“The Future Is dependent upon Unbiased Festivals”: Inside Okeechobee’s Return to Soundslinger

In an age of relentless stimulation and supersized production, Okeechobee is making its case: the future of festivals may not be built by going bigger, but by going deeper.

The festival will take place March 19-22 at Florida’s Sunshine Grove under its original, independent ownership following a two-year hiatus and a period of Insomniac ownership from 2020 to 2023.

Now back in the hands of Soundslinger and its founder Julio Santo Domingo, who goes by Rechulski, Okeechobee is operating on the principle of depth rather than commercialization. The festival is being driven by his sense that something essential has been lost along the way.

For Rechulski, who cut his teeth DJing and organizing the “Sheik ‘N’ Beik” event series in New York City, the festival landscape has started to blur together with similar lineups, layouts and experiences no matter where you go. The industry’s rapid expansion has favored consistency over character, and what used to feel handcrafted now often feels mass-produced.

“Festival fans, including the entire Soundslinger team, are not satisfied by most festival experiences in recent years,” Rechulski tells EDM.com in an exclusive interview. “The homogenization of the market leaves us hungry. We’re at a point where people are insatiable, so it’s important to try to break the mold and the cookie cutter approach, and really look within ourselves to find what the future is made of.”

Soundslinger founder Rechulski.Credit: Image courtesy of Okeechobee

At the same time, the economics of operating and attending festivals have shifted dramatically. Rising production costs and post-pandemic pricing pressures have raised both fan expectations and scrutiny.

“I think (fans are) craving value in where they’re spending their money,” Rechulski says. It’s not a secret that the price of everything has gone up and fans feel it. We feel it.”

As prices climb, audiences increasingly expect much more from their soaring ticket prices than just great performances. Okeechobee’s answer is what longtime attendees call the “Okee OG” spirit: a philosophy rooted in authenticity and the restoration of what made festivals feel transformative in the first place.

Rechulski says the “Okee OG” ethos is defined by three main values: community, intention and eternal youth.

“We try to give as much value as possible for the ticket, and make it very unique, compared to a lot of other events that are out there,” he explains. “We want people, when they go to Sunshine Grove, to find their inner child. We want them to let go of their worries and just enjoy the moment, as our stages, Be, Here, Now are called.”

That emphasis on emotional experience begins with the land itself. Unlike many large-scale festival grounds built around permanent infrastructure, Sunshine Grove remains largely untouched. The open, natural environment allows trees, water and sky to define the setting just as much as audiovisual production.

“We are one of the few festivals out there where there isn’t one building made of concrete on our property,” Rechulski gushes. “All you see is trees, grass and nature, providing an escape from the pressures of the world.”

Credit: Image courtesy of Okeechobee

The environment isn’t just aesthetic. For the Okeechobee team, it’s deeply philosophical, too. With the increasingly overstimulating and fast pace of modern life in the digital era, the festival aims to function as a reset to something slower and more human. That’s why stewardship of the land is treated as cultural infrastructure, rather than just operational.

“We really care about the land so much, and the reason why our fans love the festival is because they feel at home at Sunshine Grove,” Rechulski says. “We feel a very deep responsibility to maintain the land, to keep it clean, to keep it natural and to make it beautiful for everybody.”

This year, that philosophy extends into policy. Okeechobee is banning single-use plastics from food vendors to help preserve the space that defines the experience.

However, the physical setting is only the starting point. The landscape may frame the experience, but what Okeechobee ultimately creates is a collective belonging shaped by music, a force that dissolves distance and difference.

“Music is where all the walls break down,” Rechulski says. “You can be from anywhere in the world, and not speak the same language, and be listening to music, and feeling the same thing and understanding that secret language that people have.”

For him, festivals are not just entertainment products, but social equalizers in the form of temporary community.

“It’s important for us to provide spaces where we can still feel that (unity),” he explains. “To feel like we belong in something, into a oneness that we are together living this experience on this tiny, little piece of rock that is shooting across the universe. We’re so insignificant in all of it, and sometimes we forget that. I think that festivals provide the opportunity for a safe place for people to gather. That’s why we all do this.”

Credit: Image courtesy of Okeechobee

Beyond the community connection, Okeechobee offers a chance to step away from the constant noise of daily life, slow down and simply be present.

“There’s so many things happening in our world,” Rechulski said. “We’re so captivated by breaking news, all these things happening 24/7, and we forget to enjoy the moment. When we’re listening to music, we can disconnect from all of this noise. We can Be Here Now and enjoy the moment.”

That ethos carries through all the festival’s stages, particularly Jungle 51, which acts as an extension of Rechulski’s NYC event series and record label, Sheik ‘N’ Beik. Jungle 51 pushes the label’s curated acts to the forefront: a reminder that Okeechobee isn’t just a series of high-tier performances, but a deeper collective of artists and talent.

It’s this same philosophy that informs Rechulski’s broader critique of the festival industry. If the past decade prioritized expansion, replication and spectacle, the next one should prioritize intention and cultural authenticity, with independent festivals like Okeechobee leading the way.

“Looking at the homogenization of festivals,” Rechulski says, “I think the future really depends on independent festivals to preserve the spirit of community.”

Okeechobee returns March 19-22 with performances by LCD Soundsystem, Alison Wonderland, GRiZ, FISHER and EDM.com Class of 2025 artist Beltran, among others. Tickets are available here.