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136-914: Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival ) 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
272-420: A Superfund clean-up site. The number of portable toilets installed proved insufficient for the number of attendees. The toilets and showers soon became unusable and overflowing, and male guests resorted to urinating on the side of the toilets or behind vendor stalls. Excrement from the toilets flowed into the mud pits and camping areas, mixing with water from the broken pipes. Many attendees began jumping into
408-511: A $ 34 increase from the previous year. The festival grossed $ 67.2 million in ticket sales and was attended by 180,000 people, making it the top music festival in the world. In July 2013, Goldenvoice finalized a $ 30 million purchase of 280 acres of land surrounding the Empire Polo Club, including the 200-acre Eldorado Polo Club. The land, previously leased from Eldorado, will be used to provide more space for parking and general use for
544-564: A 2013 agreement with the City of Indio, Goldenvoice must pay a fine of $ 20,000 if it exceeds the curfew by five minutes, plus $ 1,000 for each additional minute beyond that. The fines benefit the city's General Fund, which covers operating costs, public work services, and the police and fire departments. Organizers of Coachella manage its carbon footprint by partnering with the organization Global Inheritance to promote several environmentally friendly initiatives. Global Inheritance's original project
680-774: A ban on public gatherings, as well as lockdowns and travel restrictions . On April 10, a documentary profiling the festival's 20-year history, Coachella: 20 Years in the Desert , was released on YouTube to coincide with the original start date of the 2020 event. The 2021 festival was also cancelled as a result of pandemic restrictions in California and the threats of the COVID-19 variants . Coachella returned in 2022 on April 15–17 and April 22–24. The headlining lineup initially comprised Harry Styles , Billie Eilish , Kanye West , and Swedish House Mafia . Less than two weeks before
816-407: A better word, (to) outdo ourselves and make it better for the fans." In Coachella's early years, art was mostly recycled from the previous year's Burning Man festival, due to smaller budgets. Between 2010 and 2015, Goldenvoice shifted its focus from renting pieces to commissioning them specifically for the festival, increasing their budget. Artists are given access to the grounds just 10 days before
952-400: A break in between songs. Holland then began hitting the dummies with a plastic baseball bat, and the crowd joined in by throwing water bottles at them. Some commentators have highlighted this incident as part of a pattern of sometimes violent rockist sentiment and machismo expressed by the festival's male performers and attendees, while others felt that it was hypocritical for MTV to promote
1088-720: A capacity of about 275,000 spectators, but has " fallow years " roughly every five years, so it is the biggest non-annual greenfield festival in the world. The oldest annual dedicated pop music festival in the world is Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands , though in other genres, there are much older ones: the Three Choirs Festival in the UK has run annually since 1719. The Queensland Music Festival, established in 1999 and headquartered in Brisbane Australia,
1224-439: A chance to expand it to a third day that could have featured David Bowie as a headliner. The 2005 event ran from April 30 to May 1 and featured Coldplay and Nine Inch Nails as headliners, along with a reunion of Bauhaus . A planned reunion of Cocteau Twins was ultimately cancelled by the group. Approximately 50,000 people attended each day of the festival. The 2006 event featured headliners Depeche Mode and Tool . Two of
1360-405: A commercial venture with dozens of corporate sponsors and included the presence of vendor "malls" and modern accoutrements such as ATMs and email stations. Scher hoped to avoid the large losses that Woodstock '94 had incurred, planning for the 1999 event to turn a profit; this resulted in numerous cost-cutting measures such as the extensive subcontracting of onsite amenities. Advance tickets for
1496-507: A company". Prominent acts, including the headliners, agreed to receive deferred compensation . Goldenvoice reserved tentative dates for October 2000 to reprise the festival, but ultimately canceled for that year; Tollett blamed it on the oversaturation of music festivals in Southern California. Instead, Goldenvoice partnered with promoter Pasquale Rotella to stage the electronic dance music festival Nocturnal Wonderland at
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#17327726819961632-628: A festival in 2010 due to the economy, Coachella drew 75,000 spectators each day that year, for an estimated aggregate attendance of 225,000, surpassing previous records. Thousands of fans broke through fences, leading to concerns about overcrowding. The festival grossed $ 21,703,500. International travel was disrupted by the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland , resulting in some European acts, such as Frightened Rabbit , Gary Numan and Delphic , canceling their appearances at
1768-522: A festival in July 1999 that was marred by looting, arson, violence, and rapes. Goldenvoice's insurance costs increased 40% as a result and the company faced uncertainty regarding Coachella's tickets. Organizers were already aiming to provide a "high-comfort festival experience" for Coachella but rededicated themselves to those efforts after Woodstock '99. Advertisements boasted free water fountains, ample restrooms, and misting tents. Retrospectively, Tollett called
1904-524: A festival. The festival won Pollstar's award for Major Music Festival of the Year, marking the 10th time in 11 years that Coachella had won the award. In March 2016, the Indio City Council passed a measure to raise the attendance cap for Coachella from 99,000 to 125,000, stipulating that the capacity would gradually be increased, giving the city time to accommodate the crowds. Goldenvoice increased
