Ending a more than 14-year event called Utopiafest while camping under a total eclipse in semi-remote Texas is total cult behavior. Sign us up. The Utopiafest crew announced in July a two-year plan to close out the series, returning to the initial venue in Utopia, Texas, and opening a new permanent venue in Buda, for continued fun with a lower buy-in.

First comes Utopiafest 13 (stylized UTOPiAfest Thirteen), at Reveille Peak Ranch in Burnet County, much closer to Austin. The October 14 and 15 festival in 2022 is penultimate in the regular series, which ends with Utopiafest 14 on May 5 and 6, 2023.

Eclipse Utopia: Annular, moves the venue back to Four Sisters Ranch in Utopia on October 13 and 14, 2023, with views from the camping area that extend 30 miles over the stage, Utopiafest co-founder Wayne Dalchau narrates. Finally, Eclipse Utopia: Total coincidentally describes the total end of the multiday festival, on April 7 and 8, 2024.

The next event, Utopiafest 13 (if you’re keeping up), will feature big names in Austin and the country on two stages. Among the 20 artists on the lineup, folk duo Shovels and Rope bring more than a decade of raw, high-energy folk songwriting. Victor Wooten, the legendary bassist known for his creative adventurousness, is touring with his Bass Extremes in support of the August 26 release of S’Low Down. Austin solo artist Sir Woman, in the middle of rising to national prominence with just one LP released in 2022, is also on the bill.

Nestled into the 1,000-acre Reveille Peak Ranch, which is popular for mountain biking about 60 miles northwest of Austin near Buchanan Lake, Utopiafest is as much about the camping as the tunes. Bikers can take off as usual, or can try hiking, swimming, disc golf, and workshops with community artisans. The event is BYOB, local vendors are handling most food needs, and cooking at the campsite is encouraged. Kids are not just welcome, but taken care of at the Kids Camp with special programming.

“We had initially agreed on five Utopiafests at Reveille, and then we were going to revisit and decide what we were going to do next,” says Utopiafest co-founder Travis Sutherland. Factoring in pandemic cancellations, this four-part schedule allows Utopiafest to fulfill its plan with Reveille before pivoting to smaller parties multiple times per year — to start, those are the Eclipse events, organized around actual astronomical events crossing over Utopia. Once those…