The new installation and the sparkling lineup: Nova returns to Burning Man
For the third time, the Nova Heaven project returns to the Nevada desert with a new installation featuring the names of the 413 victims and four nights of music. Vintage Culture, ANNA, Max Styler, and LP Giobbi will join Infected Mushroom, Captain Hook, Rafael, Darco, and a long list of Israeli artists.
The Nova Heaven project, born to commemorate the victims of the Nova festival massacre and nearby music events on October 7, will return this year for the third time to the Nevada desert. Alongside the art installation, designed to turn memory into a space of connection, healing, and hope, the community will hold four nights of music at Burning Man 2026 — with some of the biggest names in the global electronic scene alongside a long list of Israeli artists.
Topping the list is Vintage Culture, one of the most successful Brazilian DJs in the world, who will play a back-to-back set with Israel's Omri Dott. Also performing is ANNA, the successful Brazilian DJ who, in the early stages of the war, supported Palestine but changed her position and is even dating Israeli DJ Freedom Fighters (Shachaf Efrat). Other prominent international names to perform include Max Styler, one of the most notable names in the indie dance and tech-house scene, alongside other prominent names like American LP Giobbi. Alongside them is an exceptionally broad Israeli team, led by Infected Mushroom, Captain Hook, Rafael, and Darco. Other prominent Israeli names to perform at Nova Heaven: Club de Combat, Roy Rosenfeld, Michel, Sassi (Omer Sassi, one of the Nova party producers), and more.
Alongside the sets, an opening performance titled 'Let There Be Light' will take place on Monday, and on Friday morning, near sunrise, a ceremony will be held at 06:29 — the time when the music stopped at Nova on the morning of October 7.
Nova Heaven was first established at Burning Man 2024 by members of the Nova community and survivors of the massacre. The original installation recreated the structure of the colorful shade canopy that was at the heart of the festival in Re'im, and alongside it were angels bearing the names of the victims and a gate inscribed with 'We Will Dance Again'. Throughout the week, the complex combined music, memorial ceremonies, and spaces for gathering and healing, becoming one of the most talked-about installations that year. In 2025, the project also returned to the desert, despite harsh weather conditions that caused the structure to collapse three times during assembly. The team rebuilt it each time and eventually held the traditional 06:29 ceremony.
This year, the installation is changing its shape. According to the plan, it will consist of 18 illuminated triangles on which the names of the 413 victims will be engraved, alongside six large triangles that will face the sky and project beams of light. The structure is based on the shape of the 'Warrior of Light' symbol, which was born from the shading structure associated with the Nova festival.
Burning Man itself will take place this year from August 30 to September 7 under the theme 'Axis Mundi' (Center of the World). Every year, the event creates Black Rock City, a temporary city in the heart of the Nevada desert, and attracts tens of thousands of participants from around the world. Unlike a traditional music festival, there is no main stage or single official lineup: the participants, camps, and art cars are what create the installations, parties, performances, and community spaces.
