There are music festivals, and then there was Field of Vision, a dimension-bending celebration hosted by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard that felt less like a concert and more like a cosmic ritual. Held over three days in the mountain-wrapped paradise of Meadow Creek in Buena Vista, CO, it was a space where dragons floated down creeks, spirits were honored, and glitter-covered goblins danced in the dust to Turkish psych-rock, Aboriginal funk, and, of course, thrash metal.
This wasn’t just another Gizzard show. It was another world, and for a few transcendent days, we got to live inside it.
Lake of Dreams
Mornings at Field of Vision began with a gasp-inducing plunge into the icy, glacial-fed creek. Babe Rainbow’s lead singer, Angus Dowling, said one fan told him that a plunge in the creek takes five drinks off the hangover from the night before.
At 10 a.m. each day, the first scheduled activity, “Acid Yoga,” began, led by King Gizzard multi-instrumentalist Ambrose-Kenny Smith‘s mother. After morning yoga and some funny anecdotes from Amby’s mom, DJ sets started at the beach. People drifted across the water on inflatables shaped like alligators, lizards, dragons, and dinosaurs, bobbing along in time with the beat. I even took a spin in a giant pink inflatable Cadillac, easily the size of a New York apartment, while the Sawatch mountain range loomed in the distance.
Mosh of Madness
By nightfall, the dream twisted into delirium. As King Gizzard took the stage, the crowd transformed into a wild, costumed horde. The pit wasn’t just a mosh of crashing bodies, it was a portal to another realm: people scurried around in the dust pretending to be goblins, warlocks in full robes cast spells, and people of all genders leaped around gleefully in nothing but underwear and terrifying masks. The pit ebbed and flowed between a thrashing, violent mosh and a blend of interactive, otherworldly dancing. It was collaborative madness, a joyful unraveling.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Curators of Catharsis
Over three nights, King Gizzard played more than nine hours of music. The band pulled from deep within their catalog, delivering sprawling, genre-hopping sets that swung from metal to ambient to synth-rave, spiritual folk to brutal noise, all threaded together by their signature chaos.
Friday
Following a “Gamme Knife” weekend opener, “People-Vultures” ignited the crowd early and had the valley singing together in chorus. Later, “Kepler-22b” was performed with the band’s synth machine (nicknamed Nathan), bleeding seamlessly into a guttural “Gilgamesh” that made the entire Earth feel like it was pulsing. The mosh pit erupted during the extended “Mind Fuzz” suite: “I’m in Your Mind” > “I’m Not in Your Mind” > “Cellophane” > “I’m in Your Mind Fuzz”, a run that pushed the crowd into a collective frenzy.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard — “Mind Fuzz Suite” — 8/15/25
[Video: Bootleg Gila]
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard — “Gilgamesh” — 8/15/25
[Video: Bootleg Gila]
Stu Mackenzie introduced “Inner Cell” by saying, “This song is about dictators. They’re f–ng losers,” propelling the band through a crushing sequence of “Inner Cell” > “Loyalty” > “Horology”, a deliberate challenge of authoritarian control.
To cap off a dizzying opening night of Field of Vision, founding Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra joined Gizzard onstage for a ripping version of punk classic “Police Truck”. More than just a single-song sit-in, the guest appearance fulfilled a dream the band had harbored since their early days in Melbourne when they applied to open for the Dead Kennedys, but their pitch email went unanswered. After the song, Stu shouted, “Free Palestine and f–k the police!” a statement that guitarist Joey Walker would echo once again on Sunday.
Saturday
Saturday’s set was the kind of performance that keeps fans traveling from around the globe to bear witness to King Gizzard.
The show included a surprise collaboration with 14-year-old fan Callum who held up a sign asking to play “Superbug” on Stu’s guitar, with the wily frontman gladly obliging. The band members possibly enjoyed the sit-in more than anyone, as the adolescent hardly cracked a smile while remaining singularly focused on executing the stoner metal riff, paying little mind to the crowd of thousands screaming in support.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Callum — “Superbug” — 8/16/25
[Video: Bootleg Gila]
“Grim Reaper” that night exploded into one of the most chaotic mosh pits of the weekend, and the band’s full performance of Murder of the Universe’s third act was one of the most visually and emotionally intense experiences of the festival. With the melancholic robotic narrator’s words projected onscreen and a glitching, sci-fi-inspired aesthetic, “Welcome to an Altered Future” > “Digital Black” > “Han-Tyumi the Confused Cyborg” > “Soy‐Protein Munt Machine” > “Vomit Coffin” > “Murder of the Universe” unfolded as a hair-raising dystopian opera. Ambrose’s harmonica screamed through “Vomit Coffin”, anchoring the chaos with bluesy anxiety.
Later in the set, the band invited Jay Weinberg of Slipknot to join them for “Le Risqué”. Each band member took a verse: Joey sang first, followed by Michael Cavanagh who jumped into the crowd mid-song, then Amby, and finally Stu closed it out. It was theatrical, wild, and caused a frantic mosh in the crowd.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Jay Weinberg — “Le Risqué” — 8/16/25
[Video: Bootleg Gila]
As if that wasn’t theatrical enough, “Hot Water” played as a hot air balloon lifted off behind the stage like some dystopian Wizard of Oz was arriving at the party. “Boogieman Sam” jammed out with harmonica fury, and “Straws in the Wind” took on a heavier, more metallic edge. They closed with a blistering psych, funk, metal, indigenous fusion of “Rattlesnake”, joined by Dimathaya Burarrwanga and Yimila Gurruwiwi of King Stingray on the yidaki (didgeridoo).
