The eighth annual Desert Daze camping and music festival took place at Moreno Beach in Lake Perris, California on the weekend of October 10th to 13th. Tens of thousands of attendees came together to enjoy great music, art, workshops, lake swims, comedy, hypnosis, food, and everything in between.

This year’s lineup comprised of a variety of headliners including The Flaming Lips, Ween, Devo, Flying Lotus 3D, The Locust, Parquet Courts, Animal Collective, Stereolab, Wu-Tang Clan, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, and many more.

Venue & Production

Nothing but good vibes filled the fresh air walking across the festival grounds. Moreno Beach is located just minutes away from downtown Los Angeles alongside Lake Perris.

The lake was open for anyone who wanted to take a refreshing dive in. During the day the lake was quite popular with many people in the water and floating on fun shaped innertubes.

There were four stages in total; two main stages and two smaller stages. The two mains stages, The Moon and The Block, were quite the sight to see. They were enormous stages with beautiful decorations. Both stages alternated playing music at different times so there was no overlap. This means you can see all your favorite bands without having to make sacrifices of seeing one over another. This was an awesome concept that more festivals should employ.

The two smaller stages, The Theatre and The Sanctuary, played music along with hosting workshops, artist Q&A, hypnosis, and much more. The Theatre was a larger stage playing nonstop music all day and night. The Sanctuary was in a dome making for an intimate experience.

This year’s diverse lineup featured a great mix of live bands, rappers, and DJ’s that catered to various tastes in music. There was something for everyone to enjoy out of the 50+ artists that performed at Desert Daze this year.

Camping

Have you ever thought about sleeping under the stars? Wanted to be so immersed in the festival experience that you don’t want to leave the venue? The beauty of camping at Desert Daze was that it was not necessary to leave the festival to recharge.

Festival-goers are usually accustomed to staying at a hotel, renting a house during a festival, and finding transportation to travel to and from the venue. Desert Daze was an entirely different experience in the sense that every individual had the opportunity to stay on the festival grounds from the second they arrived at the venue to camp until the festival ended and closed its doors.

Camping on the festival grounds was a unique and immersive experience that brought everyone together in a special way. Walking around the campgrounds you can see the bonds people were forming with their neighbors. There were campfires at night with people roasting smores and other yummy foods.

Mystic Bazaar

If you were camping there was an area called the Mystic Bazaar located in the center of the campgrounds. Located here were various shops and food vendors for campers to enjoy.

Multiple workshops throughout the day took place here starting at 8 am and running late in the night sometimes until 3 am. Yoga classes, soundbaths, nature walks, speaker sessions, breathwork workshops, sacred ceremonies, and other events took place here. This was also the location for the afterparty on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Food

A wide variety of pop up restaurants and food trucks lined the festival grounds anticipating hungry festival-goers. No matter what you were in the mood to eat, there was always a place to satisfy your appetite. You can find multiple food options for vegetarians and gluten-free diets. There were a lot of options o lines were never long.

Why VIP?

Having access to VIP amenities at Desert Daze had its perks. Some of the perks included express crowd entrances (great view with an ample amount of dance space), private bars and vendors, relaxing lounges, and restrooms equipped with A/C.

Final Thoughts

This year was my first time at Desert Daze and it will not be my last. Throughout the years, I have traveled across the country attending various music festivals, and without a doubt this festival was unlike any other event I have attended. I would not have traded this unforgettable experience for anything in the world.  See you next time Desert Daze!