A&E

Further Future’s organizers discuss their vision for May’s desert festival

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Tim Hecker plays Further Future this May.
Tsuyoshi Suzuki

Southern Nevada has seen a handful of music festivals establish or announce themselves in the past few years, so it might follow that the next one to come along would set itself apart from the others—or flat-out defy the current cultural definition of one, like Further Future, taking place during May 1-3 45 minutes outside Las Vegas.

"The word ‘festival’ has taken on some particular connotations in recent years, for better or worse. Further Future does not aspire to be a festival in this popular sense,” organizers say via email, speaking publicly about their event for the first time and requesting that their names not be made public. “A Further Future event is a gathering of people with the common goal to spend time together celebrating the infinite possibilities of the future, without necessarily being shackled to the dictates of the past or the cycles of present-day society.”

Nosaj Thing performs at Further Future this May.

That might lack context, so allow us to offer some details. The organizers of Further Future Voyage 001: The Beginning are also behind Robot Heart, which produces underground electronic music events in its native New York City and operate a well-regarded theme/sound camp at Burning Man every August in Northern Nevada. As such, Further Future has booked some 60 musical acts, though neither they nor their presentation will be conventional. Live, acclaimed electronic music artists like The Orb, Nosaj Thing, Tim Hecker and Hundred Waters—as well as non-EDM DJs like John Tejada, Rob da Bank, Miguel Migs and Las Vegas’ own Brett Rubin—will perform 24 hours a day on multiple stages.

Music may be “one of the key catalysts that drive our voyage to happiness,” organizers say, but it’s only one component of the event. Visual and aural art displays; afternoon talks by respected cultural, scientific and entrepreneurial figures (to be revealed at a later date); and health/wellness demonstrations and activities (like yoga and meditation) will strongly figure into Further Future, which will also feature curated dining and beverage vendors (that only take payment via RFID chips embedded in admission wristbands and linked to prepaid accounts) and on-site camping/accommodations. Open self-expression and a leave-no-trace philosophy will also be encouraged.

If we’re to draw comparisons, Further Future would seem like an underground and forward-thinking version of Life Is Beautiful; a commercial endeavor influenced by Burning Man; and a grander version of the lesser-known Zero Point. And like the latter, Further Future will reveal its remote southeastern desert-mountain location—which won out over other western U.S. spots due to our logistical and production infrastructure, weather and inspiring landscape—closer to the event.

Admission wristbands to Further Future currently cost $250, and will likely increase in price as May draws closer. They’re only available through private passcodes distributed by community members affiliated with the event and the organizers themselves, who ask prospective passbuyers without connections to introduce themselves and explain why they’d like to attend in a private message to the Further Future Facebook page. “We do place a high value the integrity of our community and when sharing ticket codes we want to know that the people we are inviting have a basic understanding and appreciation of our values.” Car, RV and camping passes, as well as accommodations for those DIY-disclined, are also on sale.

Further Future organizers spent years not only planning the event—their debut outside NYC and, as its full title implies, the first in a series for Southern Nevada—but conceptualizing something that would be nourishing for both mind and spirit, while still celebratory and stimulating.

“We have been privileged to experience at Burning Man, and in particular for us personally through Robot Heart, the uplifting power of a community coming together in a culture of deep mutual respect for one another and for the present moment. We have also in our own lives been drawn to and awed by great thinkers and dreamers, artists, scientists and entrepreneurs, who can see past the future and beyond the horizon. If we could bring such minds together in that environment, just think what amazing conversations and ideas we might witness and what new possibilities might be born!”

Further Future May 1-3, $250, location TBD. furtherfuture.com.

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