Dave Harrington – Showbams

After taking a year off, Desert Daze makes a BIG return in 2024 with Jack White, Cigarettes After Sex, Alex G, The Mars Volta & more

Desert Daze //
Moreno Beach – Lake Perris, CA‎
October 10th-13th, 2024 //

In an ever-changing world that feels like it’s always moving at 120 mph, spending time away to reflect and recharge can serve as some much-needed respite.

That’s the course Desert Daze chose when the boutique music festival revealed it would be taking 2023 off after a 10th anniversary that saw King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Tame Impala and Beach House, the latter of which replaced Iggy Pop only a week prior due to unprecedented visa delays with his band, hold down headlining duties as the calendar turned from September to October.

But organizers also didn’t keep fans wondering when an official return to the 1,800-acre Lake Perris State Recreation Area, which has been home to the three-day event presented by Moon Block and Knitting Factory Entertainment since 2018, would happen. There was never a doubt, based on what Desert Daze told us, that it would be back in 2024 — and it’s back this fall in a very BIG way.

Missed you, let’s do this 🚀

Sign up at https://t.co/YGgYUStgR3 for early access to the best prices on passes, camping, travel packages, merch, and VIP. Presale starts tomorrow, Wednesday, July 24 at 10am. Public on sale starts Friday, July 26 at 10am pic.twitter.com/ONiRg8MFKw

— Desert Daze (@desertdaze) July 23, 2024

The lineup for the fest’s 11th edition might not skew as heavily in the direction of psych-rock as previous iterations, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t boast some considerable star power with Jack White leading the way. Detroit’s modern-day Renaissance man and rock hero dropped a surprise new album last week on vinyl that quickly found its way onto the interwebs, and his first appearance at Daze while occupying the top spot no less marks an important moment — and potential pivot point to bring more mainstream acts to Moreno Beach — in its history.

Also highlighting this year’s stacked bill are Cigarettes After Sex, Alex G, The Mars Volta, Thundercat, Fleet Foxes, 100 gecs, Sleep, Liz Phair, De La Soul, Marc Rebillet, Molchat Doma, The Kills, Floating Points, Power Trip, Beach Fossils, DIIV, Unwound, Shintaro Sakamoto, Danny Brown, Mount Kimbie, and Say She She, but Desert Daze has also leaned into the notion of having some bands perform their seminal albums in full for a live audience. That will once again be the case with Death from Above 1979 and Temples celebrating major milestones for each of their debut albums — 2004’s critically acclaimed You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine‘s and 2014’s Sun Structures, respectively — when they rock the stage in a few months.

Desert Daze tickets will be available to purchase here during the fest’s presale with three-day GA at a starting price of $299 and VIP going for $699 before the general public on-sale begins this Friday, July 26th at 10 a.m. PT. With an artist roster this strong, we won’t be surprised if passes sell out quickly so don’t snooze on what’s sure to be another memorable weekend in the desert!

UPDATE (August 20th): Well, look it at what we have here … daily lineups! That’s right — you can start planning ahead with less than three months to go. This year’s Desert Daze sees Alex G and Thundercat billed as co-headliners Friday before Jack White rocks out on Saturday and Cigarettes After Sex closes things out Sunday. Single-day tickets have also become available now, so grab them for $99-119 (GA), $199-249 (VIP) and $549-699 (VIP Plus) here while you can!

UPDATE (August 30th): Oh no!!! It comes with a heavy heart for us to also share that Desert Daze 2024 has unfortunately been canceled due to rising production costs and “the current volatile festival market.” All ticket holders will be refunded and contacted via their point of purchase. It’s a sad day for the festival’s organizers and the entire Daze community, but we hope that one day we will see another iteration of the event. Until then, keep your eyes peeled for future updates from co-founder Phil Pirrone.

“Desert Daze is more than a festival or business venture to us,” he said in a statement. “The community that we’ve cultivated together means so much to us and is the reason we will work to find a way to keep this beautiful thing going for many years to come.

