Desert Hearts is headed back to nature in 2024. Today, the festival, record label, and events brand announced that this year, Desert Hearts Festival will relocate to Playa Ponderosa, a private property just outside Flagstaff, Arizona, in the shadow of Coconino National Forest.
After rising production costs forced the beloved house and techno festival to swap its home in Lake Perris, California, for the LA Coliseum in 2023, Desert Hearts will return to its roots in nature from July 4-8, 2024, aiming to “rekindle the magic and freedom felt at its earlier Southern California installments.”
Partnering with esteemed Arizona promoter Walter Productions, the festival will return to around-the-clock music programming, revive the brand’s “one-stage, one-vibe” format, and feature a unique site layout with theme camps, art installations, live performers, and art cars enveloping the entire dancefloor–all elements that were sacrificed during the 2023 festival in Los Angeles.
“The theme of this festival is reconnecting with our roots and embracing the essence of what made Desert Hearts so special during our time at the Los Coyotes Indian Reservation from 2014 to 2019,” Desert Hearts boss Mikey Lion shared in a press release. “This means an intimate and free environment with One Stage, One Vibe playing the full spectrum of House & Techno music nonstop all weekend.”
Famous for its fleet of wild Burning Man art cars, Walter Productions has collaborated on events with Desert Hearts for over a decade. The production company now sits at the forefront of the Phoenix art scene with its venues Where?House, Walter Studios, and Walter Station Brewery, in addition to holding a national presence with art cars at Bonnaroo, EDC, and Life is Beautiful.
The forthcoming collaboration between two “twin flame” communities stands to uplift the same cherished DIY ethos that has made Desert Hearts one of electronic music’s most recognizable brands since its founding in 2012 by DJs Mikey Lion, Lee Reynolds, Marbs and Porky.
Fans can register for the 2024 Desert Hearts Festival pre-sale here. Ticket sales will begin this Friday, February 16, 2024.
