LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It won’t be long before you see Las Vegas' Desert Bloom make it on the big stage. The local indie rock band is set to perform at this year’s Life is Beautiful festival, which draws thousands of attendees from all over the country to the downtown area.
“This is not only our dream," said Kennedy McClendon, who makes up one-third of Desert Bloom along with Xavier Paul and Kameron Salek. "But Kameron and I have had recurring dreams of playing at Life is Beautiful. So it is unreal in every way."
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This opportunity came just three years after the band was formed, while two of its members were seniors at the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts high school.
Desert Bloom gained streaming success and went on its first tour this year. Its members learned to improvise.
“Something inevitably will go wrong. If I’ve learned one thing from the tour that has aided my live performance, it’s been that,” said Salek.
The band encouraged fans to reach out to Life is Beautiful organizers to play at the festival. When they got word that Desert Bloom would be in, it was such an unexpected surprise, some in the band thought it was an early April Fool’s joke.
“This is like some cruel harsh joke. You are just pretending that our dreams have come true,” McClendon said.
But their chance is oh so real, getting to play in front of thousands of people at a major music festival representing the Vegas music scene.
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“I hope it’s generally understood that the scene is always growing and that there’s always more to discover here,” Salek said.
The hope is they’ll continue their growth, and perhaps win over new fans, at the festival.
“If at the end of the show, one person is impacted by our music or follows us on Instagram, or listens to it later on, then it will be worth it," McClendon said.
The band is performing this Saturday with a 45-minute set at the Rising Star Stage at Container Park.
Learn more about Desert Bloom, including upcoming tour dates and where you can stream their music, at DesertBloomMusic.com. To learn more about Life is Beautiful, including the festival's lineup, visit LifeisBeautiful.com.
