We have seen the future of the music festival and it looks a lot like the past. In fact, judging by the line-up for the forthcoming Desert Trip festival in California in October, it actually is all about the past.
The forthcoming festival will feature full sets from The Rolling Stones (right), Bob Dylan, Neil Young, The Who, Paul McCartney and Roger Waters over three days. Promoted by Goldenvoice, the company behind the hugely successful Coachella event, Desert Trip is an audacious gamble, but one that could well work – and if it’s successful, you can bet other promoters will simply cog the idea.
As you can well imagine, the price for all of this A-list entertainment is on the steep side. You may have complained in the past about how much you’ve paid for tickets, but you ain’t seen nothing yet.
A general admission ticket for the Desert Trip weekend is $399 (€348), but you can pay more (reserved seating for $699/€610 and $999/€870) and more again (reserved seating in the stands or standing in the pit at the front for $1599) if the mood takes you.
If you want to camp, you’ll pay an extra $99/€86 to do so in your own tent or $1,600/€1,394 for boutique camping. You’re probably best advised to bring some sandwiches at those prices.
So will people bite? For many, the lure of seeing these acts on the same bill will prove attractive. If you’re a fan of those mega-acts, the $399 ticket is actually good value as you’d probably pay much more to see all six of them individually.
While all of all those acts are on the touring circuit, Desert Trip gives you the opportunity to strike them all off your bucket list in one place over the same weekend. Given the deaths of stars such as David Bowie, Prince and Glenn Frey in 2016, some will be aiming to check these acts out before they check out for good.
We get the feeling that Desert Trip is going to be a winner and the European version can only be months away. Jim Carroll
