The Parker Palm Springs has quietly been one of the desert's cultural anchors for years — the hotel hosted the Palm Springs International Film Festival Gala for two decades and, before that, belonged to singing cowboy Gene Autry before designer Jonathan Adler gave it his irreverent makeover. Now it's formalising that identity with Parker Sessions @theAmphitheater, a rolling calendar of performances and conversations covering music, film, fashion and design.
The series kicks off October 16 with a session built around Nicholas Galanin, a Tlingit and Unangax̂ artist whose work ties into this year's Desert X exhibition. Philanthropist Nancy Magoon hosts, with a conversation between her and Galanin moderated by Bryan Barcena, Artforum's West Coast editor. From there the lineup spreads across genres: French jazz vocalist Cyrille Aimée performs November 21 in an evening curated by five-time Grammy nominee Shelly Berg, who also shapes the December 12 show featuring singer-pianist and Tony nominee Ann Hampton Callaway — a Rat Pack homage with a wink.
The schedule stretches well into 2027. On February 18, during Palm Springs' buzzy Modernism Week, landscape designer Judy Kameon — who conceived the resort's grounds as a set of outdoor rooms for lounging and play — discusses her career before leading guests on a guided walk through her gardens. And on May 5, Adler himself returns for a design salon and pool party with the Palm Springs Life Museum, doubling as the christening of the hotel's new pool, plus a gathering at the historic Gene Autry House.
Most events happen in the resort's recently finished Amphitheater, an intimate outdoor venue, with some programming spilling across the 13-acre estate. Tickets start at $75 for general admission, but here's the hook for anyone actually staying there: hotel guests get in free, subject to availability. V.I.P. reception and dinner packages are on sale too, and bookings run through Parker Palm Springs Events.
For travellers, this makes the Parker a more compelling reason to plan a desert trip around a date rather than just the weather. Time a stay for Modernism Week in February and you get Kameon's garden talk plus the citywide midcentury architecture festivities; aim for spring and Adler's pool party doubles as a preview of the resort's newest amenity. Even off-season, the Sessions give Palm Springs' design-and-culture scene a fixed address.
