The MAXIM 2025 “Welcome To The Desert” annual festival kick off party highlighted the new “take flight” themed Cindy Crawford April cover with a headlining desert bash performance by rap icon Too $hort with notable guests in the crowd such as Amber Rose, Alissa Violet, Dale Moss, Wiz Khalifa, Blake Gray, Patrick Ta, Faze Banks, and many more.
MAXIM hosted a dynamic evening of cultural chaos in celebration of the festival ahead, also highlighting the newly released Freaky Tales film, offering a hybrid high-impact experience filled with digital storytelling for over 1,000 VIP guests. The MAXIM “Welcome To The Desert” festival weekend party was held minutes from the festival grounds at Laguna Seca Estates in Bermuda Dunes, featuring sprawling grounds and an airplane hanger transformed into the focal point of the nightlife festivities.
A headlining performance by rap legend Too $hort (whose new album droped April 18th) wowed the high energy crowd with an iconic set to a packed dance floor, layered with DJ sets by Beau Cruz, Quenville, Lightleak and Hamoodie.
The immersive indoor/outdoor event schematic definitely set the tone for an exciting 2025 festival weekend, with guests partying in the warm desert air until 2 AM.
Key partners for the evening included Heineken, Absolut, Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey, Casa Azul Tequila, FanFix, Culture Kings and LaCroix, with highlighted activations by partners such as Brooklyn Beckham’s Cloud 23 x Mike Majlak's 10/10 Burger (debuting a new collaboration), Monster Energy, Nasty Beast Hard Tea, The Beast, Tour Water, Doughbrik's Snacks' new Wavers, mainstay fashion trendsetter True Religion, Live Tinted, Liquid IV, Reclip App, Lovesac, Vacation, Filthy, Ooka, Jameson and FanFix.
True Religion showcased their latest festival denim collection, Cloud 23 offered delicious spicy cuisine offerings showcasing their hot sauce flavors and launch their new collaboration with 10/10 Burger, Live Tinted had a lavish touch up beauty bar experience for guests, and Reclip hosted a live podcast studio within the footprint, and Skrewball engaged guests with their Puppeteer peanut butter whiskey shot contest activation. David Dobrik's new Doughbrik's Wavers pizza snack chips also debuted at the bash with a first drop. Cocktails from Absolut vodka and Casa Azul tequila with La Croix were also highlighted.
Zouk Los Angeles, which recently made its grand opening debut from top global hospitality leaders Sam Nazarian's sbe and Singaporean nightlife powerhouse Hui Lim of Zouk Group (Zouk Las Vegas), brought the nightlife flair to the MAXIM party with VIP bottle service and hospitality.
Additionally, the highly anticipated MAXIM festival kick-off party in the desert was themed in celebration of the theatrical release for the much buzzed about Lionsgate feature film Freaky Tales. “A wild ride for the viewer” based on true events of 1987 Oakland, the movie is Executive Produced by Too $hort and David Weintraub (DWE Talent), written and directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (Captain Marvel), which hit theatres nationwide April 4th. The film premiered at Sundance Film Festival to much acclaim starring Pedro Pascal, Jay Ellis, Tom Hanks, Normani, Kier Gilchrest, Ji-Young Yoo, Ben Mendolsohn alongside Too $hort, and was Angus Cloud’s final movie.
MAXIM is a global brand known for its bold and aspirational content, celebrating beauty, entertainment, sports, and luxury lifestyle. MAXIM’s media and experiences engage millions around the world.
Produced by one of Los Angeles’ premier experiential marketing agencies, the event was conceptualized by ENTER, and founding creative Zev Norotsky, who has curated a widely recognized annual weekend of programming tied to the festivals year after year, for the last decade. The annual “Welcome To Palm Springs” party, which relocated to Bermuda Dunes from Palm Springs proper two years ago, acts as a festival reunion party, "Welcome To The Desert" welcoming key influencers, celebrities, music artists, athletes, nightlife notables, tastemakers, young creatives, and entertainment industry elite.
Image credit: Bobby Rachpoot
