Welcome to the Queer Salon! Joshua Tree Music Festival
By T. Hammidi
“Welcome, you belong here!” reads the 8’ rainbowcolored entrance sign to Joshua Tree Music Festiva (JTMF) grounds. It might possibly be the coolest sign you’ll ever see in its gorgeous lettering and heartfelt dedication to the diversity and dignity of all living beings. At least that’s what Joshua Tree Music Festival attendees exclaim as they squeal in delight at the inspirational sign. “Welcome” hasn’t lost its impact, here – it says what is obvious and so often forgotten – that everyone needs to belong.
More rainbow letters spell out the Festival ethics: “No sexism. No Racism. No ableism. No fat phobia. No Homophobia. No Transphobia. No Hate.” As Festival attendees enter, push their carts and kids up the dirt entrance, some pause to take family photos in front of the radiant signs; some stop and smile, exhale in relief, discuss. Only a few feet into the Joshua Tree Music Festival, the dialogue about what a brave world feels like, begins. Talk about an oasis in the desert!
JTMF birthed The Queer Salon in May 2023 as a Festival workshop space replete with LGBTQIA+ – affirming play shops, chill and art zones, an interior open floor plan for dance and writing, a kids zone with leopard couch and costumes, and a side room for quieter reflections, grief, and PFLAG circles. Designed by JTMF art director Sarah Renner, the Queer Salon’s style matches its intentions: to uplift and amplify queer lives in a space that feels safe, connected to the magic, and guided by LGBTQIA+ mentors and artists who build community, on purpose.
At the center of the Queer Salon sits a throne with a foot stool inviting Festival attendees to bask in an ethos of dignity and admiration. Festival attendees of all ages take up the call — sitting on the throne, lying quietly on the couches, examining the art gallery wall and rainbow-painted bookshelves layered with LGBTQIA+ books, soaking in the truly good vibes.
I had the honor or curating the Queer Salon with a core team of fellow visionaries, including members of Wyld Womxn, a low-desert feminist art collective for women and non-binary folks. Wyld Womxn Lauren Bright, Adriana Lopez-Ospina, and volunteer Jayelle Lopez hosted “Queer Acts: Playwriting Together” and “Weaving Wood, Weaving Community” for creative storytelling. Bright commented, “Community is what makes us resilient. No matter how the current climate tries to erase and take away the freedom to exist, we will always find a way. We are always seeds planted.”
This May, artist Jamie O’Neil offered a “Cosmic Smashbooking” art class. Reflecting on her multiple years of Festival attendance, she said, “Joshua Tree Music festival transformed my festival life, and Queer Salon transformed my JTMF experience. I’ve always felt included at this festival; there is a diverse group of staff, volunteers, and attendees. The Queer Salon elevated that feeling of belonging and community by providing a space that is proud out loud about being inclusive.”
Los Angeles writer Scot Zeller read from his play “H@ppy F@ggot,” bearing witness to the generation of his friends lost to AIDS. Zeller’s focus on inter-generational dialogue created a vibrant and certainly tearful space of learning. Morongo Valley artist Steve Wybenga cocreated an interactive “HIV History Timeline,” detailing key activist moments from 1981 to the present. Festival attendees added names and memories to the timeline, leaving traces of their own histories of loss within the unfolding AIDS crisis.
There is plenty of pleasure at the Queer Salon! Mayan Wish ran a “Faery Make-Up” play shop so popular across ages and genders, that the line out the rainbow door lasted 2 1/2 hours this May! Wish, a costume designer and aerialist by day, fashioned everyday faces into creations of fantasy and playful bliss. Wish commented that he sought “to share love and kindness “through the gift of make-up.
The Queer Salon hosts interactive workshops focused on self-expression and community. It has become, in only a year, a very special addition to the Joshua Tree Music Festival.
