It's no secret that, these days, Burning Man is a dirty desert getaway for wealthy jet-setters and fashionistas who feel like roughing it for a weekend, parading under the guise of an "art festival." Further Future has no such pretensions.
Last weekend, on a Native American reservation just outside Las Vegas, the second annual Further Future festival took place, organized by a group of veteran Burners and attended by some of Silicon Valley's biggest (and richest) names. Nobu-catered dinner parties, lush spas, and VIP accommodations inside custom-built domes called Lunar Palaces promise attendees "unabashed luxury." And when it comes to unabashed, tech giants Eric Schmidt, Clear Channel CEO Bob Pittman, and Facebook exec Stan Chudnovsky are the definition.
Yes, there's music fit for a Mad Max-esque experience in a dusty desert, but the main attraction is tech - and the business of it. The general show runner behind Future Festival, Russell Ward, told the Guardian, "A ton of business will get done here. Entrepreneurs will get funded, investors will find their trajectories, service companies will meet and mix it up." And when they're not networking, these executives are busy doing yoga, donning their best steampunk gear, and making use of the 24-hour concierge. That's a far cry from trading beads for acid.
[Photos by Tomas Loewy]
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