PREVIEW: How Big Bond Is Redefining The Music Festival Experience
REVIEW
REVIEW
☆ BY SOPHIE GRAGG ☆
IN THE VAST, SUN-SCORCHED EXPANSE OF TERLINGUA, WHERE MOUNTAINS OF BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK MEET THE WEST TEXAS SKY - something magical happens every spring. It isn’t your typical neon-soaked, high-octane frenzy of a modern music festival. Instead, it’s Big Bond: a boutique gathering that feels more like a legendary camping trip than a commercial event.
At its core, Big Bond is guided by a distinct ethos that prioritizes "climbing a mountain fun" over "roller coaster fun." It is a labor of love produced by founders Matt, Benny, and Jordan, three friends who balance full-time jobs with the logistical puzzle of hauling speakers into the dust and navigating the challenges of remote production.
Big Bond champions radical vulnerability and intentional community. As co-founder Matt puts it, "Bonding means letting your walls down... being seen and feeling allowed to be seen as who you would like to be." This philosophy extends to the land itself; the festival is built on a deep respect for the Chihuahuan Desert, adhering to a strict "Leave No Trace" policy that ensures the natural beauty of the park remains the headlining act.
Born from a 2021 word-of-mouth "DJ thing," Big Bond has grown from a group of 40 friends into a sanctuary for those seeking authentic connection. It is an ego-free environment where the barrier between artist and attendee dissolves under the stars. Whether it’s sharing a telescope to view the Milky Way for the first time or finding a neighbor from back home in the next tent over, the festival is defined by these small, human moments.
As the festival prepares for its upcoming edition on March 27-28, we chatted with the founders to discuss the magic of the desert, the importance of vulnerability, and why the best festivals are the ones that require a little bit of dirt and a long drive to find.
Tickets for Big Bond are on sale now.
LUNA: Big Bond has such a specific identity and energy. Can you take us back to the moment the idea first came together?
MATT: The idea first came together in the form of a camping trip. An opportunity to get a group together to appreciate the national park. There’s always been the late night campfire shenanigans, but when we found the Goat Pens with the stage already there, it quickly evolved into much more. We went out that first year with around 40 friends, and friends of friends. It was meant to just be a one time get together, until BENNY pulled everybody back together and saw what was special about it. Every year since then it’s grown and grown with the same energy as it began.
BENNY: Back in the spring of 2021, I was at my friend Zoe’s house one evening talking about a camping trip to Big Bend National Park. Another friend of hers mentioned that he’d heard about a guy who was “doing a DJ thing” out there the same weekend. This guy just had an Eventbrite page and let it spread by word of mouth; that guy was Matt. Zoe is more outgoing than I am and was excited about this right away. I was slower to warm up to the idea, but my attitude did a 180 as soon as we pulled through the gate as the sun set over the West Texas desert. After that weekend, I got Matt’s number and texted him that I thought it should become an annual thing—the rest is history. Right before the first official year, Jordan roped himself in by volunteering to take over Instagram, and along the way, we have formed a small but dedicated team of friends who themselves were touched by the magic of Big Bond.
LUNA: What does “bond” mean to you in the context of music, community, and culture?
MATT: Bonding means letting your walls down. Letting yourself feel at the edges of emotion and being comfortable in that with others. When we gather in special places that are far from our normal reality, and are extraordinary in nature, I think it breaks down those walls much faster. Bonding is being seen and feeling allowed to be seen as who you would like to be.
LUNA: How did your backgrounds individually shape the way this festival came to life?
MATT: At least for me, it came down to the love of music (working music producer) and my love of public lands, national parks, and camping trips. My older sister was a beautiful role model and has been to almost all the parks, and works for the Appalachian trail. She helps us make sure we are respecting the land. And then my friends growing up always appreciated doing the hard things. We always chat about “roller coaster fun” vs “climbing a mountain fun”. You likely won’t remember riding a roller coaster in 5 years because nothing really went into it. You will remember climbing a mountain, or doing Big Bond, because of how hard it is and how much it requires of us.
