Coachella, considered to be one of the biggest festivals in the world, is a music and art festival filled with music artists of all genres. It’s a two-weekend-long event that everyone tries to get tickets for. It is held at the Empire Polo Club in Indo, California (Palm Springs).
Coachella was co-founded by Paul Tollett and Rick Van Santen in 1999. The festival was originally intended to be a one-time event, but it had so much success that it became an annual event. After the first Coachella, they had a difficult time launching to become a long-term success because of pricing. In its first year, it sold about 25,000 tickets and lost 850,000 dollars. The next year, it was canceled, but when the festival returned prices increased to have a better outcome.
With this event becoming a worldwide phenomenon, it has caused pricing to increase more over time. The price for the ticket itself starts at $499-$1,000 depending on if you’re buying general admission or VIP. Just like any other event, pricing for food and transportation will be a large separate cost as well, along with a flight if you are out of state.
Coachella opens at 11 am and has different tents for each artist. As people roll in throughout the day, they can hop from tent to tent. Depending on the night the field will close at 12 or 1 a.m, but with many brands inviting influencers or celebrities on this trip, they may host after-parties to make the night longer.
Every year, there is a wide variety of artists in the line-up, with this year having 167 artists. The beginning focus of Coachella was alternative rock and indie music, targeted towards a young crowd who would enjoy the distinctive vibe and creativity of Coachella. With the festival growing in popularity, they began bringing in different artists of different genres to appeal towards a bigger demographic. In 2010, the festival brought in EDM (Electronic Dance Music), which started bringing more DJs to this event. 5 years later Epik High made history by being the first K-Pop group to perform at Coachella, and opened up the door for many other artists. Coachella has been a great way for many different artists to get more exposure.
Coachella was a major hit this year for having artists from Lana Del Rey and Sabrina Carpenter to Tyler the Creator, Ice Spice, and many others. Many of these artists also brought out guests to perform with them, which added surprise and excitement to the weekend.
As much as Coachella is memorable for music, it also has interesting art. There is a Coachella Art Museum where you can visit art walks and exhibits while taking a break from the music and mosh pits. Local and international artists come to display their work which is a wide range from paintings, sculptures, photography, technology, and interactive art.
One aspect of Coachella that has added excitement and has influenced other music festivals is fashion. Influencers have been doing “fit-checks” and “GRWM” (get ready with me) videos on TikTok for their Coachella weekend which makes those at home watching more engaged, and this helps most attendees to know what others are doing for their looks. These influencers can have such a big impact on fashion not only at Coachella but festivals all over, by how quickly they can create a trend. With so many
