Coachella and Stagecoach dominate the valley’s musical landscape, with the old-school charm of Palm Springs and the excitement of a rejuvenated Indio also playing significant roles.
But the Coachella Valley is also home to an increasingly large scene of like-minded individuals who support both counterculture and alternative brands of music. This may make you think of spiked jewelry and colored hair—but actually, the most common traits are a sense of community and a love for all things relating to the early 2000s era of emo music and hard rock.
The scene has begun to grow thanks to various “emo night” events hosted throughout the desert. Emo nights are dance parties where DJs play songs from the heavy-rock titans associated with the emo genre of the early ’00s. Alternative music fans—some of whom were alive during this era, and some of whom were not—gather at these events and other themed nights, signaling a rise in the alt-music lifestyle among both desert-dwellers and music fans around the United States.
“There’s definitely the pull of nostalgia to it,” said T.J. Petracca, the co-founder of Los Angeles-based Emo Nite, which produces events across the country, including local venues like Pretty Faces and Pappy and Harriet’s. “(The ’00s were) the first time that fans were able to really connect with each other digitally around music. I think that’s why you have so many different-sounding bands getting lumped together—like 3OH!3 and Taking Back Sunday are two very different-sounding bands, but you could book them on a show together, and nobody would bat an eye. I think a lot of that came out of the original way that this music was popularized through sharing it with each other online, through downloading it off of LimeWire, and connecting with people on MySpace, and then in real life at shows. A lot of people hold it very close to their heart, and that is why so many people are so protective of the genre and the word (“emo”), because it just means a lot to people.”
Vic Alva, who puts on the Let’s Get Sad Party series at Bart Lounge and other venues around Southern California, said people in the desert have learned more about this era of music through his themed nights.
“It’s amazing. It definitely brings people together,” Alva said. “People come for nostalgia. Even if you’re not familiar with some of the songs that we play, you’re going to like them regardless, and some people are going to take out their phones or ask their friends, ‘Who is this? I’ve never heard this one before.’ I think it’s resonating pretty well with everybody. … I’m positive that they leave happy.”
Petracca and his fellow Emo Nite founder, Morgan Freed, have performed at venues around the country, including a spot at Coachella in 2022. Petracca said he revels in the rise of alternative music heads.
“We started throwing these parties in 2014, when emo really wasn’t cool,” Petracca said. “It was having a moment where it was looked down upon. I feel like we’ve tried not to lean too much into basing it purely on nostalgia or wanting people to step back in time, and instead focused on trying to make our party the coolest party that people would want to go to in 2024. I think that has really helped with the longevity of our events, and the acceptance or popularity of the genre now 10 years into throwing these parties.”
Another factor in the growth of the counterculture scene is an emphasis on acceptance. There is a lack of judgment, and a goal of fostering a community of people who uplift each other in the face of increasing hate.
“I’m as inclusive as I can be, and I’m getting the crowd into it,” Alva said. “I’m not out there just to DJ, but I’m up there to put on a show. It’s like if I had a guitar in my hand, I’d be pointing out to the crowd. I used to do the same thing when I was in bands, so it just carried over to what I do now. I bring people onstage or point and sing with them and or at them, and throw some balloons.”
Petracca said Emo Nite has helped the scene grow through community involvement.
“We have 10 parties a weekend going on across the country, and it’s been really important for us to work with individuals who represent the brand well, and understand what we’re trying to do,” Petracca said. “Everybody who works with us is first and foremost a fan, and most of them don’t have any experience DJing. They’re not promoters; they’re strictly doing this because they care about it the same way that we care about it. That’s really important to building a large-scale community. … The first few years of throwing these events across the country, Morgan and I would personally fly around and do these shows, and it was awesome. We’d find people who were upfront headbanging at the DJ booth and connect with those people after the shows, and then we’d have them back and teach them how to use the (equipment). … Slowly but surely, we’ve built these little Fight Club-esque communities across the country. I think it all comes down to choosing the right representatives who understand the value and the importance of making a safe space for people.”
Alva said the vibes at Let’s Get Sad are similar to the mood you’d find at friendly get-togethers.
“Before emo nights and stuff like that popped up, me and my friends would gather at each other’s houses and either play guitar or play music out of the stereo and just listen to these bands that we grew up with, and sing along to these bands as the night went on,” Alva said. “For me, it’s like a big party with my friends sitting in the living room, just having fun.”
One local counterculture subscriber is Sage Lopez, who both attends and photographs events put on by the alt crowd; you can check out his work at instagram.com/socalxsurfers. During a recent phone interview, Lopez said the scene is truly alternative, because it provides events different from mainstream offerings like Coachella.
“If you look at the history of punk, it’s always rebelling against the conformity of the standard norms,” said Lopez. “I wouldn’t say the norm here really is Coachella, but (the alternative scene) is an option against Coachella. … It creates more lively outlets than just having people to go to these corporate things.”