2040-581: A guest appearance from Angus Young of AC/DC, who headlined the previous year; the cameo occurred the same day that Rose was announced as the new singer for AC/DC. Weekend two was marked by several tributes to Prince, the 2008 headliner who died just prior to the weekend's shows. The festival sold 198,000 tickets and grossed $ 94.2 million. In January 2017, reports circulated that AEG owner Philip Anschutz had donated to many right-wing causes, including organizations promoting LGBTQ discrimination and climate change denial . The news led to calls for fans to boycott
2176-427: A headliner but was forced to withdraw at the advice of her doctors after she became pregnant; she announced that she would instead headline the 2018 festival. Tickets sold out within a few hours of going on sale. The event saw the debut of the new daytime-only Sonora tent. The 2017 festival drew 250,000 attendees and grossed $ 114.6 million, marking the first time a recurring festival grossed over $ 100 million. Between
2312-485: A lot of bands. And we couldn't compete with the money." As a result, the idea of a music festival was conceived, and Tollett began to brainstorm ideas for one with multiple venues. His intent was to book trendy artists who were not necessarily chart successes: "Maybe if you put a bunch of them together, that might be a magnet for a lot of people." While attending the 1997 Glastonbury Festival , Tollett handed out pamphlets to artists and talent managers that featured pictures of
2448-451: A manifestation for creating escapism and a seasonal cultural economy to experience ritually and collectively. Another type of music festival is the music education , often organized annually in local communities, regionally, or nationally, for the benefit of amateur musicians of all ages and grades of achievement. Entrants perform prepared pieces or songs in front of an audience which includes competitors, family and friends, and members of
2584-509: A more meaningful, absorbing, forceful and radical performance by an American musician this year, or any year soon, than Beyoncé's headlining set". Her performance garnered 458,000 simultaneous viewers on YouTube to become the festival's most viewed performance to date, and the entire festival had 41 million total viewers, making it the most livestreamed event ever. A report in Teen Vogue described "rampant" sexual harassment and assault at
2720-463: A music festival can be defined as a community event , with performances of singing and instrument playing, that is often presented with a theme such as a music genre (e.g., blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality , locality of musicians, or holiday . Music festivals have developed as an industry which contributes to national economies. For example, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival earned $ 115 million in 2017. Music festivals can be
2856-543: A nearby job agency to serve as the "Peace Patrol." Nearly all of the Peace Patrol officers lacked any prior experience in security or law enforcement. All Peace Patrol officers were unarmed, and most seemed uninterested in performing their duties. Many security employees simply sold their spare security shirts to other concertgoers or abandoned their posts entirely; some Peace Patrol guards alleged that others had utilized their positions to demand sexual favors from women in
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#17327726819962992-536: A problem with me? You got a problem with yourself? It's time to take all that negative energy, and put it the fuck out!" Once the breakdown ended, concertgoers immediately began destroying smaller buildings adjacent to the stage and aggressively moshing or punching each other. A large number of attendees also began ripping plywood off of the perimeter fence as they attempted to surf on the broken panels; this resulted in several pieces collapsing, dropping crowd surfers onto other fans and possibly crushing them. Terrified of
3128-630: A record-breaking $ 78.332 million. For the fourth consecutive year, Coachella was named the Top Festival at the Billboard Touring Awards . The 2015 festival, held on April 10–12 and 17–19, featured headliners AC/DC , Jack White , and Drake , with a surprise appearance by Madonna during the latter's weekend one performance. General admission tickets again sold out in less than 20 minutes. The event established new records for tickets sold (198,000) and total gross ($ 84,264,264) for
3264-448: A result of the acquisition. Like its predecessor, the 2001 festival went smoothly; 32,000 people attended, and despite taking a loss again, Tollett estimates it was a "low, low six-figure sum". For its third outing, Coachella reverted to a two-day format and took place from April 27–28, 2002. Tollett said that the event was expanded to a second day after more acts began expressing interest in participating. With around 60 artists performing,
3400-618: A reunited Iggy Pop and the Stooges . Performances were held on two outdoor stages and in three tents. Ticket prices remained $ 75 per day, but were increased to $ 140 for a two-day pass. For the first time, on-site camping was offered; the Indio City Council approved overnight camping at the site, permitting up to four people on each of the 2,252 camping spots. The festival drew 60,000 people, the largest Coachella crowd to that point. The festival began to develop worldwide interest and receive national renown. In late December 2003, Van Santen died at
3536-595: A slot, but they declined due to their performance on the Canadian leg of Warped Tour during the same weekend. The festival was held on the east side of Rome at the former Griffiss Air Force Base , a designated Superfund waste cleanup site. The U.S. Air Force had decommissioned and closed the B-52 base in September 1995, and the area was later redeveloped as Griffiss Business and Technology Park. During this time,
