Event Review: Coachella

Here at Expeeriences we’re constantly looking at other events and gatherings in order to learn what people enjoy doing, and how they enjoy doing it. We’re all about bringing people together to forge connections after all, and what better way to do so than at an awesome event?

“Everybody knows what Coachella is. Even if you don’t care about music you know.” — Billie Eilish

Maybe that’s an overstatement from musician Bille Eilish. But, chances are that you have heard the word “Coachella” before, even if you’re not sure what it is, where it came from, or what the heck it even means.

Let’s take a closer look at this annual Californian event.

The history

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a music and arts festival that takes place every year in the Coachella Valley in Indio, California. Veteran festival-goers, as well as most of the rest of the world, prefer to call it by its nickname: Coachella.

The festival was founded in 1999 and, after a short break in 2000, has taken place every year since. Coachella is usually held on two consecutive weekends in mid-April. This year, things are a bit different. The festival is postponed until the fall due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, Coachella first emerged as an idea back in 1993 thanks to the band Pearl Jam. The band put on a show for 25,000 people at a venue called The Empire Polo Club in Indio, California as a way to boycott the massive ticket seller Ticketmaster. The band didn’t approve of those sneaky service charges they were applying to ticket sales.

The success of the concert cemented the idea that the large venue would make the ideal place for a music festival. Paul Tollett, owner of the promotion company Goldenvoice that booked the venue for Pearl Jam, couldn’t get the idea of holding a festival there out of his head.

In 1997, while attending the Glastonbury Festival in England, Tollett decided to pitch the idea to his fellow festival-goers. He said that after he spent a few days stomping around in the mud at Glastonbury, a festival in sunny California looked pretty good.

Tollett knew that he wanted to showcase lesser-known artists at his festival. In 1999, the line up included Beck, Rage Against the Machine, and Morrissey, among others. Overall the festival was a hit, especially when compared to the failed 1999 reboot of Woodstock, which ended in riots and arson. The biggest problem at Coachella was the scorching temperatures that reached around 100°F.

The festival returned in 2001 and would go on to be put on annually. The first festival was held over two days, and in 2007 it increased to three days. In 2012, Coachella was held over two consecutive three-day weekends in mid-April with the same lineup. The festival has followed the same schedule ever since.

The concept

Coachella showcases several different genres of music and takes place over two consecutive weekends. The weekends are filled with concerts, performances, as well as art installations.

The Californian scenery provides a beautiful backdrop for festival-goers to chill-out, listen to music, and admire the art installations. While these aspects still exist today, the event has changed greatly since its inception.

In 2007, celebrities began to flock to the festival, bringing the paparazzi along with them. It soon became the “thing to do” for actors, it-girls, and other artists to attend the two-weekend event. Coachella had officially shifted from the cool, hipster, indie festival, to more of a red carpet event. Well, a red carpet event where you wear jean cut-offs, a headband across your forehead, and flowers in your hair.

Today you are able to book a VIP package that costs upwards of several thousands of dollars, with the apparent aim of attracting celebrities and influencers.

There is also the art aspect of Coachella not be forgotten. Each year there are several different installations that pop up throughout the festival grounds. Many of the installations are interactive. This is where Coachella starts to look like Burning Man, another outdoor music/art festival extravaganza.

Some installations that debuted at Coachella have gone on to be exhibited at Art Basel and other renowned art fairs.

The line-up

As the years have gone by, the lineup at Coachella has become more commercial, and today it tends to feature the best in pop, rap, and hip-hop. But, the festival hasn’t forgotten its roots. You’ll also be able to see the best in indie rock, electronic, and minimal.

Some unforgettable Coachella performances include a hologram of Tupac Shakur in 2007, an eye-popping show from Daft Punk in 2006, and Beyoncé’s epic 2018 show which would go down as one of the most impressive performances by an American musician of all time.

The set-up

Coachella is split up into several different areas across the 78-acre festival grounds. Since its inception, five main stages have remained in use:

• Coachella Stage
• Outdoor Theatre
• Mojave
• Gobi
• Sahara

As you can see, the stages are named after desserts. Very on theme Coachella, very on theme. The Coachella Stage and Outdoor Theatre are outdoors and are usually reserved for headliner acts. The other three are in different sized tents which showcase varying genres.

Each year other stages are added or taken away, meaning the festival grounds look slightly year after year.

Our verdict

Overall Coachella has changed drastically from its beginnings of a small two-day music festival in the great Californian desert. Whether you’re a fan of the change or not, Coachella does a great job of doing what it has chosen to become. It is hailed around the world as one of the most important music festivals around.

The festival is well organized and it’s difficult to find a lot of evidence online of anything major that has gone wrong over the years, other than issues with the sound and electronic systems.

Most if not all festival-goers look forward to the event each year, and it is a great place to see the top names in popular music and art come together. You may even discover an indie band you’ve never heard of, too. If you enjoy art, music, and being under the California sun surrounded by fashionable music lovers, you’ll love Coachella.

This year, Coachella will take place in Indio, California on October 9–11 and October 16–18, 2020. Festival organizers have not commented on the lineup or if it will change. However, one thing for sure is that the most passionate Coachella festival-goers will make room in their schedules to head to the festival in October.

Originally published at https://expeeriences.com on April 15, 2020.