In a statement shared on social media, festival organizers said “rising production costs and the current volatile festival market” had made it “no longer possible to execute the weekend as planned.” Last year’s Desert Daze festival was also called off, with organizers instead hosting a series of concerts around Southern California.
“As an independent festival, an increasing rarity in today’s festival market, Desert Daze is run by a small team of people who loveand this community,” the festival said, adding: “With each year, we do our best to serve the Desert Daze community. We are always learning and working diligently to improve the experience, and we tried everything to find a way forward.” Those with tickets for this year’s fest — which was set to take place Oct. 10 through 13 — will be refunded via point of purchase.
The Desert Daze 2024 lineup was also slated to feature performances from Alex G, the Mars Volta, Thundercat, Fleet Foxes, 100 Gecs, Sleep, Liz Phair, De La Soul, the Kills, Beach Fossils, DIIV, Marc Rebillet, and Molchat Doma. The‘It Ends With Us’ Crew Members Say Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively’s Creative Differences Were Not a Secret on Setfestival founder Phil Pirrone spoke more about the financial realities that forced the decision. “This is a tough year for everybody,” he said.
In the years since the pandemic, the live music industry has been grappling with issues like higher costs and lower profit margins, which has made it increasingly difficult for independent festivals to keep running, ora North American tour supporting Remi Wolf because of the “financial risk it would entail.