Yahn Dawn 2026 Gives Pretty Lights Nearly Ten Hours

The complete set times place a three-hour-plus Pretty Lights performance at the center of every night in Buena Vista.

The first thing that jumps out in Yahn Dawn’s 2026 set times is how little the event tries to cram onto its Main Stage.

LP Giobbi opens Friday with her Dead House set. Emancipator brings a live performance on Saturday, and Gramatik takes the opening slot on Sunday. Each artist then hands the stage to Pretty Lights for three hours and 15 minutes, giving the band nine hours and 45 minutes across the weekend.

That is the real story behind Yahn Dawn’s schedule. The event returns to Meadow Creek in Buena Vista, Colorado, from September 18 to 20 with a timetable built to let a small number of musical ideas run long. Pretty Lights’ A Trip Thru Time concept anchors each evening, tracing the project’s discography across three extended performances instead of compressing it into a conventional festival headline slot.

The result is a weekend that feels closer to a Pretty Lights residency with its own surrounding community than a standard multi-artist festival.

Yahn Dawn 2026 Set Times Protect the Main Event

Pretty Lights will perform from 7:45 to 11:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Sunday’s closing performance runs from 6:45 to 10:00 p.m.

That gives each night a very simple Main Stage schedule. There is one opening performance, a 30-minute changeover, and then an uninterrupted Pretty Lights set.

LP Giobbi opens Friday at 6:00 p.m. with Dead House, her project pairing house music with the Grateful Dead catalog. Emancipator occupies the same 6:00 p.m. slot on Saturday, with Gramatik opening Sunday at 5:00 p.m.

A Trip Thru Time begins before the official weekend as well. Early Arrival campers can attend the Taking Up Your Precious Time pre-party at Prismatic Playa on Thursday, September 17. The 4:30 p.m. gathering features Pretty Lights founding member Michal Menert alongside Derek, Mikey Thunder, Mossy Projects and special guests.

Anyone who has followed my recent event coverage will know that crowded lineups often create their own problems. Short performances and overlapping headliners can leave attendees spending half the night moving between stages. Yahn Dawn is making the opposite bet, asking people to settle into each performance and giving its central artist enough time to develop a different set each night.

Prismatic Playa Carries the Afternoon

Prismatic Playa handles the daytime program before the Main Stage opens.

Mikey Thunder begins Friday at 1:10 p.m., followed by Maddy O’Neal’s MADHAUS project at 2:30. Eliptek closes the afternoon from 3:50 to 5:00 p.m.

Saturday moves toward bass music with Pheel. opening at 1:10 p.m. Thought Process follows with a Liquid Drum & Bass set, and Paul Basic finishes the afternoon at 3:50.

Sunday features SATURNA from 1:10 to 2:20 p.m. RJD2 then plays the weekend’s final Prismatic Playa set from 2:40 to 4:00.

The Holographic S.O.I.R.E.E. silent disco will continue after the scheduled performances, with Midicinal, R!AHT, Homemade Spaceship and TF Marz among the artists announced for the late-night program.

Yahn Dawn Expands Its Wellness Programming

Yahn Dawn will host over 20 workshops across Prismatic Playa and the Celestial Sanctuary, covering breathwork, yoga, sound healing and ceremonial practices.

Sierra Dawn opens the mornings with ceremonial cacao and intention setting. Hadō Flow leads Wim Hof-style breathwork, and Hyperspace Sky hosts an Awaken the Cosmic Heart Kundalini practice before the evening performances.

Lisa Parente will present two editions of The RM Method™, connecting dancefloor rhythm with somatic healing. Kelly Hinds, Racheal Haynes and Cassidy Madden will lead Quantum Yin, pairing Yin Yoga postures with live musical notes.

Sierra Dawn’s Sunday-night Closing Portal will conclude the wellness calendar with sound healing and Reiki before attendees leave Meadow Creek.

The Horizon 5K Sprint also returns on Saturday, September 19. This year’s Pride-themed run benefits the Buena Vista Pride Coalition, following approximately 400 registrations during the event’s 2025 debut.

Yahn Dawn 2026 Camping and Entry Information

Meadow Creek sits at an elevation of nearly 8,000 feet, so attendees should prepare for cooler nights, increased sun exposure and the effects of altitude. Drinking water regularly and allowing extra time for physical activity can help during the first day on site.

The venue is cashless. Purchases can be made using a credit card or mobile payment.

Stage 1 fire restrictions remain active across Chaffee County. Open fires are prohibited, although small propane camping stoves and grills using tanks of 16 ounces or less are permitted.

Campers with an Early Arrival pass can enter Meadow Creek beginning at noon on Thursday, September 17. General camping opens at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, September 18.

A complimentary shuttle will operate between Meadow Creek and Downtown Buena Vista each day from noon until 2:00 a.m. The service gives attendees access to local restaurants, hot springs and recreation outside the festival grounds.

Complete Yahn Dawn 2026 Set Times

Thursday, September 17

Prismatic Playa

• 4:30 p.m.: Taking Up Your Precious Time Pre-Party featuring Derek & Michal, Mikey Thunder, Mossy Projects and special guests

Friday, September 18

Prismatic Playa

• 1:10–2:25 p.m.: Mikey Thunder
• 2:30–3:45 p.m.: MADHAUS (Maddy O’Neal)
• 3:50–5:00 p.m.: Eliptek

Main Stage

• 6:00–7:15 p.m.: LP Giobbi (Dead House Set)
• 7:45–11:00 p.m.: Pretty Lights

Saturday, September 19

Prismatic Playa

• 1:10–2:25 p.m.: Pheel.
• 2:30–3:45 p.m.: Thought Process (Liquid Drum & Bass Set)
• 3:50–5:00 p.m.: Paul Basic

Main Stage

• 6:00–7:15 p.m.: Emancipator
• 7:45–11:00 p.m.: Pretty Lights

Sunday, September 20

Prismatic Playa

• 1:10–2:20 p.m.: SATURNA
• 2:40–4:00 p.m.: RJD2

Main Stage

• 5:00–6:15 p.m.: Gramatik
• 6:45–10:00 p.m.: Pretty Lights

Yahn Dawn’s second year is getting larger around the edges, particularly in its wellness calendar and after-hours programming. Its Main Stage remains deliberately restrained. By protecting almost ten hours for Pretty Lights, the schedule makes the event’s priorities unmistakable before anyone reaches Meadow Creek.