Photo Credits Throughout: Jason Evans
A festival at the Empire Polo Club usually comes with a certain expectation of scale; with Head Trip 2026 just around the corner, there’s a lot to live up to. Calvin Harris-level A+’ers consistently grace its main stage in previous and this year brings the same level of heat, but also a few things a bit different too
The part I keep coming back to, though, is happening inside a dome away from that main bill. Floating Points is bringing Sunflower Sound System to the US for the first time, with Avalon Emerson, Ben UFO, Eris Drew and Octo Octa, Four Tet, Mad Professor, Theo Parrish and Zach Cowie joining him across October 10-11.
Sam Shepherd has spent over a decade developing Sunflower as a custom hi-fi environment, and Head Trip is giving the system a setup that sounds properly considered. If you’re curious, Resident Advisor did a complete deep dive which is worth mentioning.
Ten speaker stacks will sit in a circle around the audience inside an acoustically treated and paneled dome, while new flying tweeter arrays and infill speakers have been added for the California debut. Engineers will monitor the system over the weekend and adjust it as the room fills, which says a lot about the attention going into a space that could easily have been treated as another secondary stage.
There is a visual side to the room as well, with original textile art from Josephine Chime and a giant mechanical mirrorball called the Cosmosphere opening above the audience once the party gets moving. Shepherd described the entire system as a “labour of love,” and that comes across in the amount of thought given to how people will hear, see and physically experience the music.
Artist set times are now available on Head Trip’s website here and on the official Head Trip app on the Apple Store and Google Play
Why Head Trip 2026 Lineup Fits Sunflower
The programming feels chosen for the room rather than pulled from the wider festival poster and that’s something everyone should be taking note about.
Ben UFO, Avalon Emerson, Eris Drew and Octo Octa are selectors who can work across long stretches of music without forcing every transition toward an obvious payoff, while Theo Parrish and Mad Professor bring decades of experience in house, soul, jazz, funk and dub.
Four Tet also has a long creative history with Shepherd, and their shared approach was easy to hear in the two-hour NTS Radio mix from Four Tet and Floating Points previously covered on the blog back in 2018.
Zach Cowie rounds out the programme with experience as a DJ, curator and music supervisor, giving the weekend another selector whose work begins with records and context.
Programming runs from 3:00 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. on Saturday and from 3:00 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The Rest of Head Trip
Outside the dome, Head Trip will operate one main stage with no overlapping performances.
Saturday features Calvin Harris, FISHER and Chris Lake presenting Under Construction, Peggy Gou B2B Four Tet, and Seth Troxler B2B Ben Sterling. Sunday brings Swedish House Mafia, Skrillex, Dom Dolla B2B KETTAMA, The Blessed Madonna and DJ Harvey.
That main-stage lineup already gives Head Trip enough scale to fill the Empire Polo Club. Sunflower gives the weekend a more focused second identity, centered on sound quality, long-form selection and the basic pleasure of hearing records on a system built by someone who clearly cares about every part of the listening experience.
Head Trip takes place October 10-11 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.
The event is 18+, doors open at 3:00 p.m., and free parking begins at 1:00 p.m. Festival passes, hotel packages, camping and shuttle options are available from Head Trip.
Official Hotel Packages that bundle festival passes with local lodging are available now HERE.