LOS ANGELES, Oct 6 — Six of the world’s most iconic and influential rock ‘n’ roll artistes will perform over three nights in California this week at Desert Trip, a hotly anticipated festival at an unparalleled scale.

This two-weekend series of mega-shows will feature a legendary lineup, with pairings like The Rolling Stones/Bob Dylan (October 7/16), Paul McCartney/Neil Young (October 8/17) and Roger Waters/The Who (October 9/18).

The concerts will take place in Indio, California — also host to the renowned Coachella Music and Arts Festival — at the Empire Polo Club.

Desert Trip poster. — Desert Trip handout pic via AFP-Relaxnews

Billboard reported that both weekends for Desert Trip — Oct. 9-11 and Oct. 16-18 — were sold out in less than three hours, respectively. The resulting box office gross is estimated to have reached US$150 million (RM620.4 million), the highest ever for a concert series. The venue has 35,000 premium reserved seats (US$1,599, US$999, or US$699) and 35,000 general seats, priced at US$399, equivalent in pricing to Coachella (both festivals are produced by the same company, Goldenvoice).

The festival boasts progressive amenities, such as gender-neutral restrooms as well as vegetarian, vegan, and kosher meal options, amidst its 100 food and beverage vendors.

Goldenvoice has sent out welcome kits for festival-goers, including "a throwback Viewmaster-type 3-D slide viewer with two sets of circular slides that will look familiar to many of the baby boomers who will be one of the key constituencies of the concerts,” noted the LA Times.

On-site camping at Desert Trip provides proximal concert convenience as well as access to activities (pinball arcades, a casino, a massage center, Pilates). Camping, open from Thursday morning until Monday morning, is available only to three-day pass holders, with provisions for free showers, 24-hour medical presence, cell phone charging stations, a fully-stocked general store, a merchandise tent, an on-site locksmith, and free supermarket-bound shuttles.

Desert Trip camping. — Desert Trip handout pic via AFP-Relaxnews

In tandem with the live shows is the Desert Trip Photography Experience. Hung in a massive tent, there will be over 200 images featuring the performing musicians on the bill: photos emblematic of their youth, fame, style, and sex appeal. Stripped of the artifice of today’s celebrity shoots, the vintage visuals "represent the pinnacle of rock photography from an era before musicians maintained carefully controlled public personas,” Desert Trip’s website notes.

The photographers include, amongst others, Michael Cooper (the inspiration for Michelangelo Antonioni’s film Blow-Up and the lensman behind the album cover Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band), Bob Gruen (the personal photographer of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who took the famous photo of the ex-Beatle wearing his New York City T-shirt), and Ethan Russell (who shot album covers for The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who).

For further information: http://deserttrip.com/ — AFP-Relaxnews