Desert Daze’s opening day cut short by storm, dogged by logistical problems (updated)

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Fans exit Desert Daze during Friday's storm
Fans exit Desert Daze during Friday's storm

*** Desert Daze today announced plans designed to alleviate the massive traffic jam that plagued festival-goers on Day 1. Also of note: Some bands whose sets were scotched Friday will be rescheduled (alas, not Tame Impala, whose set was truncated); Friday single-day tickets will be honored today (Saturday); and parking is free the rest of the weekend.

Here is the statement from the festival, issued at 1:30 Saturday:

We’ve been planning our move to Lake Perris for many months and are working side-by-side with Park Rangers to make this a special and safe event.

Last night, due to extreme lightning storms rolling in a few songs after the start of Tame Impala’s set, we unfortunately had to ask all guests to exit the Desert Daze grounds, return to their cars and seek shelter to remain safe. We worked closely with CalFire, Park Rangers and meteorologists to make the difficult decision to halt the show and immediately implement our event’s contingency plan. We decided to end the remainder of the evening’s programming once it was clear the weather was going to continue to be a safety issue. The safety of our guests is our top priority.

We also acknowledge that patrons experienced difficulties entering the venue in a timely fashion and we have been proactive in trying to resolve this. We redirected all vehicles to Transition Road and Via Del Lago, changed the location of the Main Box Office, and shifted all campers to be processed directly via the camping entry, alleviating some of the congestion. All parties involved are confident that this new strategy for getting fans into the Moreno Beach grounds during the remainder of the festival will be faster and more efficient. Parking will remain free for the remainder of the weekend and all Friday Single Day tickets will be honored today, Saturday, October 13.

Due to scheduling, Tame Impala will not be performing today or tomorrow, and we are working with the rest of the Friday evening performers to reschedule as many of them as possible. Updates will be shared via social media and via the Desert Daze app.

The Desert Daze staff spent the rest of the night and morning remaining available to any patrons in need of assistance and preparing the grounds for a safe and enjoyable second day on site at Moreno Beach, Lake Perris State Recreation Area. The Desert Daze grounds are open today and we look forward to welcoming fans back for the rest of the weekend.

Original post:

A storm that strafed Southern California with lightning, thunder and rain on Friday night cut short the opening day of the Desert Daze festival — which already had been plagued by excruciatingly long lines suffered by fans just wanting to get in.

At 10:25 p.m., with lightning skittering across the horizon and the skies starting to spit rain, headliner Tame Impala’s set was halted. The Australian band had been playing only 15 minutes, but a festival representative instructed fans to seek shelter or return to their cars or the campground, adding that the band would return after the storm passed. It never did and they never did.

Shortly after the initial announcement, festival officials issued a statement via social media:

The seventh annual festival, being held for the first time at Moreno Beach in Lake Perris State Recreation Area near Moreno Valley, had problems from the outset. The park has only two roads in and out, and festival organizers chose to utilize only one, the north entrance. By noon, the two-lane Via Del Lago was throttled by a line of cars trying to traverse the 2.5 miles from the park entrance to the festival grounds.

For attendees who arrived at the entrance around 2 p.m., this trip took 2 1/2 hours — longer for fans checking into the campground because their vehicles had to be searched. The gridlock was so bad that fans who arrived at the park entrance around 5 p.m. reported that it took 3 1/2 hours to get to the parking lots.

** Desert Daze this morning announced that Friday passes would be honored at today’s festival.

For those who made it in, Friday had started in idyllic fashion at the lakefront location, highlighted by a headliner-worthy set from Australia’s Pond at sunset, Warpaint on the main stage and a vicious tent set from U.K. punk-rockers Idles.

At 4:30 a.m. organizers issued an apology for the traffic problems, saying they have made adjustments and would refund parking fees.

** Updated, 11:50 a.m.
*** Updated, 1:40 p.m.