A Conversation with Barnett English - Founder of Joshua Tree Music Festival

Joshua Tree, CA

Words by Ryleigh Hutson & Alexander Cai Zettas

Joshua Tree Music Festival is an immersive globally cultural musical experience held in the Southern California Mojave desert twice a year. This family-friendly 4-day festival attracts over 3,000 attendees each October and May featuring up to 30 musical acts, live art installations, as well as over 90 workshops. This fall welcomes its 19th year and MusicMarauders caught up with the festival’s Founder/Organizer, Barnett English, to discuss the history and inspiration of the festival that he is continuing to build. We thank Barnett for taking his time to answer our questions in detail and we are excited to share insight as to what makes this festival unique!

MusicMarauders: What are your roots in getting involved with music events?

Barnett English: Ever since I was little, I’ve leaned on music to get me through; to get on up. I’ve got solid gold memories of driving around as a kid, with my mom in our Dodge Dart, the AM radio fueling us. Aretha would be telling me to "Think" and to "Rock Steady." I had no clue what Rock Steady meant, but I sure wanted to find out. Paul implored me to "Let It Be," while John taught me that "We All Shine On." Props to Diana, as she ingrained in my brain that "Aint No Mountain High Enough."  Carlos encouraged me to change my "Evil Ways," while Curtis urged me to "Move on Up." And on and on...

My mom would get into the music while driving. Feeling it. She’d do this dance where she’d pump the brakes and tap the steering wheel with the palms of her hands at the same time. So the car would be jerking, and we’d be singing and bumpin’ down the road. Good times, to be sure. Looking back, I’m amazed we never got pulled over.

By my teens I was a vinyl junkie. Clearly AM radio was a gateway drug. For three plus decades I spent an unwise percentage of every penny I made on records and CDs. Always looking for my new favorite song, or a band or a sound that I’d never heard. Over the years, I made over 600 mixed tapes & CDs. You could say I was mixed up. Worth every penny, cuz music made a bad day good, a good day great, and a great day phenomenal.

Then accidentally on purpose, back in 2003, the Joshua Tree Music Festival was born. Live mixed tapes if you will. I’m still seeking that new favorite song, sound or band and still leaning on music as medicine.

MM: What brought you to Joshua tree?

BE: Joshua Tree was a love at first sight kind of thing. It was October of 2002. We drove in at night, to sell espresso bevies at the JT Didgeridoo Fest at the Joshua Tree Lake Campground and woke up to sweeping views of the otherworldly National Park, bordering BLM land, nestled up against the Copper Mountains. Wow. We started setting up our booth and this cat rolled up in his VW bus, with a large mural of planet Earth painted on the side. He said he had fixin’s for egg burritos, but no coffee. A dream date, as we had no food (thanks D-Lo)! That was the first of many serendipitous moments that transpired over the long weekend.

The desert is freedom. Away from more crowded environs, you’re free to cultivate your eccentricities. Free to dream big. California dreaming. Free to shout, shout, let it all out. Stars abound ad infinitum. More stars than cars. Radiant moonbeams flaring. Electrifying sunsets. I’ve seen sunny days I thought would never end. The massive (uncluttered) views calm the frenetic chatter of the mind. The desert is vast; you’re invisible now, you’ve got no secrets to conceal. It’s a place without expectations, so come as you are. What I’m saying is, I love it here.

At this point, I’d been selling coffee at hundreds of music festivals for nearly a decade with my coffee biz, JavaGogo. Over the weekend at the Didgfest, I met our gracious hosts (Sally & Ken Jayes, JT Lake Campground owners), and enthusiastically suggested “This would be a great place for a music festival!” And Sally said, “If it’s such a great idea, why don’t you do it!?!” Dare taken. Within six months, I’d moved to Joshua Tree and produced the inaugural Joshua Tree Music Festival, April 11-13, 2003. Big thanks to Sally & Ken Jayes, as we’ve now had 40 JTMFs (two virtual) at their beautiful campground!

MM: Was there a moment or a key turning point that sparked inspiration that has made a big impact in developing a vision for the festival?

BE: In 1995, I went to the High Sierra Music Festival as a vendor with my coffee biz, JavaGogo.  Camped out for five days and nights, danced to some of my favorite bands and had a blast. But of greater import, I connected deeply with folks who are still good friends to this day... nearly 30 years later. So yes, I love live music, but it’s the real, organic, analog, human connections you make when camping out together for days and nights – and the shared live music experiences - that really inspired me to start a music festival. Lives are transformed in a positive way. More than ever, it’s what the world needs now!

