Stones, McCartney, Dylan, the Who, Waters, Young Confirm Mega-Fest
UPDATE: Organizers of Desert Trip, the classic rock fest featuring the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, the Who, Neil Young and Roger Waters, have added a second weekend October 14th-16th.
Six of rock’s biggest artists and bands will perform at the same fest for the first time this fall. The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, the Who, Neil Young and Roger Waters have all confirmed that they will take turns playing Desert Trip, a three-night event from the organizers behind Coachella. The festival will take place at Indio, California’s Empire Polo Club from October 7th through the 9th.
Dylan and the Stones will open the show on Friday with back-to-back sets. Young and his backing band Promise of the Real will pair with McCartney on Saturday, with the Beatle headlining. And the Who and former Pink Floyd singer-songwriter Waters will close out the event on Sunday.
Three-day passes run from $399 to $1,599. Single-day tickets will go for $199. Tickets will go on sale Monday, May 9th at 10 am PST at the festival’s website.
The promoter, Goldenvoice, announced it was working on the event in mid-April, before the artists were confirmed. This past weekend, five of the six artists teased their involvement in the festival with social-media posts that teased October. Young posted his video on Monday.
The first artist to confirm involvement was the Who’s Roger Daltrey. “It’s a fantastic idea for a festival,” he told Toronto Sun in late April. “It’s the greatest remains of our era. I’m glad we made it.” He also speculated that putting together such a big bill might lead to a ticketing frenzy. “I just hope a lot of normal fans can get tickets before they get snatched up.”
“It’s so special in so many ways, because you won’t get a chance to see a bill like this, perhaps ever again,” Young’s manager, Elliot Roberts, told Los Angeles Times in April. “It’s a show I look forward to more than any show in a long time.”
Although the fest will mark the first time all of the artists have shared the same bill, many played Live Aid on the same day in different cities in 1985. Mick Jagger played a solo set (duetting with Tina Turner), while Dylan performed with the Stones’ Ron Wood and Keith Richards in Philadelphia; Neil Young also performed. McCartney and the Who both played in London during the festival.
Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, the Who, and Roger Waters released teasers on mega-festival Desert Fest this October.