3672-443: A slot, but they declined in order to continue working on the album Make Yourself . Al Green was also supposed to appear, flying from Nashville in a small private plane, but they backed out following John F. Kennedy Jr.'s death in a plane crash . Several nu metal bands such as Slipknot , Rob Zombie , System of a Down , Powerman 5000 , Static-X , and Deftones were each offered slots, but all were obligated to perform
3808-515: A tent was a first at the fest), Yeah Yeah Yeahs , and rare appearances from artists Leonard Cohen , Dr. Dog and Throbbing Gristle . The festival drew an aggregate attendance of 152,962 and grossed $ 15,328,863. Organizers eliminated single-day ticket sales for 2010, and instead instituted a new policy offering three-day tickets only, which drew mixed reactions. Headliners included Jay-Z , Muse and Gorillaz , and reunions of Faith No More and Pavement . Despite Tollett's reservations about holding
3944-468: A way of building a brand for a destination, creating a unique image for it and attracting visitors. For example, Lollapalooza, Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas, Ultra Music Festival, Electric Forest, and others. While contemporary festivals are often represented as flourishing grounds for extraordinary experiences, they increasingly serve as a way to create cultural identity, lifestyle, community, belonging and self-actualisation. Furthermore, festivals are
4080-439: A week earlier than usual. The new dates were April 17, 18 and 19. The event featured headliners Paul McCartney , The Killers , and The Cure . On Friday, McCartney blew past the festival's strict curfew by 54 minutes. Sunday, The Cure had their performance end abruptly, with the festival cutting stage power after passing their own curfew by 30 minutes. Notable performances included Franz Ferdinand , M.I.A. (whose 2005 encore set in
4216-530: Is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock , blues , folk , jazz , classical music ), nationality , locality of musicians, or holiday . Music festivals are generally organized by individuals or organizations within networks of music production, typically music scenes, the music industries, or institutions of music education. Music festivals are commonly held outdoors, with tents or roofed temporary stages for
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4352-572: Is that participants can learn from one another rather than compete. Such festivals aim to provide a friendly and supportive platform for musicians to share in the excitement of making music. For many, they provide a bridge from lessons and examinations to performing confidently in public; for a few of the top performers, they provide a pathway to further professional study of music in a college, university or conservatory. Milwaukee , Wisconsin 's 11-day event, Summerfest , promotes itself as "The World's Largest Music Festival." Operating annually since 1968,
4488-477: Is the largest music festival by land mass, as a state-wide music biennial music festival, over a three-week period during July. Lists of music festivals in: Woodstock %2799 Woodstock 1999 (also called Woodstock '99 ) was a music festival held from July 22 to July 25, 1999, in Rome, New York , United States. After Woodstock '94 , it was the second large-scale music festival that attempted to emulate
4624-423: The Colorado Desert . Temperatures during the festival's history have ranged from 43 °F (6 °C ) on April 14, 2012, to 106 °F (41 °C ) on April 21, 2012. The festival is hosted at the 78-acre Empire Polo Club ; when accounting for land used for parking and camping, the event covers a footprint of approximately 642 acres. The site is about 125 miles (200 km) east of Los Angeles . During
4760-503: The sheriff 's department, California Highway Patrol , the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection , American Medical Response , and the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control . To avoid disturbing local residents, a curfew for music performances is enforced; since 2010, it has been 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, an hour later than the previous curfew, and midnight on Sunday nights. Per
4896-422: The 2014 festival, the program had 140,000 participants and more than 70 winners of lifetime festival passes. In 2007, Coachella teamed up with Global Inheritance to start a 10-for-1 recycling program, in which anyone who collects ten empty water bottles receives a free full one. In 2009, the festival introduced $ 10 refillable water bottles, which purchasers could refill at water stations inside the festival and within
5032-557: The 2018 festival, and the author said she was groped 22 times in 10 hours. In response, Goldenvoice announced a new initiative in January 2019 called "Every One", which comprises "fan resources and policies" to combat sexual misconduct and improve the festival's responses to such behavior. "Safety ambassadors" were made available to direct attendees to professional counselors, and specially marked locations were added for attendees to seek services or report incidents of sexual misconduct. One of
5168-525: The 80-plus acts to attend. The festival was well regarded among attendees and critics; Pollstar named it festival of the year, and Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times said that it "laid the foundation for what someday may be a legacy of its own". However, Goldenvoice lost $ 850,000 on the undertaking, forcing the promoter, in Tollett's words, to "struggle for almost two years to survive as
5304-466: The Empire Polo Club and pitched a possible festival there. In contrast to the frequently muddy conditions at Glastonbury caused by rain, he recalled, "We had this pamphlet... showing sunny Coachella. Everyone was laughing." After scouting several sites for their festival, Tollett and Goldenvoice co-president Rick Van Santen returned to the Empire Polo Club during the Big Gig festival in 1998. Impressed by
5440-504: The Empire Polo Club in September 2000. Goldenvoice opted to bring Coachella back in April 2001 in an attempt to beat the heat. Ticket prices were raised to $ 65. Organizers encountered difficulty booking acts for the festival and due to "available talent", were forced to shorten the festival to a single day. Issues with securing a headliner threatened to doom the event until Perry Farrell agreed to bring his reunited group Jane's Addiction to
