Desert Daze 2017: Five To See

Let’s face it – in its six short years, Desert Daze has continually rolled out some of the best lineups a festival could produce. To no surprise, they did it again. The festival returns to the ever-beautiful Joshua Tree this October and while hard to narrow down (since this line up is WAY TOO GOOD), we picked out five acts you shouldn’t miss.

Avey Tare (Saturday)

Dave Portner, otherwise known as Avey Tare, has quite the track record. Most notably known for Animal Collective, Dave undeniably has had quite the solo career as well, most recently delivering his second solo record, Eucalyptus. The record is a slightly different approach from the more eccentric sounds more commonly produced, but instead is acollection of emotional and intimate songs, conveyed by the sounds of nature. Bearing meditative influences, this set issure to deliver a beautiful performance under the desert sun. Also be sure to catch Avey’s fellow Animal Collective bandmate, Panda Bear, on Friday night.

Atlas Sound (Sunday)

As one of last year’s headliners, Bradford Cox returns to the desert but this time with his solo project, under the moniker Atlas Sound. While we haven’t heard anything new as of late, who knows what we’re in store for. New music? Although we’d be perfectly fine if he only plays from the previous Atlas Sound records. But it is Bradford, so we could just get some amusing dialog or another infamous rant, which we’d be okay with too. And let’s hope Panda Bear joins in for his collab on ‘Walkabout’ …please? Pretty please?

Holy Wave (Friday)

Good music is the kind of music you can get lost in. And that’s where Austin garage-psych rockers, Holy Wave, come in. The five-piece have always produced tracks with dreamy guitar hooks and mesmerizing vocals, creating a whole new level to the shoegaze category. With an impressive collection of three full-length albums and an EP, Holy Wave continually deliver the kind of blissed-out tunes that are perfect to get lost in… and we can’t wait.

Spiritualized (Saturday)

In typical Desert Daze lineup fashion, their headliners are always bound to include some of the most influential artists of our time. Case in point, Spiritualized. In over 20 years, Spiritualized has given us seven great albums, along with their most recent reissue of Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, arguably one of theirs, and if not, one of the greatest albums of all time.

The Babe Rainbow (Sunday)

The psychedelic surf rock genre has a new band taking over – The Babe Rainbow. While summer may be over, The Babe Rainbow will surely take us back with their feel-good vibes. By way of Byron Bay, the three-piece has already been making a name for themselves in the States. If you’ve always wanted to experience the 60s and let your inner hippie self shine, this is a set not to miss.

Desert Daze takes place October 12 – 15 at The Institute of Mentalphysics. Full lineup and tickets can be found here.