Stagecoach Festival

Tycho //
Pappy and Harriet’s – Pioneertown, CA
April 26th, 2025 //

If you have ever spent time in the Coachella Valley and its surrounding areas, you know that the month of April is considered “high season” in the desert.

Much of that has to do with the two-weekend Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival that has become Goldenvoice’s signature event over the past 20-plus years, but there is also its annual country-themed Stagecoach Festival that takes over the Empire Polo Club in Indio a week later.

Only 12 miles away in Thousand Palms, meanwhile, is the 11,000-person Acrisure Arena after opening in 2022, and with a concert calendar that sees major touring acts coming through — one of them being the first night of the Sessanta V2.0 tour for Maynard James Keenan’s 61st birthday as Primus, Puscifer and A Perfect Circle all shared the stage (read our show review here) — there has been no short supply of live music in the desert this spring.

But just up California State Route 62 into Yucca Valley and north on Pioneertown Road, the legendary roadhouse Pappy & Harriet’s remains busy curating its own entertainment schedule that includes live music almost every day of the week and multiple shows most weekends. Though we have stopped by many times for a bite to eat, it wasn’t until several months ago that we finally made it out for a concert and it was a raucous one inside from what we encountered as Death from Above 1979 celebrated 20 years of their debut album You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine (read our First Times coverage here).

While taking in a show on the indoor stage offers its own unique vibe, outdoor performances at Pappy’s have a different, more laidback feel. We had yet to experience one under the stars after all these years, so when Tycho announced a five-date California run that included a stop in Pioneertown on a Saturday, that seemed like an artist whose music I have enjoyed listening to in nature and would pair well with the otherworldly rock formations, large Joshua Trees (aka Yucca brevifolia) and 1880s-style Western movie set that makes up the diminutive community between the Sawtooths and Black Hill.

I have seen Tycho perform live a multitude of times dating back to 2013 when Scott Hansen’s project opened for STS9 at the Hollywood Palladium, and since then, the ambient-techno outfit composed of Hansen (synthesizers, guitar, bass, visuals, programming), Zac Brown (bass, guitar), Rory O’Connor (drums, percussion) and touring member Billy Kim (bass, keyboards, synthesizers, visuals) has really come a long way given that Infinite Health last year marked the release of their seventh LP.

Tycho’s live show has continued to evolve with each album cycle and subsequent tour, but we can’t say we have ever witnessed a performance by Hansen and his bandmates — let alone any other concert — that was quite as cold as this one. With temperatures dipping down into the low 40’s, it felt like anything but springtime in the Hi-Desert with high winds picking up earlier in the day.

Since no opening act was scheduled, what was listed as a 6:30 p.m. show turned into a 7:30 p.m. start as many braved the chilly conditions in their best winter gear consisting of beanies, heavy jackets and hooded sweatshirts. We are still wishing we had brought a pair of gloves and can only imagine what it was like for the band to play when you barely have any feeling in your fingers.

It’s hard to believe that it has been more than a decade since Tycho last paid a visit to Pappy’s, and in that regard, there’s no telling when they will be back to do it again. That’s largely why we drove the two hours from Los Angeles even after attending their final date of three at The Roxy back in September to celebrate the arrival of Infinite Health.

Because even if Hansen’s beautiful soundscapes couldn’t save our hands from becoming numb by the end of the evening, it’s always an experience when you catch a show at Pappy’s.

Setlist:
Phantom
Spectre
Hours
Weather (Vamp)
Consciousness Felt
A Walk
Green
PBS
L
Horizon
Devices
Time to Run
Totem
Awake

Encore:
DX Odyssey
Division