King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard return to Desert Daze 2017
Photos by Sergio Estrada
Oh my my, Desert Daze 2017 has fully taken shape now that the complete roster and daily lineups have been announced. This year’s event will again take place at the Institute of Mentalphysics in Joshua Tree, CA on October 13th to 15th and will feature an all-star lineup including: Iggy Pop, Spiritualized, Sleep (performing Holy Mountain), Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile, Ty Segall, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Liars, Ariel Pink, The Make-Up, John Cale, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Allah-Las, La Femme, Boris, and a whole lot more! To help get your head in the game, we’ve assembled a complete playlist with all the artists playing this year’s Desert Daze – find it HERE or in the player below.
Last year’s Desert Daze was an incredible, magical experience that only improved upon the great time we had the previous year. With a lineup that keeps getting danker, a solid, awe-inspiring location that is expected to become more comfortable, and a solid base of support – Desert Daze is poised to become a serious institution for years to come. All thanks to the leadership of Desert Daze’s founder (and someone LA Weekly recently profiled and recognized as making LA a better place) Phil Pirrone. We recently caught up with Phil and he offered us some direct insights into this year’s event.
Desert Daze has really changed shape over the years – from a sprawling 11-day affair in the Spring, to a single-day camping blowout by the Salton Sea, and now to the weekend-long Fall retreat in Joshua Tree. What about Desert Daze has stayed the same along that journey? Can you foresee ever going back to an 11-day fest?
Phil Pirrone: Desert Daze has and always will be curated like a mixtape, each band has to blend with the next to create a tightly knit blanket. I don’t think that will ever change. And yeah, it would be fun to do an extended version of this again one day. We started doing the Desert Daze Caravan tour last year, it was about a month long, so that might be the new extended version… but 11 or more days in one spot would be fun again.
The Institute of Mentalphysics proved to be a seriously magical place, and we’re stoked it will be returning to the grounds again this year. There were early reports of possible issues with the Joshua Tree community prior to last year’s event – was that all hype, or did the event win over the critics?
PP: I think the event won over most critics. There have been a lot of past events produced by other people, that have been disrespectful and the community had every right to be worried. But I think once they saw what kind of music we host at Desert Daze (We had The Sonics for example. I don’t think anyone worried about the event was expecting that). You can’t please everyone, but we’re doing our best to mitigate concerns, be good neighbors and respectful of the community.
Most excellent accomplishment and biggest bummer in organizing Desert Daze over the years?
PP: The last two years have been pretty special. Moving to Joshua Tree feels like a big accomplishment and responsibility. No big bummers coming to mind right now… Putting on a festival is constant damage control and once you get that concept, you get bummed a lot less.
Seems most music festivals aim to continue getting larger, both in the range of popular headliners as well as attendance. What we find makes DD so different and unique is that it seems to have stuck with a particular psych vibe and community focus. Do you plan to keep that going? How so?
PP: I’ve never considered DD a psych festival. I like a lot of different kinds of music. I hope to book a lot of different kinds of acts over the years. I don’t plan to stray from our current booking approach. The lineup sort of builds itself. We come up with dream acts, and the first ones that get confirmed dictate the direction of the lineup and we just follow it. We just try to pair whatever acts we confirm with other stuff that works with it. So, regardless of the hues, I think the colors will stay pretty similar.
Anything new in store for this years event? Any secrets you can tell us to get excited for??
PP: Were using Noble Hall this year for more alternative programming, in addition to Sanctuary Hall. We’ve added some bands to the Mystic Bazaar in the campgrounds. We’ve added Thursday night for campers, cottage folks and Super Duper VIPs, and more. By the time this story comes out, I imagine the final lineup will be out. Iggy Pop was the best secret I ever got to keep and now the news is out and it’s unreal. Pinch me. And then stick a fork in me.
Tickets to Desert Daze 2017 are available now! Ranging from single-day passes at $99 and weekend passes at $229, to Super Super VIP passes that include backstage access at $450. There’s also camping options starting at $100 up to on-site cottage rentals. October 12th-15th. The Institute of Mentalphysics. BE THERE!!