KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: Pahrump Music Festival

After more than two years of COVID restrictions, folks in Pahrump are eager to experience an outdoor, wow-factor extravaganza.

Never in Pahrump’s history has it seen an event the size and magnitude of this year’s 2nd annual Pahrump Music Festival, set to kick off at 4 p.m. Thursday and run through Sunday at Petrack Park.

There is expected to be anywhere from 15,000 to 25,000 people in attendance from Nevada, Arizona, Utah and California, according to organizers.

“We started booking vendors, bands, and carnival equipment some seven months ago, back in September of 2021,” said Doug Dubin, an organizer of the event. “And we’re still taking last-minute bookings.”

Vendors

This year’s music festival will have roughly 70 arts and craft vendors on site, ranging from Tupperware sales specialists to a custom-fitted toe ring shop.

In addition to these craft, clothing and jewelry vendors, there will be 22 food vendors with traditional, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options to choose from.

“Instead of having 10 different burger vendors at the event, for instance, we are going to have American Grill in attendance - a vendor that grills up to 50 different types of hamburgers,” Dubin said.

There will be no shortage of adult beverage options, either. Mora Ice Cream, specializing in alcohol-infused ice cream will be in attendance, as will a beer and wine garden.

So, too, will the fan favorite Coast 2 Coast.

“Coast 2 Coast were the ones to originally make the Lobster Mac N Cheese, and it’s always a hit with our festival-goers,” Dubin said.

This year’s festivities tripled the amount of vendors over last year’s, according to Dubin, and it even includes a car show.

There will be plenty of places to shop and eat over the long weekend.

Free and featured bands

“If you’re looking for a cheap night out, filled with excitement, the music festival is the place to be,” said Dubin.

There are 15 bands playing free of charge during the day on the main stage, with featured bands playing at night. Tickets are on presale for $10 for a night, or only $25 for the entire four days.

“Our $25 tickets are outselling the $10 tickets four to one - you’re getting four nights of live music entertainment for a fraction of the cost,” said Dubin.

The cost to bring all these bands together for four days of entertainment? A staggering $60,000.

“Attendees really are getting a deal here. Plus, I’m so confident in the quality of the entertainment that I’ll refund the $10 if it had to come to that.”

There will also be eight bands engaged in the Battle of the Bands, four playing Thursday night and the other four playing Friday night, with the finals taking place on Saturday.

The bands included are The Fall Aparts, Donkey Island Penitentiary, and Dead Money, on Thursday; followed by Intuitive Soul Band, Last Resort, UCoustic2, and King Schascha & the Sin City Rockers on Friday night — all from Las Vegas.

A Native American drum performance will wrap things up on Sunday.

Carnival rides

While there’s plenty of entertainment for adults at this year’s music festival, kids of all ages won’t have a shortage of fun, either.

“There will be 16 carnival rides in total, occupying just over 100,000 square feet,” said Dubin.

The rides include a 109-foot tower that’s being shipped in from G & S Shows, a popular carnival ride company which has been providing California, and now Pahrump, a full line of amusement rides and attractions, exciting games, and delicious food for the past 25 years.

Superslides, scooters, and a fun wheel, to name a few, will also be making an appearance at this year’s massive carnival attraction.

Tickets for the carnival rides presale will cost $30 dollars per day, for unlimited rides.

Raffles and auctions

In addition to the plethora of clothing and craft vendors, live music, and food, the second annual Pahrump Music Festival will be featuring a raffle and auction of some 30-plus items, including three $100 gas cards, a D’Angelico Guitar ($1,000 value), and one-hour live fire training with ammunition from Blackstone Gun Safety to name a few.

Raffle tickets are available for one for $1, six for $5, and an arm’s length for $20 dollars.

“Come for the music, and stay for everything else,” said Dubin.