The Fabulous Yachtsmen were part of Oasis Music Festival's opening night lineup May 11 at the historic Plaza Theatre in downtown Palm Springs. The festival continues through May 15.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM POWERS, ASHLEY MEJIA, AND LORETTA VLACH
Looking for the Oasis Music Festival? Just follow the beat.
The festival opened with a reception at Juniper Table at the Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs Hotel. Guests enjoyed complimentary hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, including a signature pomegranate-forward concoction. Then, the jazz group Bayou Bump arrived and led guest in a groovy parade toward Palm Springs’ historic Plaza Theatre, where a ribbon cutting officially celebrated the start of the inaugural event.
The Save the Plaza Theatre Foundation’s Gino LaMont welcomed ticketholders before Michael Mathews, community relations and sponsorship director at Palm Springs Life (the festival founders), took a pair of supersized yellow scissors and performed the ceremonious snip as Palm Springs Mayor Pro Tem Grace Garner looked on.
Built in 1936, the 800-seat Plaza Theatre once hosted film premieres and screenings, nationally broadcast radio theater programs, and performances by legends including Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, vaudeville-style revue, made its home at the from 1991 until the Plaza’s closure in 2014.
Over the decades, the building has deteriorated, so a portion of the proceeds from the Oasis Music Festival will support the city’s capital campaign to restore the beloved structure to its former glory.
If you’d like a glimpse inside the iconic venue, grab tickets to see artists such as the Milk Carton Kids (May 12), Lee Fields & the Expressionists (May 13), and The White Buffalo (May 14) as well as local talent including The Flusters (May 13) and Giselle Woo & the Night Owls (May 14).
Others on the festival’s 60-artist lineup will appear at more than 15 venues throughout Palm Springs. Can’t-miss sets include The Voice alum Cedrice (May 13-14) at the Margaritaville Resort and musical comedy duo Deven Green & Handsome Ned (May 13) at Wilma & Frieda’s.
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