Neon Desert Music Festival

NDMF is an annual festival held in the city of El Paso currently in the downtown plaza. They shut down various streets and thousands, I mean thousands, of folks attend the 2-day festival. It's an all ages event but they do focus themselves towards the 21+ crowd.I was a big fan of the VIP area where they had open bar and complimentary food. This year they featured Dos XX, Tito's, Orange Cow Burgers, and a few other options. Personally thought it was cool they had the rehydration tent with IVs and the hair/makeup touches. The teepees had a nice added touch and it was nice to layout on the grass without having to worry being congested like a herd in the general area.There were four stages were 1 was for local artists and the other three featured artists from indie/hip hob/r&b/electronic genres. Some of the featured artists were Nelly, J Balvin, Alesso, Hardwell, Ghostland Observatory, and Foster The People.Honestly being at a festival like this you're bound to get hungry so I was quite pleased to see the wide vary of food available from local spots including Crave.I thoroughly enjoyed myself and had a fun time.

Neon Desert is my favorite festival in El Paso! And yes, I'm comparing it to all the different types of festivals we have in the area. Beyond being one of the largest (if not THEE largest), NDMF is executed pretty well and there's a range of things to do while there. I only have two gripes with the whole thing and that's the food/drinks and kids, but we'll get to that later.The lineup is usually pretty good and always has a mix of genres. The silent disco is where it's at. You throw on some head phones and you can click between two DJs. Then you dance the night away. It's actually kind of funny to see if you don't know what you're looking at since everyone is dancing and laughing, but you can't hear anything. Oh and the silent disco is usually under an open tent so you can get out of the sun for awhile without missing out on the actual festival.I wasn't able to check out each and every single vendor this past NDMF, but some of my favorites were the Henna Tattoos by Lu-E Fresh (they look good and they last a long time), the Mattress Firm tent (just lined with a ridiculous amount of mattresses that you can hang out on), the Southwest University mobile photobooth (also where you can get free paletas), the El Paso Electric Tent (charging ports galore, but you'll get out of there faster if you have your own cord), the Malibu House (drinks and flash tattoos), and the Tidal booth (where you feel like you're connected to Beyoncé).The food is where I get a little hung up. It's always overpriced, but I think that has to do with the businesses needing to recoup their cost after paying for a space at NDMF. I try to eat before I go so that way I'm only getting a couple of things here and there. I also think there could be a bigger selection of food with more vendors because they definitely have the space.If the food is overpriced, the drinks are unaffordable. My biggest recommendation is stick to the big names when it comes to drinks. There are tents that sell NDMF's drinks and can utilize any number of sponsored liquors/beer, but if those sponsors have an actual booth go to their booth instead. I bought some kind of adult lemonade from a NDMF tent and it tasted like straight lemon water... no alcohol, no sweet, just lemon water. And I even told the bartender no ice because when I found out it was over $8 for a regular cup of a mixed drink, it was a little disappointing when the cup was loaded to the brim with ice. For the same amount I spent at that tent I bought a frozen Piña Colada at the Malibu House that was not only big, but also delicious! Know where you're going to get the most bang for your buck.I just want to touch on the kiddo thing. While you are allowed to bring your kids to this festival, don't do it. It's like taking your kid to a bar... like yeah, you can do it, but the other patrons will give you that look. And actually I'll give you a list of reasons you shouldn't bring your kids:- Almost all of the crowd is 21+.- Booze, cussing, and possibly some other things that you might not want your kids around.- No kids areas... nope, you will not find a bounce house.- It's loud.- As an adult this is a wonderland so you'll probably want to walk around the whole festival, your kid will not.Just don't bring your kids. And if your kid begs you to take them because they're twelve and want to see JUST one of the performers, but they need you to take them... DON'T DO IT. They can wait until they're eighteen and they can go by themselves.This is the place to be during Memorial Day weekend if you're in EP. There's so much going on there like the skate park, live art, food, drinks, and of course music. They usually come out with the lineup a few months before the event, but you can score the best price on tickets if you buy them before then.

Omg this festival not brings on good times but it also promotes our amazing city!!!! I would love love love to see Dashboard Confessional this year! It would take me back to a much simpler time, high school.

Good times, good friends, great music, cold beer, this Memorial Day Weekend will surely be one to remember! Thanks El Paso!

Visiting from New York. Took my 15 year old daughter to Neon Desert last night. This is definitely not a family friendly event. I was shocked to see so many young girls and women dressed so provocatively. The music was repetitive and full of profanity. Disappointed. Definitely will not ever attend again.

It would be great to see Miguel & Steve Aoki. Looks like it's going to be a great show!

I went to the neon Desert Music Festival last year and I had a blast! It was just great!!! I love the environment and the atmosphere. I am definitely going this year I love the lineup