Raving, Recreation, & Religion with Michelle Lhooq and Luis Manuel Garcia-Mispireta

According to the 2024 Global Psychedelic Survey, while personal growth and well-being are common reasons for illicit drug use, recreation—music events, festivals, parties, raves—remains a leading but poorly defined motive.

This panel featured Michelle Lhooq (Rave New World journalist) and Luis Manuel Garcia-Mispireta (University of Birmingham) in a discussion of the recreational use of psychedelics in celebratory spaces. The conversation explored how festivals, raves, and underground parties intertwine with psychedelic use, and considered whether these environments might overlap with spiritual or religious practices.

LUIS MANUEL GARCIA-MISPIRETA
Luis Manuel Garcia-Mispireta is an Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology and Popular Music Studies at the University of Birmingham, focusing on urban electronic dance music, affect, intimacy, and queer nightlife. He is a resident DJ with Berlin’s Room 4 Resistance and author of the award-winning monograph Together Somehow (2023). His current research examines grassroots activism and queer nightlife collectives.

MICHELLE LHOOQ
Michelle Lhooq is a Singapore-born, Los Angeles–based independent journalist covering underground raves, psychedelics, and evolving counterculture amid drug legalization. She has contributed to major outlets including The Guardian and New York Magazine, authored Weed: Everything You Want to Know But Are Always Too Stoned To Ask (2019), and writes the newsletter Rave New World.