Desert Daze Festival Canceled Just One Month After the Lineup Is Revealed

Photo Credit: Desert Daze

Just a month after announcing its lineup, the 2024 edition of psych rock festival Desert Daze has been canceled, citing economic woes.Desert Daze, the psych rock festival gearing up to return to Lake Perris in Southern California in October, has been canceled just a month after announcing its lineup. The festival, which was to feature Jack White, Cigarettes After Sex, and the Mars Volta, was founded over a decade ago and was hoping for a big comeback in 2024.

“We tried everything to avoid this, but this is a tough year for everybody. That goes from groceries all the way to production costs,” said festival founder Phil Pirrone, in a statement to the LA Times. “I think it goes beyond the music industry. I think just everything is too expensive right now. You know the cost of putting on an event, whether you’re a small festival or a big festival, nobody’s immune to it right now. If you compare the cost of putting on a festival even a few years ago, line by line, you’re just like, wow.”

Pirrone said that despite a stellar lineup of “arena-caliber rock, jazz, and electronic acts,” ticket sales, which started at $299, weren’t enough to recoup the festival’s costs. “There’s a lot of competition out there, and growing pains are real,” Pirrone explained.“Some festivals are doing well, and there seems to be no rhyme or reason to which ones do and which ones don’t. But there’s a certain kind of artist that flourishes [at Desert Daze] and a real cultural significance to this event, and that’s always given me great purpose.”

The cancellation comes after Desert Daze took a year off in 2023, following a heated lawsuit the year prior over operations involving new ownership at Pappy & Harriet’s, Pirrone, and his festival’s former co-promotion company, Knitting Factory. But Pirrone says Desert Daze as a brand is not going away anytime soon, even if the festival requires some reworking.

Refunds for Desert Daze will be available to fans at the point of sale.