Head Trip 2026: Goldenvoice’s One-Time EDM Desert Experiment

Head Trip was billed as a one-time-only, one-stage festival with no overlapping sets, running October 10 and 11 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio. It continues Goldenvoice’s “Trip” series, on the Coachella grounds with one-off events like Desert Trip in 2016 and Power Trip in 2023. Head Trip brought that idea to dance music. Before the weekend, plenty of coverage had already pointed to that format as the draw. One preview noted the lineup would play with no conflicts, which meant no agonizing over who to skip. 

The acts billed to perform at the event included Calvin Harris, with Under Construction (FISHER and Chris Lake), Peggy Gou b2b Four Tet and Seth Troxler b2b Ben Sterling. Sunday had Swedish House Mafia and Skrillex, with Dom Dolla b2b KETTAMA, and DJ Harvey. Floating Points brought the US debut of his Sunflower Sound System.

Conditions in the desert weren’t ideal, and the weekend came with weather challenges. By the opening of the two-day festival, the doors were pushed back a whole hour and shortened to a 11:00 PM close. Unfortunately, due to a lightning alert triggered by the outer bands of Tropical Storm Rachel, the festival was cut short on Saturday which caused a cancellation of Calvin Harris' headlining set. In true Goldenvoice form, an organization that has decades of credibility within the festival and music space, they were able to pivot. The weather issues didn’t take over the experience with the event organizers restructuring the set times to add in Calvin Harris. The festival stayed enjoyable, and the crowd kept its energy through it. That says as much about the event’s design as about the people who came.

Production was the standout. The stage design came from Romain Pissenem, known for his work at Ibiza’s biggest clubs, with a distinct look for each artist. The plan extended beyond the stage, with lasers and lighting across the grounds and metallic structures scattered through the crowd like electronic trees. In person, the production and stage design were top tier. The look was cohesive, and the single-stage setup let the visuals build over the night instead of competing with a second stage. 

The Sunflower Sound System added another layer. Floating Points’ dome tent made its US debut, with mycelium-paneled acoustics and ten speaker stacks, giving the weekend a listening-focused counterpoint to the main stage. 

Overall, every set was unique from nostalgic 2010's EDM with Calvin Harris and Swedish House Mafia to a modern day set like Dom Dolla B2B Kettama. There were mixed reviews on Skrillex's set saying the production and lights were very minimal and it was very tough to see him on stage DJing. He issued a response to the feedback which in itself shows a lot of respect for him as an artist even though the set was still extremely well done.

For a festival with this much star power, the grounds had plenty of room to move. Single-stage events can get crowded, and this one didn’t. The artists attracted a crowd more adult than at the spring festivals, which helped the dance-first atmosphere. People came to dance, and they could. 

Apple Music partnered with Goldenvoice to livestream the festival.