MM: What do you most look forward to each time when you are organizing an event?

BE: Ever since our first festival in 2003, we’ve always booked artists on the rise. Bands that (almost) no one has ever heard of. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros played their first fest here in ’08. Trombone Shorty graced the stage here when he was just 19. Greensky Bluegrass & Trampled By Turtles... their first CA festivals were here in ’06 & ’07.  And on and on. One of my biggest thrills is to see the creatives react to these ‘unknown’ artists, and have their minds completely blown away!

MM: How has the landscape of music festivals changed in the years you have been involved?

BE: I could write a book or two on this. Our festival is twice a year – every May and October. When we started in 2003, there were hardly any west coast festivals in the spring and fall – they were all in June, July & Aug. Then over the years, the number of Music Festivals (globally and in the US) has exploded. They’re everywhere, all the time. And just this year we are seeing a massive number of festivals cancel and go belly up. Oversaturation swept the nation, and the Great Auto-Correct of ’24 is happening as we speak. Times are tough, and many (most) people are struggling to pay for rent and food. Folks can’t afford the outrageous festival tickets. More to the point, if people are going to spend, they want to have an experience that is rich, compelling, real, and rewarding. So many more topics here to touch on...

MM: What are some of the challenging moments or obstacles you have faced or continue to face when organizing a music festival?

BE: Being an independent festival organizer is always a financial challenge. The struggle is real. But it does make us more creative!

MM: I was lucky enough to experience a vocal training workshop at JTMF in 2014 with Rising Appalachia. These workshops with artists are unique, fun, and unforgettable for festival attendees. How do you go about organizing these unique sessions and are they challenging to coordinate with artists? Do you see opportunities to expand and bring in even more of these incredible workshops in the future?

BE: Sooo great to hear you were there for that workshop. Quick story – as I was bringing Leah & Chloe up to that workshop on a golf cart, one of them (can’t recall which) mentioned that they’d been on a vigorous hike in the National Park and that she was still feeling the effects of sun-stroke/dehydration. We got to the playshop stage and she hopped out of the cart and asked ‘you think it will be ok if I throw up on stage?'

There are many artists that really love to teach and interact with the audience in a way that is entirely different from performing. Adam Deitch led a truly inspired drumming workshop when he was here last fall to perform with Lettuce. It’s a matter of researching the bands/artists, finding out who’s inclined to hosting playshops and reaching out to them. 99% of the time the answer is an emphatic yes. The cool thing is, many attendees walk away saying that the playshop (not the performance) was their most impactful experience.

MM: With all the brilliant performances that have graced the stage at JTMF over the years, who are some of the artists and sets that stand out?

BE: The HU (Mongolian heavy metal band – their first US festival date in 2019). Dakhabrakha (Ukranian folk-rock quartet 2015). Jambinai (south Korean fusion 2017). Fatoumata Diawara (African queen 2018). Cimafunk (Cuban funk 2022). Ibibio Sound Machine (afro funque 2022). Bomba Estereo (2014). Mokoomba, House of Hamsa, My Baby, Brass Against, Fantastic Negrito, Nortec Collective. Kraak & Smaak. Toubab Krewe. So many. We’ve had 40 festivals now, so over 1000 live performances. The big takeaway here is that many of the truly transcendent performances are by International Artists – singing in a different language that nobody understands – and they come out here and truly slay.

MM: Are there any tips you have for festival attendees?

BE: Being in the desert – the big three go a long way to increase your fun factor: water, chapstick and a hat! And check out that band you’ve never heard of. Dive into that playshop that intrigues. Talk to everyone. The stories, connections, revelations and community have a rehumanizing effect. You leave the fest recharged, faith in humanity restored.

MM: What are you most excited to share about this upcoming fall festival?

BE: Musically speaking... I can’t wait to see folks dig the 2024 NPR Tiny Desk Concert winner, The Philharmonik. The funk n’ roll of the Polyrhythmics feat. Adryon de Leon is going to bring the house down. The afro trance aural carpet ride set by House of Hamsa will be a scorcher as well.

And beyond the music, there are 99 movement, mindfulness and merriment playshops at the Positive Vibration Station, Kidsville, the Sanctuary and at the Queer Salon. These deep dive sessions are where lots of the magic takes place!

www.joshuatreemusicfestival.com