Desert Hearts Cofounders Share Exciting News About New Music and Their 2026 Tour: A Journey Together as a Team
Desert Hearts Announces Tour and New EP Release
Desert Hearts co-founders Mikey Lion, Marbs, and Lee Reynolds are set to tour this spring and summer under the Desert Hearts name, coinciding with the release of their new EP, California, which premiered on April 29.
This marks the first time the trio, central figures in the long-standing Southern California Desert Hearts festival and musical collective, has toured and released music under this name. The two-track EP is available through Desert Hearts Records.
The announcement follows the November decision that the Desert Hearts festival will not take place in 2026. “We went into DHF 2025 with the intention of taking a break in 2026, but we ended up throwing the best Desert Hearts ever,” the festival’s announcement stated. It continued, “When we finally came back down, we realized what throwing a full scale DHF next year meant, and we didn’t like how that looked for our artist paths and personal lives. We sincerely apologize for getting ahead of ourselves.”
In an interview with Billboard, Mikey Lion elaborated, “We made a conscious decision to take 2026 off from producing our annual Desert Hearts Festival so we could refocus on what brought us together in the first place: being artists. Desert Hearts has always been rooted in the music, but over the years the event side naturally took a lot of our energy. 2026 felt like the right moment to shift that balance back. At the same time, we’ve always felt strongest as a crew. Releasing music under the Desert Hearts name is our way of fully embracing that identity while presenting a unified sound and vision.”
Lee Reynolds emphasized the significance of the new EP, stating, “California is the foundation of everything we’ve built. It’s where the first Desert Hearts parties happened, where the community thrived, and where we really found our identity. The DH vibe is uniquely Californian and we wanted to reclaim our roots as we debut as a trio.”
Marbs further noted, “Desert Hearts has always been about love, connection, and freedom of expression through music, art, and community, and we’ve never compromised on that. We’re not chasing trends or trying to fit into a system; we’re creating spaces where people can feel something real and connect on a deeper level. That intention has stayed the same for over a decade, and it’s the reason our community is still so strong. We protect that above everything.”
Originating in the early 2010s, Desert Hearts has grown from the West Coast transformational festival circuit into a bi-annual house and techno gathering, drawing thousands of fans and an impressive lineup of artists. The founders have also taken Desert Hearts parties on tour across the U.S. and internationally.
Upcoming Desert Hearts 2026 Tour Dates:
- May 2: Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Xanadu
- May 9: San Diego, Calif. @ Quartyard
- May 21: Bakersfield, Calif. @ Lightning In A Bottle
- May 25: Seattle, Wash. @ Monkey Loft
- May 30: Flagstaff, Ariz. @ Meow Wolf, Santa Fe
- July 27: Quebec, CA @ Groove & Bass Festival
- Aug. 9: San Jose, Calif. @ Urbano Blanco
- Aug. 14: Hellisandur, Iceland @ Secret Solstice Festival
