Syd Gris, co-founder of Opulent Temple, a registered (501c3) non-profit, community-run camp that’s been a staple of Burning Man for 20+ years, posted a heartfelt video talking about the challenges of trying to do what he does in an era when headline-driven music has largely taken over Burning Man.

It’s a message worth hearing from one of the builders Burning Man culture. I personally volunteered with this camp in last year’s Burning Man and have great respect for Syd’s leadership and the quality of the Opulent Temple camp.

Dance music culture at Burning Man is dying and being replaced by a commercial simulacrum built for the Instagram hordes. It’s sad, and I don’t know that there’s anything that can be done about it. This is how the industry works now, and that reality is being pushed into Burning Man, driving out indie sound camps.