Head Trip opens today: Goldenvoice's one-time electronic festival takes over the Empire Polo Club
Goldenvoice's one-time-only electronic festival runs October 10 and 11 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, with Calvin Harris and Swedish House Mafia topping the bills and storm remnants threatening the weekend.
INDIO: Goldenvoice's one-time-only electronic music festival Head Trip opens today at the Empire Polo Club, bringing two nights of dance music to the Indio grounds that also host Coachella and Stagecoach each spring.
Saturday's bill is topped by Calvin Harris, with Fisher and Chris Lake performing back-to-back as Under Construction, Peggy Gou going back-to-back with Four Tet, and Seth Troxler back-to-back with Ben Sterling.
Sunday brings Swedish House Mafia, Skrillex, Dom Dolla back-to-back with Kettama, The Blessed Madonna and DJ Harvey. Floating Points' Sunflower Sound System, making its U.S. debut inside a custom-built dome, runs across the full weekend.
Two nights, one stage, no overlapping sets: every performance in sequence, just this once.
One stage, no conflicts
The entire weekend unfolds on a single stage with no overlapping sets, so attendees can catch every performance without choosing between acts. The format is the festival's signature idea: two nights, one stage, just this once.
Doors open at 3 p.m. both days, with free parking from 1 p.m.; car camping and shuttle passes are also on offer. The event is 18 and over, and official hotel packages bundle passes with local lodging, putting Palm Springs hotels in the mix for the weekend.
Storm timing
The opening arrives with a weather watch. The Desert Sun reported Thursday that the most intense part of the remnants of Hurricane Rachel could reach the Coachella Valley in the middle of Head Trip, with the mountains west of Palm Springs in line for around 1.5 inches of rain early Sunday.
The timing may favor the festival: artists are not scheduled to perform until after 3:30 p.m., meaning the heaviest rain will likely have passed before the grounds fill, and Sunday headliner Swedish House Mafia is not expected on stage until 10:30 p.m. Still, forecasters warned that thunderstorms could build after the rain, adding uncertainty to the weekend.
USA Today reported that Palm Springs and surrounding desert communities could see periods of heavy rain capable of producing rapid flooding in washes, low-water crossings and typically dry creek beds, similar to the impacts of Tropical Storm Hilary in 2023.
Goldenvoice announced Head Trip in March as a one-time-only event, and the promoter has not confirmed any second edition.
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