Desert Daze Returns To Its Pioneertown Roots For 2021 Edition

Desert Daze
l – Desert Daze

Desert Daze 2021 returns to where it all began – Pappy & Harriet’s legendary roadhouse in Pioneertown, Calif. – for an 11-day series of performances Oct. 17 through Nov. 23 in the Joshua Tree-adjacent Southern California desert.

The fest will return to its recent Perris Lake locale in 2022 but, for now, it returns to the site of its 2012 inception. Health and safety protocols will be observed and limited rooms will be available at the Pioneertown Motel. The lineup, ticket onsale and motel reservations will be announced soon.
“Live music is integral to the human experience, from fossilized flutes older than the idea of cities to 3D projections and the wind of amplified electric pulses,” Desert Daze says in its announcement. “The concert has survived every catastrophe that we have. To move forward, Desert Daze is looking back, not to the Neolithic, but to 2012. An inversion of numbers, alignment of celestial bodies, or maybe just the right amount of compulsion and sunstroke, bring us back to where it all began.”
The unique festival promises big performances in an intimate setting. Pappy & Harriet’s capacity can vary from 500 to 1,000 between its indoor and outdoor stages. In recent years, it has taken place at nearby Perris Lake, and featured headliners including Wu-Tang Clan, Ween, Flaming Lips, Devo,Tame Impala, My Bloody Valentine and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, It was a nominee for a Pollstar Award for best Music Festival Under 30K Capacity in 2019.
“Desert Daze has become a community. It has an identity and a spirit all its own and we are here to serve it,” founder Phil Pirrone told Pollstar in 2019. “We put that community at the front of every decision we make. It’s like our compass: ‘What impact will this decision have on the ecosystem of Desert Daze?’ That ecosystem includes our staff, our audience, the bands of past, present and future. It’s all connected. We bring reverence to the work and the work gives us purpose. In many ways, it has become more of a ritual than a music festival.”
Though Desert Daze will likely be a smaller event in 2020, it promises to remain a “unique and transformative experience featuring measured doses of artists not usually witnessed in an intimate setting.”
While motel reservations are net available through its website, reservations and info can be obtained by emailing [email protected].