Nick Murphy shows he’s the new-and-improved version of Chet Faker to close out 30 Days in LA

By Josh Herwitt //

Red Bull Sound Select – 30 Days in LA: Nick Murphy (fka Chet Faker) //
The Theatre at Ace Hotel – Los Angeles
November 30th, 2016 //

When Nick Murphy dropped his debut LP Built on Glass (read our review here) under the alias “Chet Faker” in 2014, the Australian singer-songwriter was relatively unknown outside of his home country.

Sure, his cover of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity” reached No. 1 on the Hype Machine charts and made an appearance in a Super Bowl commercial, but Murphy’s popularity had been mostly confined to the land Down Under, with a list of accolades including “Breakthrough Artist of the Year” at the Australian Independent Records Awards and “Best Independent Release” at the Rolling Stone Australia Awards.

Built on Glass changed all of that, paving the way for Murphy to sell out shows in major U.S. markets, including two in LA at The Roxy Theatre (read our review here). With the 12-track album boasting three singles — one of them being “Talk Is Cheap”, which shot all the way to No. 1 in the 2014 Triple J Hottest 100 countdown — the Melbourne native was quickly headed for mainstream status.

Since then, he has made an appearance on “Ellen” and this year headlined music festivals up and down California, including CRSSD Festival (see more photos here) as well as Lighting in a Bottle (read our festival review here), where he reaffirmed that moving to a full live band was one of the best career moves he has made. In fact, ever since his set on the main stage at FYF Fest (read our festival review here) in 2015, Murphy has taken his live show up a few notches.

The Theatre at Ace Hotel

But that was a different person; Chet Faker is now a man of the past. Nearly two months ago, Murphy made the announcement on Twitter, revealing that “there’s an evolution happening and I wanted to let you know where it’s going.” It was his way of telling us that he no longer wanted to hide behind the moniker he spun off in reference to famous jazz trumpeter Chet Baker. From here on out, his real name would be attached to his music. And as cheesy and cliché as it might be for a musician to change their identity for artistic reasons, Nick Murphy — the one who sold out another show in LA last Wednesday — is an extension of Chet Faker more than anything else. Call him Chet Faker, Nick Murphy or whatever name you want — it doesn’t change the fact that the 28-year-old Aussie always pours his heart and soul out when he’s onstage.

At The Theatre at Ace Hotel, the gorgeously ornate, Spanish Gothic-style movie house built in 1927 and owned by United Artists, Murphy put a stamp on Red Bull Sound Select’s 30 Days in LA, which after only three years is becoming a November staple for the city’s booming music scene. From opening night with Sampha at the Palace Theatre to Murphy’s series finale just a few blocks down Broadway, Red Bull continues to seemingly outdo themselves year after year with a month full of shows featuring top-notch talent at an affordable rate (all tickets were $15 or less before taxes and fees).

But unlike many of the series’ other shows, Murphy didn’t just hit the stage for an hour and call it a night. Instead, his 90-minute set extended past midnight as he dove into newer cuts — “Bend”, “Stop Me (Stop You)” and “Fear Less” — from his forthcoming sophomore studio album (release date TBA) and played older hits like “1998” and “Gold” off of Built on Glass. There were also guest appearances by Marcus Marr, the English DJ/producer whom Murphy worked with on last year’s collaborative EP Work, and Dave Harrington, the Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist who is best known for being one half of the now-on-hiatus electronic music duo Darkside that includes Nicolas Jaar. Murphy might be filling seats thanks to his uniquely soulful voice, but it’s his propensity to surprise that keeps them filled at bigger venues each and every time he performs in LA.

Murphy’s music, both new and old, can be difficult to describe. It’s equal parts electronic, rock and soul, a hybridization that accessibly encompasses all three genres. And while his latest material follows along a similar sonic path, Murphy continues to prove that he isn’t afraid to take risks with his honest, heartfelt songwriting. So, who really needs Chet Faker when you got Nick Murphy now anyway?