This weekend’s three-day, “outsider” rock music festival, Desert Daze, has come and gone. And like a classic deal with the devil, festival host Joshua Tree Retreat Center emerges from the ephemera with a new abundance that has come at a cost. In this story, reporter Mike Lipsitz helps clear up any leftover desert haze…
Weeks before Desert Daze, many were angered by the clearing of three acres along the highway for parking for 2,000 daily concert goers. Social media bashing of the Retreat Center, some of it severe, had begun to wane until last Friday night when the amplified sound from three stages of guitar, drum and bass emanated out. Some as far as four miles away heard the music despite an event permit which limited sound to 55 decibels before 10 p.m. and 45 decibels after. Still, the Sheriff’s Department reported only 14 noise complaints over the three days (four on Friday, and five each Saturday and Sunday, and no arrests) . Feeling the heat even before this weekend, Retreat Center executive director, Victoria Jennings, said Desert Daze would be the venue’s last rock festival. And why book such big events in the first place? In an interview with the L.A. Times earlier this week, Jennings said a portion of the proceeds will fund an overhaul of the aging electrical and plumbing infrastructure, plus pay for painting inside and out.
DESERT DAZE BRINGS SOCIAL MEDIA ANGER, BUT ONLY 14 COMPLAINTS
