Festival Founders Join Forces to Launch "Golden Ticket" to Four Beloved West Coast Events

Amid a festival landscape increasingly shaped by consolidation and corporate takeover, four independent trailblazers have banded together to flip the script by offering a "golden ticket" designed to make the 2025 festival season one to remember.

The founders of four of California's most celebrated independent music festivals, Desert Hearts, Same Same But Different, Northern Nights and Joshua Tree, have announced the launch of the indepenDANCE Pass, an unprecedented $599 general admission ticket granting access to all four festivals in 2025.

The indepenDANCE Pass offers a full season of music and community-driven magic for a fraction of the cost—an estimated $2,000 value. The pass is extremely limited and non-transferable.

The move is a bold statement of unity in a moment of volatility. With 2024 marking the highest number of festival cancellations since the pandemic, the indie festival community is facing mounting pressure from inflationary costs, radius clauses and post-pandemic audience shifts. Rather than compete for limited attention and resources, these festivals are collaborating in a way rarely seen in the industry.

The announcement is paired with a roundtable episode on the Different Paths podcast, in which Desert Hearts' Mikey Lion, SSBD’s Brad Sweet, Northern Nights’ Andrew Borgelt and JTMF’s Barnett English dive into the real-life challenges behind running boutique festivals.

"Independent festivals have always been about community, and now we’re taking that to the next level," Sweet said. "By coming together, we’re making sure independent festivals don’t just survive, but evolve and flourish for years to come."

You can listen to the roundtable conversation below and secure your indepenDANCE Pass here.