Founded back in 2012 as a renegade gathering deep in the Mojave Desert, Desert Hearts has since evolved into a beloved institution among techno and house music enthusiasts. The festival’s organizers released statement on social media to announce the hiatus, explaining that the demands of producing a large-scale festival had begun to overshadow their artistic pursuits.
“We went into DHF 2025 with the intention of taking a break in 2026, but we ended up throwing the best Desert Hearts Festival ever. In the afterglow, we went on sale for 2026,” the statement reads. “When we finally came back down, we realized what throwing a full-scale DHF next year meant, and we didn’t like how that looked for our artist paths and personal lives.”
Comprising Mikey Lion, Lee Reynolds, Marbs and Porkchop, the Desert Hearts collective acknowledged and apologized for getting “ahead of ourselves” by prematurely announcing 2026 dates. All purchased tickets, they said, will be refunded within one to three business days.
“Producing a festival of this scale takes an enormous amount of time, energy, and resources,” they continued. “The whole reason we started throwing parties is because we’re artists obsessed with music. But this past year we found ourselves glued to spreadsheets and Zoom calls way more than anything that had to do with music. So we’re putting the festival on hold in 2026.”
During the hiatus, the crew plans to focus on producing new music and hosting their “Love Bizaar” parties. They also hinted at the possibility of a smaller, intimate campout event and potentially appearing at Playa Ponderosa.
