Burning Man, Lollapalooza, and Coachella can all trace their roots back to a succession of underground punk and industrial desert events in Southern California during the Reagan era, and this is the narrative of how they came to be. Included are exclusive interviews with members of Sonic Youth, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Redd Kross, Einstürzende Neubauten, Survival Research Laboratories, Savage Republic, and Swans, as well as rare live performance footage.