5576-457: The Empire Polo Club the weekend following Coachella. The new event helped avert complications with organizing Coachella; the polo club's owner Alex Haagen III had been planning to redevelop the land unless a new profitable event could be created to make a long-term lease with Goldenvoice financially feasible. Along with the new festival's addition, Coachella was permanently extended to three days in 2007. The headlining acts were Red Hot Chili Peppers,
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5712-475: The Firm, Inc. rented a Boeing 737 for his band, Limp Bizkit, and Ice Cube to fly all three artists from Southern California to Syracuse for the festival. Marilyn Manson and Hole were initially reported to be on the bill but both later withdrew. Manson was suspected to have cancelled due to his dislike for other acts on the bill such as Insane Clown Posse and Limp Bizkit, although he later stated he refused
5848-473: The GLDC, the city of Rome, and Oneida County were expected to receive $ 1 million to host the festival and an additional $ 250,000 if ticket sales topped 200,000. Any tickets sold beyond 200,000 would then result in an additional $ 5 (per ticket) paid to all parties. While it's clear more than 186,983 people attended Woodstock 1999, on paper, only that many tickets had been recorded being sold. Based on that figure,
5984-550: The Offspring , Dave Matthews Band , DMX , Sheryl Crow , and Jamiroquai also received praise. Critical and public attention, however, quickly turned to the poor on-site conditions and the increasingly uncontrolled behavior of the crowd. Temperatures in Rome on the weekend of the festival were in excess of 100 °F (38 °C). The former Griffiss AFB included large areas of concrete and asphalt with little or no shade, placing
6120-565: The age of 41 from flu-related complications. With Tollett left, he sold half of Coachella to AEG in 2004, along with the controlling interest in the festival. The 2004 event featured a lineup of more than 80 acts, with Radiohead and the Cure as headliners, along with a reunion of the Pixies . It was Coachella's first sellout, drawing a two-day total of 110,000 people. For the first time, the festival attracted attendees from all 50 US states. The event
6256-421: The audience before the song by asking if they liked NSYNC , earning numerous boos and jeers. During the song's breakdown, Durst addressed the crowd: "Time to reach deep down inside, and take all that negative energy, all that negative energy, and let that shit out of your fucking system. You got girl problems? You got boy problems? You got parent problems? You got boss problems? You got job problems? You got
6392-413: The audience that they drew, and that is not Guster's bread and butter....We were a melodic band and [the others were] Limp Bizkit and Korn and even like DMX [and] I was like, What did we get ourselves into?" Alanis Morissette noted the apathy of the crowd during her set, as a large majority of fans in attendance were waiting for Limp Bizkit's performance; some began booing and chanting "Limp Bizkit" near
6528-405: The audience, as did Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay during their sets. At least five rapes and numerous other sexual assaults and incidents of sexual harassment at the festival were officially reported, though it is widely believed that a far greater number of unreported incidents occurred. Eyewitnesses reported a crowd-surfing woman being pulled down into
6664-503: The audience. Many of the officers reported unruly conduct from their peers within the first day of the festival, including the theft of personal items from employees and guests. Multiple security guards confiscated camping supplies from people entering the gates; some confiscated alcoholic beverages which they then drank themselves. Numerous attendees entered with fake passes, few of which security confiscated. A large number of attendees had also smuggled drugs or other illicit substances into
6800-421: The band and singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in response. Ryan Miller of Guster recalled performing in front of a hostile crowd displeased with the band's set. Drummer Brian Rosenworcel felt they were unfit for the lineup, as most in attendance were impatiently waiting for nu metal or hip-hop acts such as Limp Bizkit or Ice Cube : "There was this aggressive culture to both the artists that they chose and
6936-402: The base was largely unused and in poor condition. The promoters were determined to avoid the gate-crashing that had occurred at previous festivals. Lang and Scher characterized the site as "defensible", installing a 12-foot (3.7 m) wall of plywood and steel to prevent gate-crashing. Lang later dubbed this the “peace wall” as organizers invited numerous volunteers to paint on sections of
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#17327726819967072-401: The bill due to his band not being offered a prime time slot. Hole were unable to perform due to conflicting tour dates in addition to personal tensions between Courtney Love and Dave Grohl. Foo Fighters were initially set to perform, but they withdrew to finish work on the album There Is Nothing Left to Lose ; and, also not having a replacement for Franz Stahl as Chris Shifflett joined
7208-686: The campgrounds. Other programs used at the festival include solar powered DJ booths and seesaws used to charge mobile phones. About 600 staffers are required to collect the litter that accumulates during the festival. Resources are sorted individually on site before being taken to local landfills and recycling centers. Goldenvoice maintains a goal to "divert 90 percent of [its] recyclable and compostable materials". In 2013, staff diverted over 577,720,000 pounds of materials, comprising 36,860 tons of aluminum cans, 105,000 tons of cardboard, 65,360 tons of PET plastic, 47,040 tons of scrap metal, and 34,600 tons of glass. Music festival A music festival
