Independent music festival since 2007 joshua tree, CA
New to Desert Stars? Here's ten moments that define our fest !
https://ocweekly.com/10-music-moments-that-defined-the-desert-stars-festival
THE DESERT STARS FESTIVAL STORY
(2007 TO PRESENT)
Words from Festival founder - Tommy Dietrick:
Desert Stars is a boutique and intimate festival experience. When we began this journey back in 2006, we were looking to put on an event that felt more like a family affair than a huge overblown gathering. As lovers of music with an affinity for the serenity and beauty of the hi desert, we started our event at an almost unknown roadhouse at the time, Pappy and Harriet's. When Nic Harcourt of KCRW mentioned our event live on air back in 2007, I remember him saying"Pappy and Harriet's? Where is that?..." After 10 magical years in they heyday of our former venue, we decided to create our own desert oasis with the move to our new outdoor theater in 2019. This move had originally been set in motion back in 2016 but we were forced to pivot due to another event blazing through town that overwhelmingly upset the local community, trashed a local venue and created an unwarranted hardship for Desert Stars.
THE MICRO FESTIVAL BIRTH
Desert Stars is one of the high desert's premier annual music events. Although we are largely unrecognized for discovering Pappy & Harriet's, we were the first only behind Cracker Fest to host an annual gathering at the now world famous venue.. As one of the firsts in the Indie, psychedelic and shoegaze genre, our efforts also helped pave the way for a culture of indie music festivals to emerge such as Austin Psych Fest, Levitation and Psycho Las Vegas. As these events grew and grew, we continued to be a humble community scale gathering opting for what we felt was a more sustainable path.
DEFENDING THE HIGH DESERT
With the increasing popularity of the Joshua Tree region, various attempts by large production companies funded with corporate dollars have tried to exploit this region. Desert Stars remains committed to a sustainable and responsible enjoyment of this beautiful oasis by limiting growth and capping attendance. In 2015 we added our "spotlight cause" campaign to shine light on matters relevant to the high desert. If you wish to join the fight to keep the desert protected from overdevelopment and exploitation please visit the Mojave Desert Land Trust here: https://www.mdlt.org/.
Our festival is made possible by the direct support of our friends, fans and volunteers! To get involved or become a volunteer, please message us from the contact page.
Press: Coachella Valley Indepedent
