B my Lake

B my Lake has always depended on two elements: a body of water and a dancefloor. Its geographical setting has changed several times, but that relationship remains central. During the afternoon, the lake softens the feeling of being inside an electronic festival; after sunset, lighting, screens and sound systems gradually turn the shore into an outdoor club. At the current site in Velence, Budapest is close enough to make travel straightforward, yet the water creates sufficient emotional distance from the city. The festival is not merely a techno event placed beside a lake. Its daily rhythm is designed around the movement from beach and sunlight toward darkness, repetition and collective immersion.

The first edition took place in 2013 at Club Aliga in Balatonvilágos, on the eastern shore of Lake Balaton. VOLT Production and Deadcode Production identified a space between Hungary’s large mainstream festivals and its smaller club nights. B my Lake would concentrate on techno, tech-house, minimal and house, using an international programme while maintaining a more focused atmosphere than Balaton Sound. The debut won Best New Festival at the European Festival Awards. That recognition did more than reward a successful first season. It demonstrated that a relatively specialised electronic event in Hungary could become a European destination without broadening its music into a generic dance line-up.

Mobility became part of the festival’s history. It used different areas around Lake Balaton, established an important period in Zamárdi, moved to Keszthely in 2018 and returned to Zamárdi in 2019. Every change affected access, camping, accommodation, the distance between stages and water, and the relationship with nearby towns. The organisers nevertheless continued to describe the event as boutique even as the line-ups became increasingly ambitious. Major electronic artists could perform on technically sophisticated stages, but the experience still depended upon the audience being able to move from swimming or resting beside the lake into an intense night session without crossing an oversized festival city.

Its historical programme explains the reputation it developed. Carl Cox, Richie Hawtin, Nina Kraviz, Solomun, Sven Väth, Ben Klock, Dixon, Maceo Plex, Tale of Us, Adam Beyer, Amelie Lens and Charlotte de Witte represent different generations and schools of electronic music, yet all belong to a culture based on long-form sets and the physical logic of clubs. B my Lake did not build itself around pop choruses placed over electronic drops or the most theatrical version of commercial EDM. Its central language involved gradual transitions, extended mixes, layered live performances and DJs able to control a floor for several hours. Techno and house formed the foundation, with minimal, trance, electro and melodic forms expanding the edges.

After 2019, that independent trajectory was interrupted. The 2020 and 2021 editions could not take place, and when the brand returned in 2022 it did so inside Balaton Sound. B my Lake operated dedicated stages and zones within the much larger Zamárdi festival, retaining its underground visual identity and specialist bookings while losing the autonomy of a separate site. The arrangement continued through 2024. This did not make the two festivals identical. Balaton Sound maintained its mass scale and wider electronic programme, while B my Lake served as a concentrated home for techno, house and club-oriented music within that structure.

The end of Balaton Sound’s period in Zamárdi created an unexpected opening. In 2025, B my Lake returned as a standalone festival and left Lake Balaton for Lake Velence. The move carried obvious risk. The brand’s history and name had been emotionally connected with Balaton, and several years had passed since its last independent edition. Velence, however, offered rail access from Budapest, camping beside the water and a scale suitable for rebuilding the festival’s own community. The name ceased to describe attachment to one particular lake and became a broader statement: the event could establish its identity wherever electronic music, shoreline and an extended summer night could meet.

The 2026 edition strengthened that return. Paul Kalkbrenner brought a melodic live performance suited to a broad outdoor stage; Amelie Lens, Chris Liebing, DJ Rush and Planetary Assault Systems explored different histories and pressures within techno; Deborah De Luca, Daria Kolosova, Southstar and Øtta reflected newer high-energy directions. Sven Väth used a three-hour sunset set to connect the daylight beach atmosphere with the night programme, while Adam Beyer and Joseph Capriati shared a specially presented back-to-back performance. Worakls, Kasablanca, Franky Wah and Rebūke brought melodic and house elements, and the large Hungarian contingent prevented the event from becoming only a showcase for imported international names.

Daytime SUP sessions, yoga, fashion presentations and outdoor cinema created pauses from the intensity of the stages. At night, monumental LED structures and detailed lighting transformed the waterfront without completely removing the dark presence of the lake. That balance explains B my Lake’s continuing appeal: high-level production without an overwhelmingly large site, recognised artists within a still-focused musical identity, and physical intensity that remains connected to landscape. The organisers have already said that the festival will return in 2027, although dates have not been published. After relocations, cancellations and several years inside another event, B my Lake has shown that its identity belongs not to one address, but to the recurring combination of water, night and techno.