7344-514: The cans and drumming on them or rolling them across the field. Subcontracted sanitation workers often failed to appear for their duties, allowing trash to pile up throughout the site. The festival's lackluster security was another source of blame for violence and poor conditions on site. To further cut costs — and avoid "the influences of the government or of the police state ," according to Lang — organizers did not hire conventional security officers, instead sourcing adolescents and young adults from
7480-544: The capacity of the venue. It has been estimated that ticket sales were worth $ 60 million in revenue, but that number appears to have been based on believing there were 400,000 paid attendees. Ticket sales may have been underreported to avoid extra payouts to the city of Rome and Oneida County : Perhaps the discrepancy stems from the deal between Woodstock 1999 promoters and the Griffiss Local Development Corporation (GLDC). MTV cites that
7616-522: The community, along with one or more adjudicators or judges. These adjudicators, who may be music teachers, professors, or professional performers, provide verbal and written feedback to each performer or group. The adjudicator may be someone whom they might never meet in any other way, as is the case when an adjudicator from another city is brought in to judge. They also usually receive a certificate, classified according to merit or ranking, and some may win trophies or even scholarships. The most important aspect
7752-740: The concert's duration. The Oneida County Convention and Visitors Bureau estimated that festival attendees spent as much as $ 40 million in Rome over the weekend. Woodstock 1999 was simulcast on pay-per-view television, with early reports of 500,000 purchases. In addition to documenting the musical performances, MTV's pay-per-view coverage included coverage of the site and vox pop interviews with attendees, which some reporters later considered to resemble gonzo journalism . With 500,000 purchases of $ 59.95 simulcast passes, revenues were estimated at up to $ 30 million. Five years earlier, Woodstock '94 had made over $ 9 million on its pay-per-view sales to 220,000 households. Other revenue came from CD and DVD sales after
7888-519: The crowd after witnessing numerous women being groped: "Just because a girl wants to go crowd surfing, it doesn't give the guys the right to molest 'em, you know what I'm saying?". Holland later told victims of sexual assault in the crowd to confront the perpetrators and "grab [their] fucking balls!" Halfway in their set, the Offspring lined up five dummies with the faces of each member of the Backstreet Boys in front of their drum riser during
8024-429: The crowd and assaulted in the mosh pit during Limp Bizkit 's set. During the post-show rave on Saturday night, an apparently intoxicated man stole and drove a maintenance truck into the rave hangar through the crowd during Fatboy Slim 's set, in which staff reported seeing a teenage girl being raped; Fatboy Slim and his entourage were asked to evacuate the premises immediately, fleeing to a nearby airport and flying out
8160-478: The crowd. During the Tragically Hip 's performance opening the festival's second day, numerous fans anticipating Kid Rock 's performance pelted the band with bottles. Attempting to divert attention from the bottles, frontman Gord Downie began humorously singing "O Canada" in appreciation for the large amount of Canadian fans present waving Canadian flags . Many other fans in the crowd then began booing
8296-508: The crowd. Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale had reportedly expressed anxiety about performing immediately after Korn due to fears that the crowd's energy could turn violent. This sentiment was shared by Korn's Jonathan Davis , who later admitted that his band's scheduling was mismatched with Bush's and felt he had inadvertently placed Rossdale in a dangerous position. Bush's performance ultimately proceeded without incident and marginally calmed
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#17327726819968432-662: The culture of historically Black colleges and universities , featuring a full marching band and majorette dancers, while incorporating various aspects of Black Greek life, such as a step show along with strolling by pledges. The performances were also influenced by Black feminism, sampling Black authors and featuring on-stage appearances by fellow Destiny's Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams as well as sister Solange Knowles . Beyoncé's performances received immediate, widespread praise, and were described by many media outlets as historic. The New York Times music critic Jon Caramanica wrote, "There's not likely to be
8568-533: The decision to announce a new festival just two months prior to staging it "financial suicide". On October 9–10, 1999, the inaugural Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was held. Headlining the event were Beck , Tool , and Rage Against the Machine ; other acts included the Chemical Brothers , Morrissey , A Perfect Circle , Jurassic 5 and Underworld . Originally, promoters had hoped to make
8704-595: The design. Some of the works have been featured at Art Basel , and involved participants from architecture schools, both local and international. A few of the visual artists, such as Hotshot the Robot, Robochrist Industries , the Tesla Coil (Cauac), Cyclecide , and The Do LaB, alongside avant-garde performance troupe Lucent Dossier Experience , have appeared for several consecutive years. Poster artist Emek has produced limited edition posters every year since 2007. As
8840-615: The earliest festivals known. During the Middle Ages , festivals were often held as competitions. The music festival emerged in England in the 18th century, as an extension of urban concert life into a form of seasonal, cultural festivity, structured around a schedule of music performances, or concerts. Music festivals generally feature regular and extensive programming, than more spontaneous or improvised forms of music festivity. In traditional genres such as folk and classical music,