That said, Goldenvoice has shown a desire to include the alt/emo scene at Coachella. Emo Night was there in 2022, and this year, Taking Back Sunday performed at the fest. The band, from the early 2000s, is considered part of the alternative Y2K scene, and their music is frequently played at emo nights. During an onsite interview with guitarist and co-lead vocalist John Nolan, he said he was pleasantly surprised to be playing at a variety festival.
“The general feeling of playing the show felt pretty similar to anything else, but it is cool to be in a festival with a wide variety of bands and artists, and not doing something that’s pigeonholed into the emo genre,” Nolan said.
Nolan said he was worried at first about the crowds the band could encounter at an influencer-heavy festival like Coachella.
“I did have a little bit of a concern that it might be the kind of audience that, even if they were into it, would kind of just stand with their arms folded and just watch silently. I could have seen that being the case—but luckily it wasn’t,” Nolan said. “I was actually kind of surprised how many sing-alongs there were, and there were pockets of mosh pits and things. It actually ended up feeling more like one of our regular shows than I expected.”
Nostalgia is important to many fans of Y2K hard rock, something Nolan said he witnesses regularly.
“Sometimes when we’re playing live, and I see people singing along, I’m just blown away by it,” Nolan said. “… (Our music from back then) really resonated in a way that still means something to them. Something else that I don’t really understand, and I’m really grateful for, is people discovering the band at different points over the last 15 years. A lot of times, they might gravitate toward those older songs, but they might also come in on the fourth or fifth album, and that’s their entry point, and then those (older) songs really resonate with them.”
Nolan said Taking Back Sunday takes this all into consideration when creating setlists.
“There are some older songs that we don’t play very often or hardly at all—but we really only do that with not-very-popular songs,” Nolan said. “If it’s something that we know people really love and want to hear, we always will consider that over being like, ‘I don’t feel like playing that today.’ We always try to balance the whole thing out with the ones that we know everyone’s going to be there for, and then the ones that represent the entire catalog from the beginning to now, and then the newest songs. Hopefully we blend that all together in a way that works well for people.”
Lopez said nostalgia plays a big part in the local scene.
“We choose to listen to a certain type of music that is still nostalgic and hits home in very different ways,” Lopez said. “We all have different meanings toward every different song, and it’s been really nice seeing all the other people who are like-minded. … It’s been wonderful to see, because it also helps me as a person to be more sure of who I want to be.”
Lopez said he’s happy the local alternative scene has been growing, through both emo-night events and backyard punk and metal shows.
“Creating the spots where people can come together and talk about all these other ideas is the start of it,” Lopez said. “When you go into these scenes, you feel free to talk to anybody, and you’ll surprise yourself with what people share in common. … When it’s our free time, we get to express ourselves how we want to, and we do so through Y2K, emo, grunge and all the genres of rock that they offer.”
Lopez believes that in 2024, the connections and opportunities for self-expression offered by the alternative scene are especially important.
“We live in a time where people are becoming a little bit more individualistic, and they’re yearning for that connectivity of community,” Lopez said. “The pioneers of this genre were just generally doing themselves and expressing themselves, and other people found that as an outlet, and they started going along with it and creating something out of it.”
Upcoming Local Emo/Alt/Counterculture Events
- Creatures of the Night (alt drag): At 9:30 p.m., every Wednesday, at Bart Lounge, 67555 E Palm Canyon Drive, in Cathedral City; www.instagram.com/creaturesofthenightaltdragshow
- Luna Negra Goth Nights (music and DJs): At 8 p.m., Saturdays, June 8, June 22, July 6 and July 20 at Bart Lounge; and Friday, June 28 and July 26, at The Tiny Pony, 57205 Twentynine Palms Highway, in Yucca Valley; watch Instagram.com/luna.negra.goth.nights for more info on events coming to Palm Springs and Indio
- Let’s Get Sad Party: At 9 p.m., Saturday, June 1, and Friday, July 5, at Bart Lounge; www.instagram.com/theletsgetsadparty
- Realms of Death, Price of Life, Bronca, Covenant Eyes (touring and local hardcore/metal bands): On Monday, June 3, at Music House Indio, 82777 Miles Ave.; www.instagram.com/musichouseindio
- Promotive, He Films the Clouds, Shark Fin, Wisemansay, I Lay in Static (local hardcore/metal bands): At 6 p.m., Thursday, June 6, at Music House Indio, 82777 Miles Ave.; www.instagram.com/musichouseindio
- Emo Nite: At 9:30 p.m., Saturday, June 15, at Pretty Faces Nightclub, 150 S. Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs; emonite.com
- Hot Stuff Booking shows: Watch instagram.com/hotstuffbooking for updated info