Daft Punk Tribute Band Played Burning Man and People Were…
A lot has been happening at this year’s Burning Man festival. A man was found deceased in a “pool of blood” on the campground. EDM DJ duo EC Twins recounted “horror stories” from their horrible time at the festival. And, more recently, Burning Man attendees were angered that a performing Daft Punk tribute band wasn’t the real group.
On Friday night (August 28), tribute band Daft Funk took the Trash Fence stage, where they performed Daft Punk classics like “Better, Faster, Stronger” and “Around the World,” which led Burning Man attendees to believe that the entertainers were legit.
The real Daft Punk, however, retired in 2021, just eight years after the release of their fourth and final album Random Access Memories. So when it was revealed that the performance was a prank, Daft Funk explained themselves in a collaborative Instagram post with the Robot Heart Foundation on Monday night.
“So… about the “Daft Punk at the Trash Fence” moment. Some of you made the pilgrimage, some of you heard the whispers, some of you laughed and some of you cursed us under your breath when you realized it was not actually Daft Punk,” the post began.
“It was instead a tongue in cheek turn, a prank on the overhyped, on the arms race the Burn has become,” the captioned continued.
The duo went on to explain that the “playful mischief felt more essential than ever” due to concert performances being heavily livestreamed and monotized in 2025.
“Burning Man itself was born from pirates, pranksters and cultural visionaries who delighted in breaking expectations, bending reality, and reminding us not to take it all too seriously,” the message continued.
Daft Funk wrote that they “stepped up with heart, humor, with an undeniable love and reverence” in honor of the French electronic duo.
“Out here not everything is as it seems. Sometimes you walk to the edge of the desert, only to find that what you were really looking for was the walk itself,” the caption concluded.
Daft Punk members Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo haven’t spoken on the controversy, but Burning Man currently has bigger issues to handle.
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