8976-410: The end of her set as they grew impatient. Appalled by the prices of concessions, Kid Rock and Wyclef Jean asked the audience to throw their empty water bottles onstage in between songs. Violence and vandalism would considerably escalate during the evening's performance by Limp Bizkit. Concertgoers also began moshing violently, visibly destroying nearby structures, and crowd-surfing by utilizing
9112-412: The entire facility within its own heat island ; this not only caused temperatures to rise during the day, but also kept them elevated at night. The East and West stages were 2.3 miles (3.7 km) apart, forcing festivalgoers to walk a long distance across hot concrete surfaces. Camping space across the grassy areas quickly became scarce by the middle of the first day, forcing numerous attendees to camp on
9248-451: The entire three-day weekend. On May 31, 2011, Goldenvoice announced that beginning with the 2012 festival, Coachella would be expanded to a second, separately-ticketed weekend, with identical lineups for each. Explaining the decision, Tollett said that demand for tickets was up in 2011 even after "operations weren't the best [they've] ever had" in 2010 and that he did not want to satisfy that demand by allowing additional attendees to overcrowd
9384-423: The event three days (Friday to Sunday) and even considered the UK group Massive Attack as the third-day headliner. The organizers strove to recreate European music festivals with small crowds in a great setting with plenty of turntables. By booking acts based on artistry rather than radio popularity, Coachella earned the title of "the anti-Woodstock". Tickets sold for $ 50 for each day; about 17,000 tickets sold for
9520-413: The event was covered by Much ; their coverage included interviews with artists and attendees but not the musical performances. The festival was marred by difficult environmental conditions, overpriced food and water, poor sanitation, sexual harassment and rapes, rioting, looting, vandalism, arson, violence, and several deaths, leading to media attention and controversy that vastly overshadowed coverage of
9656-410: The event were priced at $ 150 (equivalent to $ 277 in 2024) plus service charges, at the time considered costly for a festival of this type. Tickets purchased at the gate cost $ 180. There were about 400,000 attendees. A total of 186,983 tickets were sold according to reports shortly after the festival, "a gross take of $ 28,864,748" at the time. Ticket sales were advertised as being capped at 250,000,
9792-686: The festival attracts between 800,000 and 1,000,000 people each year, and hosts over 800 musical acts. The Woodstock Festival in 1969 drew nearly 500,000 attendees, and the Polish spin-off Przystanek Woodstock in 2014 drew 750,000 thus becoming the largest open air annual festival in Europe and the second largest in the world. In comparison, the Roskilde Festival in Denmark, attracts about 135,000 spectators each year. Glastonbury Festival has
9928-514: The festival featured headliners Björk and Oasis , along with a reunion of Siouxsie and the Banshees . Palm Desert natives Queens of the Stone Age became the first local band to play the festival. Multiple changes were made for that year: one less tent was used, reducing the number of stages from five to four, and a fence in the middle of the polo field was removed to increase the openness of
10064-411: The festival in Rome. This version of the festival was ultimately cancelled; Lang stated that more time than available was required in order to be able to hold a safe event. Many of the high-profile acts such as Red Hot Chili Peppers , Metallica , DMX , Limp Bizkit , Korn , Alanis Morissette , Bush , Kid Rock , and Creed were popular or rising artists of the era. While no acts that performed at
10200-486: The festival's heavier rock acts while featuring boy bands such as the Backstreet Boys on its television and radio programming. To protest the exorbitant price of onsite concessions, Insane Clown Posse taped $ 100 bills to several beach balls and kicked them into the crowd during their performance. Members of the audience then fought over the money. Korn 's performance on Friday night considerably riled up
10336-501: The festival's history. The festival was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . 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 Coachella staged from 2013 to 2015 set new records for festival attendance and gross revenues. The 2017 festival
10472-555: The festival, West withdrew. The vacancy in the Sunday night headliner slot was filled by Swedish House Mafia – who previously had not been scheduled for a specific day – for a joint performance with the Weeknd . While not advertised as a headlining act, Arcade Fire was added to the official 2022 schedule on April 14, a day before the festival's first weekend. The 2023 edition of Coachella, which took place from April 14–16 and April 21–23,
10608-444: The festival, giving them a tight timeframe in which to assemble their pieces. Due to the high cost of re-assembly, only about half of them appear again outside of Coachella. Describing the festival's importance to art, Cynthia Washburn of art collective Poetic Kinetics said, "With all the exposure here, I think Coachella is becoming as attractive for artists as it is for the musicians." In 2013, Clemente considered about 300 art proposals,
10744-410: The festival, several stages continuously host live music. Two outdoor stages are used, along with several tents named after deserts. The primary stages that have been in use since Coachella's inception are: Additional performance areas have been added over time, including: In addition to hosting live music, Coachella is a showcase for visual arts , including installation art and sculpture . Many of
10880-421: The festival, which the Peace Patrol often ignored or allowed onto the grounds in exchange for a bribe. Extensive substance abuse and poor security, along with a perceived culture of misogyny , contributed to widespread abuse of female concertgoers throughout the festival. During the Offspring 's performance, singer Dexter Holland condemned the crowd's behavior after witnessing numerous women being groped in
