Desert Hearts will return this autumn with a smaller five-day event, Microfest, after pausing its flagship 2026 festival. The Northern California gathering is intended to revive the intimate, community-led atmosphere that helped establish the dance music collective more than a decade ago, signalling a reset rather than an end to the brand.

Microfest will run from 1 to 5 October at Deloro Valley, California, with artists including DJ Minx, Stacey Pullen, Danny Daze, Justin Martin and DJ Holographic, alongside Desert Hearts founders Mikey Lion, Lee Reynolds, Marbs and Porky. The festival pause followed 13 years of events, with organisers saying they needed time to reset, refocus and rebuild; Mikey Lion, Marbs and Lee Reynolds have also released a new track, “A Place For Us”.