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43 Years Ago Today, LA Punks Were Bused Into the Middle of the Desert for a Festival Blueprint of Burning Man and Coachella

The Mojave desert concerts were inspired by tensions between L.A. punks and local police.

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On April 24, 1983, the Desolation Center held the first of three concerts in the Mojave Desert. Formed by Stuart Swezey, the Los Angeles punk rock performing arts organization previously held gigs at various venues in the city. But tensions between the L.A. punk scene and the local police were hindering bands’ abilities to put on shows.

Initially, Swezey was booking bands for Desolation Center shows at warehouses downtown in an attempt to avoid the cops. But his true vision was leaving the city altogether and holding gigs where the law feared to tread.

“I liked the idea of doing shows downtown to be under the radar of the cops, but what I really had in mind was to get away from the vibe of these nightclubs on the Sunset Strip like The Whisky A Go-Go and The Roxy,” Swezey told The Hundreds in 2018. “It was just too Rock ‘N’ Roll for me, and I wanted to work with spaces that were blank slates.”

In 1983, Desolation Center put on ‘Mojave Exodus,’ The First of Three Concerts in the Desert

He added, “I can’t remember getting through one gig I put on that didn’t end with police issues … It was the frustration with all of that which led me in another direction to put on shows.”

Swezey’s idea to take Desolation Center out of the city began to take shape while on a road trip through northern Mexico. He rode through the Sonoran Desert landscape and........

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