Desert Hearts 10 Year Anniversary

Every house head’s favorite band of dust-kicking, beat-serving, florally dressed miscreants is coming back to the birthplace of house music that is Chicago, Illinois. That’s right, the Desert Hearts crew is landing in the Windy City at the legendary Concord Music Hall on Friday, July 1.

That’s literally the first day of the second half of the year. The first half of the year in Chicago is when it's cold and windy and everyone is stuck inside, but the second half of the year is Summer time when the city is alive with color and music. Plus, the first half of 2022 has been absolutely stellar for the Desert Hearts crew and the second half promises to hold even more good times.

First and foremost, 2022 saw the return of their flagship Southern California festival. The recent years have brought about winds of change for everyone in the world whether we liked it or not, and the Desert Hearts crew—consisting of Mikey Lion, Marbs, Porky, and Lee Reynolds—channeled that change into something beautiful. IE a whole new rendition of Desert Hearts Festival.

For the first time ever they expanded the event to two stages, planting one right in the sands on the shores of Lake Perris, allowing for exquisite beach-side hangs while funkier tech house and disco played during the day from Lubelski, Mikey Lion, Life On Planets and more.

Then at night the event receded into the darkness of the second stage and the freaks came out to play. The dancefloor was absorbing techno and melodic beats, releasing almost three years of pent-up energy with the DJs feeding it right back. From Detroit legend Carl Craig to cinematic master that is Rinzen to a surprise sunrise set from Justin Martin, Desert Hearts Festival took it to the next level this year.

Since then, the crew have taken that same even further, now about to embark on a 20-plus date tour to celebrate ten years of House. Techno. Love.. Together (and sometimes apart) the crew will travel to some of the best venues all over North America. From major nightclubs like Academy in Los Angeles to immersive experience-driven spaces like Area 15 in Las Vegas.

Concord Music Hall in Chicago sits right in the middle of that tour, and so the crew will be back in the full swing of life on the road. Marbs will be on the Desert Hearts Black vibes, of course, bringing the darker techno sounds as Mikey Lion continues to soar off the release of his eclectic and impressive debut album For The Love. Porky will be having a grand old time as usual, and though Lee Reynolds won’t be there for this show, their good friend Shaded is coming along for some refined minimal action.