Goldenvoice, Locals Team Up for Free Block Party Concert 'Tachevah'

Up to 10,000 people are expected Tachevah: A Palm Springs Block Party, which is due to start at 5 p.m. outside Spa Resort Casino. The event is sandwiched between the two weekends of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which is held in Indio.

Indie band Passion Pit, who is also performing at both Coachella weekends, is the headliner; and Alf Alpha, a local DJ who performed at Coachella, last year, will be the second big-name performer. Three unsigned Coachella Valley bands -- Pedestrians Vs., Tribesman and You, Me & Us -- will open.

Passion Pit's song Carried Away" was recently No. 1 for four weeks on the Alt-Nation weekly countdown on Sirius Satellite Radio. The band's newest album, "Gossamer," debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 last year and produced the radio hit "Take A Walk," according to The Desert Sun.

PS Resorts, The Spa Casino, The Desert Sun, and marketing/branding guru Harold Matzner teamed up with Coachella promoter Goldenvoice to put on the show.

"We are thrilled to welcome Goldenvoice and the inaugural Tachevah block party to our town during this important tourism week in the Coachella Valley," said Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet.

As a perk, members of the three local bands will be admitted to the Coachella festival for free.

Pedestrians Vs., a fusion band complete with a horn section, hail from Indio.

Tribesmen, an instrumental indie band, are from Coachella; and You, Me & Us is a three-piece band from Bermuda Dunes.

The bands were chosen by Desert Sun music writer Bruce Fessier and executives with Goldenvoice, based on more than 95,000 votes placed online via the Desert Sun.

In the finals, the three local bands out-polled five other Coachella Valley bands and one each from Los Angeles and Orange counties. A total of 83 bands from around the country submitted videos for a chance to play at Tachevah -- a Cahuilla phrase that means a plain view.