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, King Stingray — “Rattlesnake” — 8/16/25
[Video: Bootleg Gila]
Sunday
Sunday was “Drag Day,” and hundreds of patrons and performers came dressed for the part. There was a drag show hosted by Yvie Oddly, drag storytime at the lake, and a drag tent where anyone could go to get dolled up with glitter, lashes, makeup, and funky gender-bending clothes. King Gizzard performed their set in full drag, with Stu rocking a hot pink wig and flowing dress, Joey in booty shorts and a crop top that said “Cunt,” Michael in a wild hairstyle of three pigtails, and everyone caked in makeup.
But amid all the revelry, no moment hit harder than the band’s tribute to Matt Gawiak, a fan who collapsed in the crowd during Friday’s show and later passed away that evening. That night, the band had stopped the music for over 15 minutes while nurses in the audience gave CPR and medical staff arrived.
Late into Sunday’s show, Stu took the mic and said, “We lost a member of our community,” before dedicating the song to Matt and sending the band’s love and condolences to his family. The crowd chanted Matt’s name as the sense of mourning was shared not only in Meadow Creek, but with the thousands of fans tuning in worldwide to the free weekend-long stream on YouTube. The band launched into a gorgeous, emotional jam of “Float Along – Fill Your Lungs”, transforming the song into a shared moment of grief and gratitude as people danced with tears in their eyes. The band would ultimately close its third and final show at Field of Vision with Ambrose dedicating a powerful anthem of “The Dripping Tap” to Matt.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard — “Float Along – Fill Your Lungs” — 8/17/25
[Video: Bootleg Gila]
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard — “The Dripping Tap” — 8/17/25
[Video: Bootleg Gila]
Voices From the Edges of the World
On Sunday night, Joey announced to the crowd that the festival had attendees from over 50 countries and had the most attendees from different countries of any festival in Colorado. The festival’s lineup was as diverse as its crowd. In total, over 20 acts performed, from indie-psych mainstays to radical experimentalists.
King Stingray blended Indigenous Australian instruments with rock, pop, and electronic elements. The band’s deeply spiritual tribal set heavily incorporated what they called “the oldest instrument in the world,” the didgeridoo, which hummed like an ancient voice across the valley. They honored their ancestors and shared their story as members of Australia’s first people, explaining the theology behind each song, connecting music to spirituality, and at times speaking in their native language.
King Stingray — Field Of Vision — Buena Vista, CO — 8/16/25 — Full Video
[Video: Bootleg Gila]
Gaye Su Akyol emerged like a being from another planet. The East-meets-West Turkish psych-rock felt at times like the anthem for a villain sauntering into town and at times like a magic spell being cast over the crowd. There was a powerful build in the music from lullabies to screams, as the band performed with the wind in their hair and a rainbow painted across the sky.
The supporting sets ranged from SPELLING‘s nightmarish trip-hop to The Mystery Lights‘ dusty desert psych, bringing the garage rock ethos to the middle of the Meadow. White Fence brought a surreal blend of fuzzed-out surf rock layered with eerie dissonance, while Slipknot’s Jay Weinberg and Argus played an instru-metal set for all those who dared to headbang in the midday sun.
The Mystery Lights — Field Of Vision — Buena Vista, CO — 8/16/25 — Full Video
[Video: Bootleg Gila]
Jay Weinberg & Argus — Field Of Vision — Buena Vista, CO — 8/17/25 — Full Video
[Video: Bootleg Gila]
The kings of the undercard Babe Rainbow played three sets, including a late-night ambient set, a serene Sunday morning set where they invited the crowd to sit, and a groovy main stage set with electronic elements. Frontman Angus Dowling described the Byron Bay band’s inspirations as “Gold Nuggets, Buena Vista Social Club, and the Gypsy Kings.”
Babe Rainbow (Geoponika Set) — Field Of Vision — Buena Vista, CO — 8/17/25 — Partial Video
[Video: Bootleg Gila]
Dreamland for the Different
Field of Vision wasn’t just a festival: it was a fully realized world, dreamed up by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and brought to life through sound, community, and fearless imagination. Set against the surreal beauty of Buena Vista’s mountains, creeks, and skies, it offered more than just music; it created a sanctuary where nature, art, and radical freedom collided.
There was space for everyone to dance, to mourn, to protest, to be weird, to be loud, soft, and everything in between. The environment felt like a portal, one where goblins and drag queens moshed side by side.
Several fans described it as the best weekend of their lives, with many calling Saturday night’s set the greatest King Gizzard show they’d ever seen. In a world that often demands conformity, Field of Vision offered something rare: the chance to fully let go and be a part of something authentic and untamed.
Check out a gallery of photos from King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s Field of Vision festival courtesy of photographer Christian Stewart along with the nightly setlists. Days two and three are still available to stream on the band’s YouTube channel. Watch some highlights below and find a full trove of videos on Bootleg Gila. Gizzard has international dates through the rest of the year in the U.K., Europe, and Australia. Find tickets and tour dates here.
Field Of Vision — Meadow Creek — Buena Vista, CO — 8/16/25 — Full Stream
Field Of Vision — Meadow Creek — Buena Vista, CO — 8/17/25 — Full Stream
