we entered the festival arena, it was clear that the festival organizers were clearly expecting a much bigger turnout than actually came. Whether it was due to the volcano, people’s lack of interest in a Bali music festival, or whatever the reason — the place was empty.

The venue itself was one of the coolest I’ve ever been in. Floresquent beams of color shone onto sky-high stone pillars, and every so often you’d run into a grotesque, yet friendly, gargoyle tree beckoning you to come over for a selfie. There was something to draw a smile (or at least raise an eyebrow) around every corner.

While energetic beats could be heard throughout the park, the overall vibe felt hollow without the usual massive throngs of bouncing revelers.

Despite the tepid ambiance, we decided there was nothing a stiff drink couldn’t fix, and headed to the nearest bar.

Like the rest of the festival grounds, the bar was vacant — except for the bartenders. The more I think about it—there must have been 2 venue workers for every festival attendee….maybe 3! As we approached the bar, five young and eager bartenders practically ran over to us. The massive smiles & high pitched “Hi! What can I get you?!” totally gave away their age. My indecisiveness didn’t even bother them, as they promptly went down the cocktail menu making recommendations happily.

This definitely doesn’t happen at Coachella. We are used to waiting in line for 40 minutes to order drinks and are rushed aside as quickly as possible so the staff can get to the next customers.

As the bartenders continue chitchatting with us, we notice a small audience of curious and amused onlookers. It’s around this point that I start to notice that we are probably the only foreigners around. And we’re definitely getting a lot of attention as a result. Everyone wants to serve us and be our friend. (I’ll take it)

I took a photo in front of the empty music festival bar to remember this momentous occasion

Colin feeling the music….at his own private show.

We decide to wander around and go check out one of the stages nearby. Despite the boisterous beats and epic neon blue light show, I kid you not, there were like 10 people dancing at this ginormous stage. Granted it was a little on the early end…probably like 9pm….but STILL.

Where are the sweaty bodies jumping up and down and raging together?! What kind of festival is this!?

Starting to feel our drinks, we groove with the music and enjoy our private show. Sharing smiles with the other few patrons….each wondering what we are doing here.

Have I mentioned I have a bladder the size of a peanut? Well I do…..so within an hour of entering the festival, I’ve also made friends with all the bathroom attendant boys. Every time I show up, they hold my drinks and bag for me while I use the bathroom. Again, something that would never happen in a million years in the states. 1) there’s always a line, and 2) hold your own goddamn stuff.

The bathroom attendant boys’ youthful excitement was infectious and I didn’t even mind the million requests to take selfies with them. In a way, it gave me a glimpse into what it must feel like to be a celebrity….you approach and everyone knows who you are and is excited to see you. There were no other blonde girls at this festival—I stuck out (and I’m sure it didn’t hurt that I have a big personality when I drink too lol).

I’m sure those bathroom attendants (and bartenders) were all wondering, What is this random white girl doing at the festival? (I myself did not even know the answer). I probably spent more time emptying my bladder and taking selfies with the boys than actually at the music stages. But I decided to just embrace this newfound popularity. My new best friends promise to send me all our photos together.

Sadly none of them ever materialized.

The main stage at Bali’s Saga Music Festival

Colin and I finally make to the main stage where DJ Snake is the headliner for the evening. It’s probably around midnight or 1am at this point. And finally there is a bit of a crowd. Things are starting to feel less eerie. But it isn’t the sort of tight-packed environment that I’m used to for music festivals.

There’s tons of room for activities. Which was just fine with me because I like my space when I dance. The production value was great - creating an interesting juxtaposition to the mellow overall atmosphere.

We dipped out before the show ended. It was past our bedtime (we have a strange habit of go to bed at like 9pm when we travel). But it was definitely an experience that had us raising our eyebrows from start to finish. The venue was excellent, the lights and pyrotechnics on point, the line up had many internationally recognized electronic music acts….so where were the people? (Maybe Indonesians don’t go out until after midnight and we just went home before they got there?! I’d like to believe that)

To this day I’m stunned that this festival was able to go on with so few ticket sales….or were there more ticket sales from people who cancelled due to the volcano? I guess we’ll never know.

It certainly wasn’t Balinese Coachella, I’m glad we took a chance on something random like SAGA music festival. It’s a good reminder that sometimes the weird, offbeat experiences you decide to embrace (and stay up “late” for), turn out to be the best stories you walk away with.

Afterward Note: Upon a bit of research it also appears December 2017 was the first and last time Saga Music Festival in Bali.