Photo by Sage Thomas
Desert Hearts is the fabulous West Coast festival that you can always count on selling out before the lineup is even announced. The reason? A devoted community that lives and breaths House and Techno, and an innate trust for the Desert Hearts boys to bring only the best.
The community is without a doubt the backbone of the festival. Through art installations, fashion shows, wine and cheese parties, spontaneous chocolate fondue setups, mini workshops, and even fashion- the community shows up and adds such a special flair that makes the festival feel authentic and free.
To get to better know the festival, who better than the community itself to give you the low down?
S H E L B Y, AZ
Boy do I have love for this festival. I have experienced many festivals in my time of this scene, and Desert Hearts is like no other. It is hands down my favorite festival to attend. The feeling of walking in to hear the music for the first time is so surreal.
Everybody is dressed to impress and lookin’ so fly on the dance floor. I loved that. I love fashion and showing off what you’ve got, and the people of Desert Hearts definitely fit that vibe. Also, I recommend you bring more clothing than you think you need because you never know what you’re gonna get yourself into, or how cold it will be. It was SO cold that weekend and tested my strength to the max- but that didn’t stop me from having fun. I wore layers on layers, and still danced my ass off.
Also, about a week before the festival, I could not stop listening to this remix of Fleetwood Mac-Dreams so I thought, “why not, let’s share it with Lee Reynolds, he would appreciate it.” During the family set on Monday morning I left to go to the bathroom. Low and behold, I heard that song come on and immediately ran back out to the dance floor to see Lee playing the song I sent him. It led me to tears. That moment was so amazing. I had experienced the love of Desert Hearts more than ever.
S T A R, CA
My first time attending Desert Hearts was last year. My favorite memory was hanging out with this cute guy in this fun little dome area, and having a chill tea party with a bunch of cool people. My advice for people attending is to bring hand sanitizer and warm clothes for the night time.
C O N N E R, CA
A piece of advice I would give to someone who has never been to Desert Hearts, or even someone who has, would be to take a walk around the festival and just observe everything that is being created or has been created by individuals. The energy is palpable and it’s easy to get lost in the vortex that is DH. But there is something beautiful about taking a step back to look at the gorgeous land we were given to celebrate and gather on, the people who make up the DH family, and the artists who decorate it with music, installations, and paintings. The party is fun, but taking a moment before or after to put out some gratitude vibes makes a difference.
J E S S , C A
Well, I can say this to you: from the first moment I walked up to the Desert Hearts stage, I was changed. The first time I went to this festival I went alone. But when I walked up to that stage I felt such a sense of community that was overwhelming. Everyone is smiling, and their joy explodes on that dance floor. Also- the fashion is out of this world! This festival is part of why I created my brand Jess’ Jackets. I realized I wanted to be a part of festival fashion and help people express themselves through clothing. Seeing the joy that one piece of art can bring someone is something that brings ME so much joy.
If I could give any advice for this incredible event? Just be your authentic self. Just be who you are! Dress the way you want, wear as many crazy colors as you can, and smile as much as possible!
Tickets for Desert Hearts Festival 2019 are sold out, but you can still keep an eye out for an official resale ticket here!