After a two-year hiatus, Desert Hearts Festival is back.
This year, Desert Hearts’ flagship event settles into a new location at Southern California’s Lake Perris State Recreation Area. Taking place from April 28 to May 2, fans of the psychonautic fashionista crew behind the event will enjoy 72 hours of non-stop house and techno. And this time, attendees will enjoy a major new addition to the party — a picturesque, and swimmable, lake.
For the festival’s 10-year anniversary Desert Hearts founders Mikey Lion, Marbs, Lee Reynolds and Porky will be accompanied by a star-stacked lineup. On top, titans like Carl Craig, DJ Harvey, Township Rebellion, The Juan MacLean, Francesa Lombardo, Bears In Space and more will set the tone for the event. Crew heroes including Kevin Knapp, Lubelski, RYBO, Andreas Henneberg, RINZEN, and Evan Casey will bring a smorgasbord of new tunes to the party.
Fans in search of more new sounds can look forward to the deep tech stylings of Brazil’s Yulia Niko, the untamable talent of Beth Lydi, and the underground grit of Brooklyn-born icon of Chicago house, DJ Heather. See the complete lineup below.
Lake Perris State Recreation Area
“This year we wanted to broaden our musical horizons more than we have in the past, while still keeping it focused between the House & Techno genres,“ festival co-founder and Desert Hearts label boss, Mikey Lion tells Billboard. “We curated artists from different scenes that have influenced us over the years, including legends from Detroit, Chicago, DFA Records and more while locking in legacy Desert Hearts artists that we’ve grown with since the beginning.”
Lake Perris State Recreation Area features a beach, campgrounds and other daytime fun activities that will help the festival make a splash post-COVID. With a much bigger space than at Desert Hearts’ former home at Los Coyotes Indian Reservation, 2022 campers can look forward to a bit more breathing room off the dancefloor. Pre-setup camping options, RV hookups and other camping upgrades will create a foundation for freak-flags to fly.
Desert Hearts co-founder and Head of Operations, Matt Marabella, who performs as Marbs, says: “We’ve never before had a water feature at our festival and this is one of the biggest changes we’re most excited for — you’ll be able to swim, bring your rafts or floaties, dance in the water, and enjoy activations near the lakeside, like our Tonight’s Tavern project, providing a beautiful patio and saloon on the shoreline along with daily performances and immersive experience, as well as more art than we’ve ever had.”
Lake Perris State Recreation Area
For the first time in its ten-year history, the festival’s myriad traditions — like pop-up wine and cheese parties and full-fledged fashion shows — will be kicked up a notch via their new lakeside locations. Timeless memories like the b2b2b2b family set featuring the entire DJ crew — which will inevitably be the biggest one yet — should make an even bigger splash too.
“This new chapter is an incredible step forward for our community and the evolution of all that we’ve built together,” says Marbs. “We can’t wait to celebrate 10 years of House, Techno, and Love with you at our new home.”
Tickets for Desert Hearts Festival 2022 are on sale now.
.