Head Trip Festival's Opening Night Cut Short by Lightning, Calvin Harris Set Canceled
Goldenvoice's one-off EDM festival evacuated the Empire Polo Club around 9 p.m. Saturday as storms moved in ahead of Tropical Storm Rachel. Headliner Calvin Harris never took the stage.
Head Trip, Goldenvoice's one-off electronic music festival, ended its first night early Saturday. Lightning in the area forced organizers to suspend the show and clear the Empire Polo Club in Indio around 9 p.m.
The suspension hit mid-set. Stage screens flashed a lightning alert while the duo Under Construction, Fisher and Chris Lake, were playing. The festival app pushed the message to attendees: "There is approaching severe weather. The show is suspended. Exit the venue the way you entered and seek shelter in personal vehicles or shuttles."
About 9:30 p.m., organizers canceled the rest of Saturday's performances. Calvin Harris, who was due to close the night at 9:30, never played.
The storms moved into the desert ahead of Tropical Storm Rachel's landfall in Southern California. Around 9:10 p.m., the National Weather Service issued an airport weather warning for Palm Springs International Airport, about 20 miles from the grounds, for cloud-to-ground lightning expected between 9:30 and 11 p.m.
The festival had already adjusted its schedule Saturday for the weather. Day one opened an hour late, and organizers shuffled the lineup so Harris would play earlier. NBC Palm Springs reported the festival was expected to draw about 70,000 attendees overall. The number evacuated Saturday night was not confirmed.
Forecasters issued a wind advisory for the Coachella Valley from 2 a.m. Sunday through 5 a.m. Monday, with gusts of 35 to 45 mph and warnings of downed tree limbs and power outages. Rain was expected through Sunday morning. Organizers had not announced the status of Sunday's sets. The day two lineup includes Skrillex, Swedish House Mafia, Dom Dolla b2b Kettama, The Blessed Madonna and DJ Harvey.
Head Trip is Goldenvoice's third one-off genre festival, following 2016's Desert Trip and 2023's Power Trip. It is the second weather suspension this year at the Empire Polo grounds: Stagecoach evacuated in April as high-velocity winds and blowing sand swept the venue. Gusts reached 55 to 65 mph that night. Journey and Riley Green never played, though Lainey Wilson's headlining set went ahead after the grounds reopened around 9 p.m.
