Musicians performing in desert (7)
I believe the answer is:
abandon
'desert' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'musicians performing' is the wordplay.
'musicians' becomes 'a band' (a musical group).
'performing' becomes 'on' (as in being on stage).
'aband'+'on'='ABANDON'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for abandon that I've seen before include "Permanently desert" , "Leave (a place) for ever" , "Desert, forsake" , "Desert or yield without restraint" , "Desert - it's wild" .)