Dubai Desert Rock Festival

Dubai Desert Rock Festival
Dubai Desert Rock Fest
Genre	Rock, Metal
Dates	March
Location(s)	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Years active	2004–2009
Founded by	Center Stage Management
Website
www.desertrockfestival.com

The Dubai Desert Rock Festival was an event celebrating various styles of rock and metal music on one stage in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dubai Desert Rock was originally a one-day festival, but it was expanded over two days in 2007 and 2008, before its eventual cancellation after the 2009 event.

History

2004

The headliner, Limp Bizkit cancelled their appearance 48 hours before the show, allegedly because frontman Fred Durst felt “unsafe” coming to the region.

2005

Dubai Desert Rock developed into a full-day festival and featured rock bands from around the world, including Machine Head, Sepultura, Within Temptation and headliners The Darkness. Saxon were scheduled to appear but were forced to cancel due to a family emergency. Frontman Biff Byford appeared via video to explain the situation and assured fans that they would be there for next year's festival.

2006

Due to a conflict between the UAE's moral codes and the lyrics of Saxon's "Crusader", the band was not allowed to participate in the festival.

2007

For the 2007 installment of Dubai Desert Rock Festival the following bands performed:^[1]^[2]

March 9:

March 10:

Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation
Incubus
The Bravery
Prime Circle
Junkyard Groove

2008

The year 2008 marked the festival's 5th anniversary and was the biggest rock festival to be held in Dubai to date. The festival was held in Dubai Festival City. There was a 50m suspended bar in the air as a world premiere.^[3]

March 7:

Korn
Machine Head
Killswitch Engage
As I Lay Dying
Nervecell
Slapshock
The Galeej Gurus (Shamal winner)^[4]^[5]

March 8:

Muse
Velvet Revolver
Marky Ramone
Juliana Down
Spoon Feedas
The Galeej Gurus (Shamal winner)^[4]^[5]

2009

Dubai Desert Rock Festival 2009 took place at Dubai Festival City on March 6. The event was a one-day affair (in contrast to the previous two editions) and focused on heavy metal. Opeth, Chimaira, Arch Enemy, August Burns Red and Nervecell performed, with Motörhead headlining.^[6]

Line-up (2009):

2010

In February 2010, the organisers of the Dubai Desert Rock Festival (Center Stage Management) announced that they were not going to be holding the festival, in an effort to 'extend the reach of the company'.

CSM's Managing Director, explained:

“This decision was not taken lightly and was well thought-through with my team in my company’s best interests. It marks the beginning of a new era for CSM, a human-sized yet international entertainment-specialized company, which I’ve chosen to grow beyond UAE boundaries. I have focused uniquely on the Middle East in the past 10 years, which has positioned CSM to build a credible and reputable name; it’s now time to take it to another level. We’ve always taken pride in producing top-quality events which is why in order to develop my company in a professional manner (to equal its standards), we will focus on our international projects and artist management, until further notice”.

^[7]