Some people have been calling it “the Woodstock of our generation.” A lot of people have called it “Old-chella.” Even Mick Jagger himself, while on stage, deemed it the “Catch ‘Em Before They Croak Festival.”

No matter what you call it, for the last two weeks, history was made in Indio, California. For October 7-9 and 14-16, the sprawling lands of The Empire Polo Club in Indio, California hosted countless food vendors, RVs, tents, and around 75,000 guests per day for the first ever Desert Trip.

There was a Photography Experience and a huge record store set up as a pre-game of nostalgia during the day, and as the sun set on the Coachella Valley each night, six of the most iconic names in Rock and Roll would take the stage to put on the show of a lifetime.

I was lucky enough to attend the second weekend of this festival with my parents, and I can say that it was honestly life-changing.

The three day trip was kicked off each weekend by the legendary, and recent Nobel Prize Winner, Bob Dylan. He kept his set simple and pure, with only a warmly lit stage and black and white footage projected on the massive screen above.

The echoing stadium felt more like an intimate peek into a session in the studio with him and his band. His setlist spanned his entire career, showing how timeless his first tracks are, as well as displaying his growth as an artist. Staying true to his very personal nature, Dylan didn’t say a word to the audience and didn’t allow any video cameras on stage to fully capture his face. Still, he gave every ounce of himself into every moment of each song, leaving nobody to question that he is a true poet.

Following Dylan, the stage was completely set on fire by The Rolling Stones. The boys roared onto the stage for their second performance with Jumpin' Jack Flash. The band kept it turned up to eleven from then on, slowing it down only slightly for an acoustic break of Sweet Virginia and a chilling Angie.

From start to finish, The Stones were effervescent. Jagger made numerous costume changes, including a devilish, sparkling red jacket for Sympathy for the Devil. The graphics and lighting display was dizzying, and the boys were on for every second. Still, within their bombastic, gather-no-moss performance, they found the time to tell stories and jokes, and express sweet gratitude to everyone involved in making the trip a reality.

Day two of the trip was opened by the glowing spirit that is Neil Young, backed up by Promise of the Real. He treated the set more like a small party in his backyard, stating how happy he was to perform "an intimate acoustic set for 75,000 people."

Following suit with his history of support for family farmers, including the Farm Aid benefit shows he helped create in the 80's, Young even broke the law on stage. After jokingly asking if their were any authorities in the audience that would stop him, Young pulled out a basket and began tossing little bags of organic seeds into the audience. This broke California Law (AB-2470) to be exact, which prohibits the transportation of organic seeds between certain regions of the state. Young stated to those that caught them, "take them wherever you want, and then turn yourselves into the police," and very appropriately followed his protest with the song Seed Justice.

After a long break following Young's set, the first chord of A Hard Day’s Night rang out, and the desert came to life again. Paul McCartney had a lot of people to thank during his set. He paid tribute to someone with almost every song, some of which included his late wife Linda, their children, his wife Nancy, John Lennon, George Harrison, George Martin, Jimi Hendrix, and Chuck Berry. His set covered such a range of his career, from the first demo he ever recorded with with Beatles, to his most recent collaboration with Rihanna and Kanye West, FourFiveSeconds. He even shocked the entire audience and invited the radiant queen herself onto the stage for the number.

He later invited Neil Young back to the stage as well, for a beautiful rendition of A Day In the Life that swelled to an inspiring Give Peace A Chance.

There were flames and fireworks, Beatles and Wings, yet amidst all the choreographed chaos and excitement, McCartney was able to make the show feel close and small. He seemed to find great joy in sharing numerous little stories and anecdotes throughout, speaking to the audience as if they were all his friends.

Opening the final day of the trip, and simultaneously closing their long 50th Anniversary Tour, The Who took the stage like a stampede. Roger Daltrey's roaring vocals and Pete Townshend's windmill arms were like nothing else. Townshend shouted over the audience after the first song, "Are you f***ing tired or something? Because we're not!!" Clearly, because they gave no less energy and passion than when they performed the same songs at Woodstock 47 years ago.

This time around, however, it did feel a bit ironic hearing Daltrey cry out "I hope I die before I get old!!" And even after all these years of tours and screaming fans, they were so extremely humble and gracious, giving special thanks to their entire band and paying special tribute to their late members, Keith Moon and John Entwistle. Pete Townshend also thanks the other acts, noting, "We’ve all been doing this for more than 50 years, and we all know each other really well, and there’s no competition and it’s just all peace and love.”

To close out the weekend, the crowd was shaken by Roger Waters. As he and his band took the stage, the venue was flooded in stereo surround sound by the wonderfully unsettling opening noises of Pink Floyd’s masterpiece, Dark Side of the Moon. The entire crowd took a glorious sigh of joy and relief when Waters’ voice finally called out “Breathe! Breathe in the air!”

Waters' and his band truly took the audience inside of the music. It was engaging, at times horrifying, and as a whole, inspiring.

Waters' did not shy from using his performance to voice his political feelings as well. He noted his support for the Black Lives Matter movement, for the Palestinian side of the conflicts in the Middle East, as well as unapologetically using the long, roaring number that is Pigs to call out a certain Republican Presidential candidate.

Alongside his brash protests, Waters' did also show his sweet side. After explaining that he and guitarist G.E. Smith have been working the last five years with the MusiCorps organization’s rehabilitation programs for wounded military veterans, he brought out one of them, Greg Galazi, to play the guitar solo of Shine on You Crazy Diamond from his wheelchair.

The festival was more than just a concert. It was surreal. It was so humbling to see so many huge names express such humility and gratitude. It was a bit strange, knowing that I was less than half the crowd's average age of 51, and less than a third of the performers' average age of 72, but it all proved that age really is just number. Regardless of age, language, background... music binds us all. It was a spectacle, a peaceful gathering, a communion, a political statement, a protest, and a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was a trip they will be talking about for years to come.