Queens of the Stone Age Light Up Joshua Tree: Josh Homme’s Intimate Homecoming at JTRC

All Photos by Jim Hucks

My first concert was Ted Nugent. I was 14 years old, and I let my friend Robbie wear my cool tan leather jacket in exchange for a ride to Detroit. Yes, Detroit. Ted Nugent’s hometown. And while Ted is indeed a fantastic guitarist, and the show was memorable for many reasons (including his appearance in little but a loincloth), what I remember most clearly after all these years was the energy. When Ted said “Hello, Detroit!”, the crowd went wild. There’s something about a hometown boy done good that creates palpable excitement, a powerful feeling of nostalgia and affection that is hard to beat. The person in front of you is a rock star, yes, but he also shopped at the same stores you do, remembers the same summer evenings, listened to the same radio stations. He just gets it in the way someone who isn’t a local never can. And that feeling is more powerful than any drug. By the time that Ted Nugent concert came to a close, a sea of lighters lit up the night (yes, I am that old) – a tribute to one of our own. I felt that feeling again on Friday night, and it was nothing short of exhilarating.

Friday, April 24, 2026, the Queens of the Stone Age (QOTSA) Catacombs Tour launched at the iconic and mystical Joshua Tree Retreat Center (the architectural wonder formerly known as the Institute of Mentalphysics). Artist, Libby Grace, opened the sold out show with a sweet, western-flavored set,  her songs especially fitting for a balmy desert afternoon. The sun was shining; a light breeze was blowing (we don’t say the “W” word in the desert). As the night fell, the breeze picked up, and the stars and moon started to show in the desert night sky. The mood shifted to one of anticipation.

When the first strains of QOTSA’s Running Joke boomed out through the darkness, the vibe was set. And when our own local son, Josh Homme, took the stage, the crowd let out a collective sigh of contentment, expectation, and a palpable, yet hushed, excitement.

That excitement moved through the space like a creature of the night, even though the songs in this gorgeous theatrical production were subdued and controlled. The lighting, which shifted from a single stark white bulb to red lights that washed the stage, the crowd, and a lone sentinel Joshua tree in their glow, added to the wizardry of the evening. The energy picked up as the band, backed by amazingly talented classical musicians, seamlessly took us through expert orchestrations of classics like Kalopsia and Villains of Circumstance. This was a seated show, and as Homme moved through the rapt audience during Someone’s in The Wolf, standing above them at one point while bathed in ruby red light, the mood shifted to a sort of hushed awe and wonder.

Then, the lights came up and Homme launched into an unforgettable welcome, in which he recognized out-of-towners and jokingly said they were almost as cool as the locals. He went on to say that locals understand that we live in a very special place, where the desert begins at the foot of the mountains, and that magic comes from such places of transition. He admitted he doesn’t get out to the desert much, but that he always comes back to this place.

But why this exact space? Why would such a band play such a small intimate show in a tiny town about an hour away from the low desert where they formed? It’s well known that Homme and several of his past and present band mates have spent a lot of time in the Joshua Tree area, but why JTRC? According to Joshua Tree Retreat Center Board member, Terry Taylor-Castillo, Homme first became aware that concerts could be staged at JTRC when he saw their Courtney Barnett concert videos. He decided that the band had to start this leg of the tour in their home base, and contacted former Pappy & Harriet’s owners, Robin Celia and Linda Krantz, who in turn worked with Sister Midnight and the JTRC Board to make the idea a reality. The reality was a dream come true for many, including myself.

I moved to Palm Springs in 1980, just after my Ted Nugent concert, and graduated from Palm Springs High School in 1982. In those years, there was little to do in the desert. We didn’t even have a contemporary radio station when I arrived, just oldies and Lawrence Welk coming over the airwaves, unless we were lucky enough to get an LA station to come in. In this landscape, some local kids decided to take matters into their own hands and began forming bands in the musical genre that would become known as Desert Stoner Rock. With no set place to play, and very strict restrictions within most city limits, gatherings in the middle of the desert called “generator parties” became all the rage. Many bands grew out of that scene, and musicians fluidly morphed and moved between gigs (and still do), but one of the groups that had the most commercial success, and grew a cult-like following, was Kyuss. In a simplified version of events, Queens of the Stone Age grew out of Kyuss, and the rest is desert history.

The concert on Friday will take its own place in that history. I spoke with several concert-goers that evening, including Joshua Tree resident Elaine Harris, who said, “(the concert) brings everyone together – I see people like me – I’ve already seen many people I know, and it’s a beautiful thing to be a part of.”  Abe Shaw shared, “Josh Homme is my hero,” and musician Robert Waldman said, “I’m thankful to see one of the great desert exports at such an amazing location. It’s as good as it gets.” Many other local musicians, and legends themselves, were in attendance, including David Catching, Scott Reeder, Sean Wheeler, Tony Tokhian, and the godfather of Desert Stoner Rock himself, Mario Lalli. And Nick. Nick Oliveri, Palm Springs local, founder of Katzenjammer (with Josh Homme, John Garcia, Brant Bjork, and Chris Cockrell), former member of Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, and legend in his own right, joined Homme on stage for the first time in 12 years for a rendition of Auto Pilot that energized the crowd again. To be able to witness that reunion was not only epic but healing in its own way for many in attendance.

Speaking of healing, Josh’s choice of closing song was an emotional moment for everyone. His Queens of the Stone Age bandmate and friend Mark Lanegan left us too soon, passing in 2022 at the age of 57. Closing with Mark’s song, One Hundred Days, was a fitting, heartfelt tribute to another legend. As one attendee said, “that song broke us all.”

Not only did our local boy make good, he never forgot where he came from, and he proved that to us all that night. He came back to us and brought us all along on a magical journey beneath our beloved desert night sky. For a moment, I was 14 again, feeling a shared moment and a sense of nostalgia for the old desert days with a rock star. And I will be telling this story for the rest of my days. Thank you, Mr. Homme. We know you love the desert, and the desert loves you back.

Jacqueline Guevara is a published writer and the Director of Joshua Tree National Park Association, the official fundraising partner of the National Park