Music Savages Camp began its Burning Man run in 2009, on the corner of 8:30&I. A little Teepee housed a set of decks that played an eclectic mix of tunes for nearly the entire week. There were 9 campers that first year, with its leaders staying in the infamous Hobo Palace - an expansive two-room tent made entirely of mesh. The Hobo Palace was passed on to new campers for a few years before it disintegrated during a light dust storm. 

Music Savages came into its second Burn with its new DJ booth: a Costco Carport... yup. A 10'x20' box wrapped in a bright white tarp. It was nearly impossible to read the screens of the CDJs, and it was always hotter than the porta-potties. But the Savages were proud of their upgrades, and they somehow convinced Lee Burridge to DJ a sunset party that overpowered the intersection, and established the Purple Party on Thursdays, which lasted for over 10 years. Apologies to the drum circle and the Brittney Spears listening party that tried to share the crowd that day... 

With the help of Distrikt (formerly the Deep End), Music Savages became an official theme camp in 2011. The Savages cooked up a very special, hand-made design that blew the pants off of the neighborhood... sort of. They collected t-shirts from their campers and friends, sewing them into panels which formed the skin of their new T-Shirt Arena. It was hard not to smile when you entered that arena, especially when you landed there during the Hall & Oats One Show Only Party (take off one shoe, and dance to Yacht Rock with our Noodle Dipping weirdos). 

In 2013, the Savages ditched the wood and purchased enough pallet shelving to start their own big box store. 13' high walls created a space that felt like a club, even during the harshest of dust storms. But this year didn't have any dust. Instead, a Sunday downpour kept the gates from opening, and drenched the 40 strands of fabric that made the Arena circus tent ceiling. Those strands were attached to a 500 pound block of concrete with ratchet straps, and once they dried out, they shrank and lifted that block about 1 inch off the playa for the rest of the burn. Was this always the plan? We will never know, but it looked fucking cool - Savage Engineering at its best. 

In 2012, Jamie Jones stumbled upon the Music Savages Arena, mid-party. He liked the design, and he wanted to hop into the booth and drop some tracks, but the lineup was full. We offered to host a party for him if he came back the next year, in 2013... and boy did he deliver!!! From 2013 to 2018, Jamie Jones programmed and headlined "the Friday Party". By sundown, you couldn't move in the arena - fueled only by word of mouth, or by people simply following their ears for the best tunes. Along with Jamie, came Lee Foss. And in the later years, the Friday Party was the only place in the world to see their legendary tag-team sets. 

The Bug Zapper was an experiment that we unleashed on the playa in 2016. The DJ Booth was moved to the center of the dance floor, and a 16-channel, custom 360 degree sound system pointed inward from the corners (40' away) and the roof (13' away). To make this setup possible, we delayed the DJ's headphones by about 40 milliseconds, so that the headphones and sound system lined up. The DJ booth was wrapped with vertical LED strips, and the ceiling was draped with long strings of LED balls, creating a striking audio-visual performance that attracted burners from miles away. "Who is in there dropping those dirty beats???", a common question we got that year. This setup also served as an alpha test for the Max-For-Live surround sound software that is now known as Envelop, allowing DJs to pan sounds around the room, in realtime. 

While music was always the centerpiece at Music Savages, the Arena also hosted a number of interactive events over the years: 

• Margarita Happy Hours - It's a whiteout, but we can still drink Margaritas and get legal advice

• The Shotgun and Motorboat Booth - chug a beer and motorboat some tits

• Roaming Bocce Ball - A Bocce Ball match that worked its way around the block, convincing burners to join in and affect the results all along the way. 

• Smooth Funk - great tunes and great smoothies, whipped up fresh to order

• Yoga & Meditation - balance out the chaos and start your day with Music Savages

• Frick Frack Blackjack - you need to gamble your things to win their things, but you'll probably leave naked. 

• Shaved Ice - keep your body temp down with some cold shit and sugar

• Pimms & Paddle Tennis - have a classic cocktail and play paddle tennis.. not pickle ball. 

• Dildo Races - which one has the right vibrations to make it down the ramp first?

• Rascal Racing - how fast can you navigate a treacherous course on your old-person's cart?

• The Mustache Photo Booth - get your favorite mustache on, and snap a pick

• Kangoo Jumps - hop around the arena, and see the junk from a higher perspective

• Savage Bizarre Clothing Giveaway - find some new threads, and ditch the old ones