11016-490: The festival. "We knew we'd never make a significant on-site profit," Scher says. "It's all about the after-show marketing. We believe that we have a great event to build upon." Scher, Lang, and Griffo held press conferences on the morning of each day of the festival, as well as the morning of the day after, in which they repeatedly denied or minimized the poor conditions and violence of the festival. Vendors paid $ 500 (equivalent to $ 910 in 2023) to sell at Woodstock during
11152-680: The festival. Prior to the 2011 festival, Goldenvoice made several investments and improvements locally to help support Coachella. In addition to funding an additional lane for Avenue 50, which borders the festival, the promoter cleared additional space on the polo grounds by leveling a 250,000-square-foot area and moving horse stables. Lighting and security were also enhanced to help the festival run more smoothly. The headliners for that year's event were Kings of Leon , Arcade Fire , Kanye West , and The Strokes , along with another 190 supporting acts. The 2011 festival grossed $ 24,993,698 from 75,000 paid attendees, for an aggregate attendance of 225,000 across
11288-399: The festival. Anschutz decried the controversy as "fake news", saying he would never knowingly contribute to an anti-LGBTQ organization and would cease donations to any such group of which he became aware. The 2017 edition of Coachella took place from April 14–16 and April 21–23, and featured Radiohead, Lady Gaga , and Kendrick Lamar as headlining artists. Beyoncé was originally announced as
11424-573: The festival. Tollett said the purchase was intended to "help [Goldenvoice] put in some infrastructure so [they] don't have to keep coming back and do the same things each year". The 2014 festival, held on April 11–13 and April 18–20, featured 184 artists. A reunited Outkast headlined on Friday, Muse on Saturday, and Arcade Fire on Sunday. General admission tickets sold out in less than 20 minutes, while all other tickets (including VIP tickets in excess of $ 5,000) sold out in less than 3 hours. That year's festival featured 96,500 daily attendees and grossed
11560-510: The final two remaining dates of that year's Ozzfest tour in California that weekend. Deftones declined due to ongoing personal conflicts involving Brian Setzer . Godsmack and Megadeth were the only two bands from that year’s Ozzfest lineup to accept the offer, as both were flown overnight from San Bernardino to Rome for their set on July 25. Numerous bands from the 1999 Warped Tour were also offered slots, but only Reveille and Sevendust accepted. Blink-182 were allegedly offered
11696-413: The first day, and 20,000 for the second, falling short of the overall attendance goal of 70,000. Attendees were offered free parking and a free bottle of water upon entrance. The event went smoothly, with the well-behaved crowd starkly contrasting with the violence that plagued Woodstock '99; the biggest challenges to Coachella concertgoers were temperatures exceeding 100 °F and the decisions of which of
11832-416: The following month. Sugar Ray were slated to appear, but they were forced to cancel two days prior due to lead singer Mark McGrath being too sick to perform. Stone Temple Pilots were pitched to perform at the event, although conflicting tour dates created logistical problems from allowing them to perform. They had also declined an offer to perform at Woodstock '94. Incubus were allegedly offered
11968-541: The following morning. A volunteer also reported seeing a gang rape during Korn 's performance. Unruly behavior from those in attendance at the festival was present as early as the second day. Prior to announcing DMX 's performance on the East stage, numerous male concertgoers began chanting "show your tits" at actress Rosie Perez as she walked up to introduce him with Stephen Baldwin . Annoyed by their chanting, she retorted, "I ain't showing y'all shit!" DMX later performed
12104-417: The four-day festival. Many non-licensed vendors attempted to sell on a smaller scale on the paths to and from the concert and camping areas. The festival featured a diverse assortment of acts, early reviews for many of which were positive. The Associated Press deemed Korn , Limp Bizkit , Kid Rock , Insane Clown Posse and Rage Against the Machine the "breakout stars" of the festival. Performances by
12240-415: The free water fountains, until frustration led numerous concertgoers to break the pipes to provide water to those in the middle of the line. As a result, numerous mud pits began forming around the concert site. The groundwater and soil at the site had been contaminated by heavy metals and toxic chemicals such as trichloroethylene and PCBs from its time as a military installation, hence its designation as
12376-488: The grounds, several stages continuously host live music. 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
12512-588: The harsh sun, minimum wages, and poor communication and coordination between the organizers and the subcontracting security firms. The 2020 festival was originally scheduled to take place on April 10–12 and April 17–19 with Rage Against the Machine , Travis Scott , and Frank Ocean as the headlining acts. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the festival was initially postponed until October 9–11 and October 16–18, but in June, Riverside County public health officers announced it and Stagecoach had been cancelled altogether due to
12648-489: The heated asphalt surfaces. In an effort to find shade, multiple concertgoers took refuge from the heat under tractor-trailers or tables. In a 2021 interview, Noodles of the Offspring sardonically criticized the facility for its unsuitability for the festival: "You know there was a festival ground in Germany that was literally built by Hitler , and we've played there a buncha times, great venue, buncha fun. That airbase
