A common question in the music industry these days is whether or not rock music a dying genre. Most radio hits are meaningless fluff from country, hip-hop and pop genres, and it seems like rock and roll is becoming less and less popular among the general public.
Contrary to what the top 40 charts say, Desert Daze Music and Arts Festival is evidence that the rock genre is in fact alive and thriving; the nostalgia of the 1960s and 1970s (and 80s and 90s) rock heyday exists as a modern reality. The festival makes it clear that in cities like LA, Seattle, Austin, and Brooklyn, in countries like Australia, England and Canada, in fact in most urban places, there is a solid rock music scene with a strong following of dedicated fans.
Desert Daze pure magic. The event takes place at The Institute of Mentalphysics, one of the oldest spiritual retreat centers in the country. It’s in the middle of Joshua Tree National Park where the stunning landscape of twisted trees and piled rock mountains creates powerful energy, and gives space for a community to come together, for self reflection, and for music and art to flourish removed from the bullshit of everyday life.
Started by musicians for other musicians and creative souls, Desert Daze originally enticed with the lineup of incredible performers. The talent didn’t just look good on paper, though. At every single show, the musicians were stoked to be there, sharing their musical power with us all, jamming out as hard as they could with genuine emotion.
The weekend included every kind of rock music imaginable; from the 1960s- reminiscent groove of the Allah-Las, The Babe Rainbow, and The Creation Factory, to the more hardcore work by Boris and Sleep; from the garage and punk of Ty Segall and GØGGS, to the psychedelic rock of Unknown Mortal Orchestra and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard; from the psych-surf of L.A.Witch, to the dream-pop of Winter and Sunflower Bean, to the classic sounds of Iggy Pop, to the babelicious rock jams of Deap Vally.
The list goes on and on and on. As always at festival there is the agonizing amount of amazing music , youhave to miss to see other amazing artists, go through the lineup and listen to any of the bands that are unfamiliar, because I assure you they won’t disappoint. Especially The Creation Factory’s groovy 60s nostalgia, the way Ty Segall’s other project GØGGS engulfed the crowd with their insane energy, and the amazing stage presence of Deap Vally.
The forceful power of music was contagious, spreading good vibes among all the festival attendees.
Finally, A note on the visual arts at the festival, the grounds and stages were curated thoughtfully, every nook and cranny filled with beautiful images and surprising installations to help expand one’s mind on drugs or not.
thanks Nado mucho
The Fat Angel Sings 