Splash House is an alternate reality for anybody who goes to camping festivals in California, like Lightning In A Bottle or Northern Nights. Instead of fields and forests, rivers and lakes, Splash House is hosted entirely in luxury resort hotels in Palm Springs. The sun is hotter; the beats are faster. Melodic house and bass music is traded for hot, furious progressive and electro house, moving at a clip of 125+ BPM.
The stages are permanent structures at the head of enormous patios with pools and hot tubs, where presumably the resorts host other concerts throughout the year. The atmosphere is pure LA party; think gym bros in black tank tops and Ed Hardy tees, Instagram girls in Balenciaga skirts posing for photos, and classic ravers complete with tiny backpacks and pacifiers. You won’t find any wooks; there’s no hippy festival wear. The crowd was young, high-energy, and ready to party.
Getting between the hotels is easy with a complimentary shuttle running every 15 minutes, or you can opt for the convenience of an Uber, but their drivers benefit from surge pricing. We rode the shuttle and took a ton of Ubers to catch as much of the festival as possible — a great option for those who want to experience it all, though first-timers may find it easier to settle in at one hotel and soak up the vibe. Find a lineup of DJs you like and park your butt at one resort if you can, for as long as possible. Side note: kind of weird to ride around Palm Springs in the daytime – nobody’s outside because it’s so hot, and some of the restaurants and bars, and stores are just shut down for the summer.
The afterparties at the Air Museum were maybe the most unique part of it all. Held smack between an aircraft hangar and an enormous field, the main stage was set up in front of a vintage air force plane. There were American flags along the hangar walls, and more historic military memorabilia lit up for display and guarded behind ropes in the back. The stage itself was minimal and dark, with just aggressive strobe lighting for visuals.
Highlight sets included Vandelux, who played at my favorite hotel, where each of the balconies were decked out in homemade banners, lights, and other wild decorations brought by guests staying in the rooms. Vandelux was as smooth and sweet as always – sped up and with more minimalist drum breakdowns, but still with his signature memorable vocal melodies and sexy songwriting, mixed in with great covers from the 70s/80s/90s. Neil Frances was also excellent; again, party mode was cranked up to an 11, but hook-y, moving, and evolving, with their unique tag-team duo DJing. We also discovered a surprising number of female DJs, which was great to see; probably our favorite was a daytime set from a DJ named Strawberry. Honorable mention goes to Disclosure, who is just always a great time, and Sofi Tukker, who headlined with their usual energy and style.
I’d recommend Splash House for anyone who loves SoCal DJ culture; anyone looking to not worry about staking tents or sleeping outside; folks who like to be clean (except the chlorine) all day; and people who don’t mind investing in next-level comfort and convenience, outdoor bottle service, easy transportation, and shade. Don’t come if you don’t want to get seriously into it; it’s not a calm or slow-moving experience, and the music is nonstop. There’s no chill – all gas, no brakes.
EXTRA HELPFUL INFO
- Every cabana and every piece of shade will cost you extra, so if you don’t want to stand in the heat, you’ll be basically dancing the day and night away in the water.
- Those buses were crazy crowded, standing room only, and waiting in line for them in the heat wasn’t a joy.
🔗 splashhouse.com • Instagram • Facebook
Weekend One (Aug 8–10):
49th & Main (DJ Set) • ACRAZE • ATRIP • Azzecca* • Close Friends Only • Daniel Allan • Devault • Disco Lines • Eli Brown • Hayden James • HILLS • JADED • Jigitz • Kamino • Loods • Marten Hørger • Matisa • Nostalgix • Notion • RaeCola • San Pacho • Swimming Paul • TroyBoi • Waxtroda (Wax Motif & Matroda)* • Westend • Wuki
Weekend Two (Aug 15–17):
Andruss • Angrybaby • Annicka • AYYBO • Badger • Benson • Boys Noize • BUNT. • Claude VonStroke • Cloonee* • Clüb De Combat • Dark Heart • Disclosure (DJ Set)* • Emmit Fenn • GENESI • Jackie Hollander • Max Styler • Neil Frances • nimino • Noizu • Rafael • Ranger Trucco • Roddy Lima • Rommii • SOFI TUKKER • Taiki Nulight • Vandelux (DJ Set) • Wheats
*After Hours at Palm Springs Air Museum
