Pahrump Music Festival attracts 28,000 attendees

By Patrick Billings Special to the Pahrump Valley Times

3 years ago

Jimmy Romo/Special to the Pahrump Valley Times Intuitive Souls Bands won the Battle of the Bands.

Jimmy Romo/Special to the Pahrump Valley Times The carnival at the festival was the first carnival of the year and sales were up 50% over last year.

Jimmy Romo/Special to the Pahrump Valley Times It wouldn’t be a carnival without a plethora of carnival games under colorful canopies.

Jimmy Romo/Special to the Pahrump Valley Times A young attendee stands on the a carnival game as she and her mom, Charlene Rose, are throwing ping pong balls at the cups that float on water in hopes of winning a prize.

Jimmy Romo/Special to the Pahrump Valley Times Jeff and Diana Stegeman dance as the Battle of the Bands’ first performer The Fall Aparts perform at the Pahrump Music Festival.

Jimmy Romo/Special to the Pahrump Valley Times Intuitive Souls Bands, which performed two of the three nights won the Battle of the Bands.

More than 28,000 attended the 2nd annual Pahrump Music Festival at Petrack Park between March 31 and April 3, making it one of the largest events in the town’s history.

Attendees came from as far away as Southern California, central Utah and parts of Arizona, according to event organizer Doug Dubin.

Kathleen Roth said her grandkids were tuckered out from the assortment of funnel cakes, icies, live music and rides.

Intuitive Souls Band — a neo-soul, R&B, and jazz fusion group — won the Battle of the Bands competition.

“They were an absolute blast,” said concert attendee Jocelyn Ramirez, of Pahrump.

The Fall Aparts, a rock-and-roll group, took home the second-place trophy.

“We had a lot of fun at the Pahrump Music Festival Battle Of The Bands. The stage crew and sound crew were on point and did an excellent job in spite of plans being changed on the spot,” said Scooter Hylann, lead vocals of The Fall Aparts.

Getting volunteers to help at the four-day event was a challenge, Dubin said.

“We were expecting about 40 volunteers, but only ended up with about 20,” he said.

Still, Dubin said the event was a success. Carnival sales were up 50 percent over last year, he said, even though vendors weren’t operating full days on Thursday and Sunday.