LUNA: What makes Big Bond fundamentally different from other festivals happening right now?
BIG BOND: The real difference isn’t just its amazing scenery, it’s the community. A lot of people feel intimidated by massive festivals because of how impersonal and overwhelming they can be. The crowds are huge and the vibe can be intense.
Big Bond is built around connection. It’s small enough that you actually get to know the people around you, artists, attendees, organizers, and share real moments with them throughout the weekend. We’ve been incredibly lucky to grow a community that shows up with so much love, compassion, and openness. Every year we’re reminded that this isn’t just a festival, it’s a gathering of people who genuinely care about each other.
LUNA: Building something from the ground up is never easy - what were some early challenges that nearly stopped the project, and how did you push through?
BIG BOND: Building something in a remote location comes with a unique set of challenges. If we had to sum it up, it would be time, money, and distance. Every organizer behind Big Bond has a full-time job, so balancing work, life, and building a festival from the ground up has not been easy. On top of that, asking people to commit to a long journey to Terlingua, both on the production side and as attendees, has been one of our biggest growing pains.
There were moments early on when it felt overwhelming, but the reason Big Bond was started in the first place is also the reason we keep going. Seeing the smiles on people’s faces out there, and having honest, touching conversations with attendees about how much the experience means to them, and how they can’t wait to come back. Those moments remind us that what we’re building is bigger than the obstacles.
BENNY: The first Big Bond after I got on board, I’m not even sure we had an LLC structure and we definitely didn’t have insurance. I found many insurance providers that would insure music festivals, but as soon as I said it was also overnight camping we magically became uninsurable. We went forward with big bond that year and everything went perfectly, but the whole time I was stressed out and worried something awful would happen. I didn’t want to do Big Bond again unless we got an LLC and small business liability insurance.
LUNA: How do you hope attendees feel when they leave Big Bond for the first time?
BIG BOND: Of course, we hope people leave with that itch to come back, but more importantly, we hope they leave with a renewed sense of community and a deeper appreciation for the world around them. Big Bond is about connection: meeting a new friend, finding your people, or even realizing how small the world can be.
JORDAN: One of my favorite moments was when a friend drove eight hours to attend Big Bond, only to discover that his neighbor back home, that he had never met, had set up camp just a few tents away. Those simple, unexpected moments are what really define the experience. They’re what strengthen a community of like-minded people who love music, adventure, and the beauty of the land we get to gather on.
LUNA: The festival landscape is changing fast. How do you see Big Bond evolving over the next few years?
JORDAN: For us the goal isn’t to chase trends or grow just for the sake of growing. We’re focused on protecting the core of what Big Bond is and making sure it continues to be a special experience as we grow.
As Big Bond evolves, growth looks more like thoughtful additions rather than expansion. That means enhancing the experience with stronger production, more art, and curated activities, while still letting the land do most of the talking. The desert is a huge part of the magic, and we’re very intentional about not overpowering it or taking away from its natural beauty.
At the end of the day, Big Bond’s future is about deepening the experience, not losing the energy or intimacy that made people fall in love with it in the first place.
LUNA: What’s something people would be surprised to learn about what it takes to produce a festival like this?
BIG BOND: How much dust speakers can hold. I feel like we bring the desert back with us every year.
LUNA: What advice would you give to other creatives or organizers trying to build community-driven events?
BIG BOND: Dive deep into it being a labor of love in the truest sense. To pull people together requires a HUGE amount of energy, but in our opinion there’s no better way to spend time and effort. When things get hard, think about the moments where someone really is transported out of their mind, the relationships you’re going to help to form, and the people you get to create with.
LUNA: What excites you most about this year's fest?
BENNY: This year is the first year we’ll have a set of telescopes out for people to enjoy!!! My favorite part every year is showing people the Milky Way for the first time, especially if they have never seen it before. They will also be able to look directly at the sun through one of the telescopes.
