2015: Camp-outs won the North American festival circuit

Desert Hearts, which happens bi-annually, and Dirtybird campout, are unique as the whole of both events takes place around one stage – revolutionary given the multi-arena bonanzas going on elsewhere on the US circuit. And one stage makes everything way more intimate: Desert Hearts, inarguably for the more advanced partier, went for 100 hours of non-stop house and techno around a single DJ booth. You can't really experience that anywhere else because, well, you'd have to be off the grid on an Indian Reservation in order to pull that off. As the Hearts crew do.

As this season showed, every year more and more people are popping their dusty festival cherry, which means that with every future camping festival, we can predict a growing number of experienced attendees. They'll be better prepared for the elements, and stronger, fully contributing members of the community. Because that's what makes one party better than the next: how well everyone works together to make sure it's the best fucking time.

Where the greatest city festivals such as Movement in Detroit feature some of the most lawless afterparties where you can lose your shit for the whole weekend, it still doesn't rival the bizarre families that form over the course of a three day, off-the-grid experience.

For instance, both Desert Hearts and Dirtybird crews passed out necklaces and buttons and weird memorabilia at their camp-out events. Now, every time you run into someone in the 'real world' with a Desert Hearts or Dirtybird necklace, you feel like you must know each other somehow because those parties were so intimate. Maybe that's because you can bet that at these small festivals, attendees will have positive, shared experiences.

The festivals are also crossing over, continuing that intimacy: The November edition of Desert Hearts was affectionately referred to as 'Dirtyhearts' because Claude VonStroke and J. Phlip headlined and Mikey Lion played Dirtybird campout before that.

Continued...