The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. It was co-founded by Paul Tollett and Rick Van Santen in 1999, and is organized by Goldenvoice, a subsidiary of AEG Presents. The event features musical artists from many genres of music, including rock, pop, indie, hip hop and electronic dance music, as well as art installations and sculptures. Across the grounds, several stages continuously host live music.
What is the purpose of Coachella?
Coachella showcases popular and established musical artists as well as emerging artists and reunited groups. It is one of the largest, most famous, and most profitable music festivals in the United States and the world. Each one staged from 2013 to 2015 set new records for festival attendance and gross revenues.
The 2017 festival was attended by 250,000 people and grossed $114.6 million. Festival success led to Goldenvoice establishing additional music festivals at the site, including the annual Stagecoach country music festival beginning in 2007, the Big 4 thrash metal festival in 2011, and the classic rock-oriented Desert Trip in 2016.
The festival’s origins trace back to a 1993 concert that Pearl Jam performed at the Empire Polo Club while boycotting venues controlled by Ticketmaster. The show validated the site’s viability for hosting large events, leading to the inaugural Coachella Festival being held over the course of two days in October 1999, three months after Woodstock ’99. After no event was held in 2000, it returned on an annual basis beginning in April 2001 as a single-day event.
In 2002, the festival reverted to a two-day format. Coachella was expanded to a third day in 2007 and eventually a second weekend in 2012; it is now held on consecutive three-day weekends in April, with the same lineup each weekend. Organizers began permitting spectators to camp on the grounds in 2003, one of several expansions and additions in the festival’s history. The festival was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
What the heck is Coachella?
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, simply known as Coachella, is a 3-day-long music festival (Friday – Sunday) held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California in the month of April. This festival was spawned by a beef that Pearl Jam had with Ticketmaster. Refusing to play at Ticketmaster-related venues, they found the Empire Polo Club and staged a concert there, thereby showing the industry that people were willing to trek to the desert in SoCal to see good music. And so, Coachella was born. Originating in 1999, the festival became so popular over the years that it expanded to two weekends back in 2012, giving you two options to attend.
The festival features an array of music genres from electronic dance to indie. There are tons of artists performing over the 3-day weekend event and you’ll most likely find more than a few bands that you love. The year we went (2016) the headliners were LCD Soundsystem, Guns N’ Roses, Calvin Harris, Sia, Major Lazer, Ice Cube, Ellie Goulding, Jack U, and many more amazing artists too numerous to mention here. But you get the idea.
All of these concerts take place at several stages spread throughout the polo grounds. The main stage, Coachella Stage, is where all the main headliners play. This is an open-air stage where thousands of people can enjoy the music. The other open-air stage is the Outdoor Theatre, which is smaller than the main stage but still room for thousands of raving fans. Multiple other stages are held within large tents, which are more intimate.
What is Coachella dress code?
Maybe one of the coolest things about Coachella 2022 is that celebrities love it as much as we do. It’s not rare to see the Kardashians (Kylie and Kendall are always in attendance), or super models like Gigi and Bella Hadid, and Alessandra Ambrosio make an appearance at the festival.
Yet aside from the music, it comes with its own unique dress code. Not official in any capacity, the Coachella dress code is made of “bohemian and hippie outfits” that pay tribute to Woodstock. Another important part of the fashion is accessories. Giant head pieces grace attendees’ heads, as well as, flashy piece of jewelry that are border line custome-like.
Will Coachella be held in 2023?
The music festival returned for its first post-pandemic event back in April 2022 with Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, and Swedish House Mafia with The Weeknd as its headliners. The two weekends were packed with surprises, reunions, and special guests as Eilish brought on Damon Albarn during her sets, while Styles invited Lizzo and Shania Twain. K-pop groups 2NE1 also shocked audiences with a surprise reunion, and girl group aespa made their stateside festival debut with a performance as part of 88rising’s Head In The Clouds Forever showcase.
Advance passes for the 2023 festival go on sale soon. Read on for everything we know about Coachella 2023 including the exact dates, the lineup so far, and how to snag tickets.
COACHELLA 2023 DATES & LOCATION
It will take place at its usual location in Indio, California during the weekends of April 14-16 & April 21-23, 2022.
COACHELLA 2023 LINEUP
Frank Ocean has already been confirmed as one of the headliners for the 2023 festival. The rest of the lineup has not yet been announced but stay tuned for future updates.
HOW TO BUY TICKETS TO COACHELLA 2023
The advance sale for Coachella 2023 kicks off Friday, June 17 at 10 a.m. PT. Registration to access the sale is open now on the festival’s website.
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