Was I only gone a weekend? It must’ve been longer. I’m back now, in the cushiony comfort of modern-day living. But for the past three days I’ve been crawling around the desert. Occasionally, in the midst of all the dust and dehydration, wondering what the hell I was doing so far from the ocean. But there is something inexplicably wonderful about losing your mind in the desert. Losing it, not because of all the substances you may or may not be consuming, but because out here in the parched alien terrain of Joshua Tree, you’ve found music. Really good, deep, rhythmic music.

Listen to this post-Desert Daze Playlist here: 

Desert Daze is one of those festivals that reminds us why we all started going to music festivals in the first place. The music. Yeah, somewhere along the way that kinda got lost. Probably when the millennials came in with their bro tanks, fist-pumping with beer bongs in hand. But this was nothing like that. This was velvet and suede. This was sitting under canopies with friends and drinking beers as The Black Angels blasted from the car speakers. The closest thing to anarchy I’ve ever experienced at a festival. And with bands like The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Television, Connan Mockasin, Thee Oh Sees, Cherry Glazerr, and POND, one hell of a lineup.

It’s a strange place where you may find yourself having a conversation with the bee that flew into your tent. And where, at some point, you’re bound to stumble into a cactus. But you will also get to see some of your favorite bands play an intimate festival show in a rugged and breathtaking landscape.

So raise a big Bloody Mary to Desert Daze for putting some life back into a scene that was on the verge of blacking out. –Gabriella Librizzi