What: Celebrating its 5th year, Splash House is known as a boutique festival that tends to cater towards the tastemaker end of the spectrum, carefully booking acts that are on the rise or about to be shoved to the forefront of public consciousness. It’s a festival of pool parties, but not like Vegas pool parties; these pools look like ones that I might consider entering after several drinks when I forget about my mild germophobia surrounding pools. It’s the place to be if you’re trying to show off your hot bod while meeting the who’s who of the next generation in music.
Who: You, maybe—if you’re 21 or older and feel the glow of youth draining from your face on a daily basis #mortality. From what it appears, all the young, hip, and beautiful Angelenos are there too. Splash House is a festival, yes, but it’s for the crowd that’s too old (or if you’re like me, too crabby) to be front row at a Zeds Dead mainstage set sweating like Jordan Peele, but too young to be dragging a toddler to Pitchfork as you sit on a picnic blanket in the grass listening to Solange and secretly priding yourself on being the coolest goddamn mom in the world.
When: There are two weekends to choose from: June 9th-11th, and August 11th-13th. Both lineups are equally stacked for all kinds of electronic music fans, from the Soundcloud set to the house heads and indie lovers. Highlights from the June festival are Brasstracks, Classixx, Jackmaster, MSCLS, J.Phlip, Phantoms…. actually if I’m being honest with myself this lineup is 100% great. August is too. If you haven’t already, you gotta see Flamingosis because he is that dude. If you enjoy crying from excitement AND emotions while dancing (like a certain someone writing this post), I’d recommend checking out Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Kaytranada, and Jacques Greene.
Where: Palm Springs, an ultra-picturesque place that should be renamed to “Instagram City”. Part of what makes Splash House so alluring is its setting: the action is scattered betwixt three adjacent hotels, great for people like myself who love air conditioning and drinking alone in a comfy room as much as they love live music. Hop between the Saguaro Palm Springs, Riviera Palm Springs, and Renaissance Palm Springs with the help of the handy shuttle service, and then hit afterparties at the Palm Springs Air Museum. With the ease of transport and a variety of locations to explore, you have a multitude of options to jump in the pool (or not, I don’t think anybody from LA gets into a pool during a pool party), dance, eat, drink, be merry, then head on over to the after hours for more partying.
Why: Because I told you to go. Just kidding, I would never tell you to go to something you didn’t want to attend. But this seems like something most people would want to attend, so I am telling you to do it. In all seriousness, Splash House is unlike most other festivals I’ve seen touted over the years—its location and hotels look beautiful, it has a consistently impressive lineup, and it looks fun as fuck. Did I sell you on it yet? I hope so, because I know I definitely want to go—and who wouldn’t want to come hang out with a smartass like me for a weekend?
Purchase tickets for Splash House online at their official website.