12784-532: The host city to Coachella and the Stagecoach Festival , Indio provides several services such as police and fire protection, private security, medical services, outside law enforcement, and city staff services. These services for the three weekends of festivals totaled $ 2.77 million in 2012. All public safety needs are coordinated by Indio's police department, requiring them to liaise with nearly 12 agencies, including police departments from nearby cities,
12920-409: The hostile crowd, several stage technicians assigned to cover the central sound tower placed a sign reading " The Alamo " below the cameras. The technicians were eventually ordered by the grounds crew to evacuate their post. Following the conclusion of the song, the broadcast team muted Durst's microphone while medical staff took in numerous injured concertgoers. Durst addressed the crowd again during
13056-417: The last minute, forcing festival crew to hurriedly melt the ice surface. Ocean began his performance an hour late, and after exceeding the festival curfew by 25 minutes, he abruptly ended his show. He subsequently withdrew from the second weekend, citing recommendations from his doctor. Blink-182 , which reunited its classic lineup and had been added to the festival two days before it began, was promoted to fill
13192-419: The location's suitability for a festival, they decided to book their event there. The promoters had hoped to stage their inaugural festival in 1998 but were unable to until the following year. On July 16, 1999, Goldenvoice announced that the Indio City Council had approved the festival and would provide $ 90,000 for services such as traffic control and public safety. The funds came with a guarantee of repayment from
13328-580: The media referred to the technology as a " hologram ", the projection was in fact created using the Musion Eyeliner system, which employs a version of Pepper's ghost . Following the performance, the projection disappeared. Dr. Dre had asked permission from Shakur's mother Afeni, who said the next day that she was thrilled with the performance. A projection of deceased singer Nate Dogg was also planned, but Dr. Dre decided against it. The 2012 festival grossed $ 47,313,403 from 158,387 paid attendees across
13464-441: The most in the festival's history for the time. Poetic Kinetics has designed several giant moving art installations for past Coachella festivals, including a snail in 2013 ("Helix Poeticus"), an astronaut in 2014 ("Escape Velocity"), and a caterpillar that "metamorphosized" into a butterfly in 2015 ("Papilio Merraculous"). The collective reprised the astronaut for the 2019 festival ("Overview Effect"), with weathering affects applied to
13600-506: The most popular performances were Madonna , who played in an overflowing dance tent, and Daft Punk , whose show featuring a pyramid-shaped stage is cited as one of the most memorable performances in Coachella history. Around 120,000 concertgoers attended the event over two days, garnering Goldenvoice a gross of $ 9 million. In 2007, Goldenvoice inaugurated the Stagecoach Festival , an annual country music festival that also takes place at
13736-417: The mud pits and water troughs to stay cool in the intense heat, unaware of the contamination; this led to many cases of trench mouth and trench foot . The Oneida County Health Department analyzed a sample of the free drinking water, finding it to be contaminated with E. coli and other bacteria. An insufficient number of trash cans was provided on the site, and concertgoers eventually began overturning
13872-405: The musical performances. It has been described as "a flashpoint in cultural nadir", "like a concentration camp ", and like being "in another country during military conflict". Michael Lang , one of the organizers of the original Woodstock festival and Woodstock '94, agreed to partner with New Jersey concert promoter John Scher for a thirtieth anniversary festival. A third Woodstock festival
14008-560: The original 1969 Woodstock festival . Like the previous festivals, it was held in upstate New York ; the festival site was the former Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome , roughly 100 miles (160 km) northwest of the 1969 Woodstock site in Bethel . Approximately 220,000 people attended the festival over the four days. MTV covered the festival extensively, and live coverage was available on pay-per-view . Westwood One held its radio rights. Excerpts were released on CD and DVD. In Canada,
14144-603: The original Woodstock festival took the stage at Woodstock 1999, two individuals did; John Entwistle of the Who performed a solo set and Mickey Hart (drummer of the Grateful Dead ) played with his band Planet Drum. Jeff Beck was scheduled to perform but had to cancel due to a "scheduling conflict". He had been scheduled to perform at the original Woodstock festival; however, his band the Jeff Beck Group broke up
14280-481: The panels. In addition to the wall, approximately 500 New York State Police troopers were initially planned to provide security. In addition to two main stages, facilities included several alternate stages, a night-time rave hangar, a sports park, and a film festival (sponsored by the Independent Film Channel ) held in a former airplane hangar . Woodstock 1999 was conceived and executed as
14416-482: The performance and the festival due to the behavior of the crowd, and stated that she had considered ending her set early out of disgust. She recalled the performance as the "single worst gig I have ever had" in 2019. A fan pelted the Offspring singer Dexter Holland with a beer bottle during the band's performance of "Have You Ever", but he continued performing unfazed. Toward the end, before their performance of " Self Esteem ", Holland condemned sexual misconduct in
14552-495: The performance. The promoters were also fined $ 133,000 for curfew violations from the opening weekend. In 2024, it took nearly a month for the first weekend of Coachella to sell out, whereas it normally sells out within a week. The movie The Idea of You released in spring of 2024 prominently features Coachella. Coachella takes place in Indio, California , located in the Inland Empire region's Coachella Valley within
14688-571: The performers. