Lightning in a Bottle returns to South County offering a festival of genres.

The usually sleepy Lake San Antonio area has become – for a few days each spring – an unlikely hub for spectacular art installations, workshops on meditation, almost continuous live music and the thousands who crowd in to experience the Lightning in a Bottle Arts & Music Festival.

The six-day festival features eight elaborately crafted stages that will host approximately 231 performers in genres ranging from hip-hop to house music, with a few unexpected twists.

Dede Flemming, who co-founded the festival with his two brothers and friends, serves as the logistical arm of the Do LaB, which organizes LIB. Flemming says the festival – in its 20th year overall and fifth in Monterey County – offers more range than similar dance music festivals.

“Although some people think LIB is an electronic-focused event, if you dive deeper into our lineup you’ll find a little bit of everything,” Fleming says. “One of our biggest surprises is the Grand Antique Stage, which is a lot of folk, rock and just funky and fun bands.”

One of the most prominent acts is rapper, singer and drummer Anderson Paak, with support from the band The Free Nationals. He was included in hip-hop magazine XXL’s 2016 Freshman List showcasing artists on the rise, earned Grammy nominations last year for best new artist and best urban contemporary album and was featured on the soundtrack album for the Marvel film Black Panther.

Paak, who performs May 26, has distinguished himself by creating a funky mix of soul, rap and other influences, coupled with vivid storytelling. The jazz-heavy “Heart Don’t Stand a Chance” demonstrates his knack for using sensory details in reflections on romance.

This year’s festival has its share of stars like Paak, but also boasts deep talent, like Fever Ray, who performs May 27. Ray is the alter ego of Karin Dreijer, a former member of the brother-sister Swedish electronic duo The Knife, and has not performed in eight years. Her 2009 self-titled debut garnered attention for its minimally produced and at times hollow-feeling instrumentals that were a contrast to other electronic music.

Those desolate sounds, combined with Ray’s ghostly vocals, make songs like “If I had a Heart” feel like something that should be playing over a scene of a grisly medieval battle in Game of Thrones.

LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE Thursday-Monday, May 24-28, Lake San Antonio Recreation Area, Bradley. $332/four-day pass; $130/car-camping pass. lightninginabottle.org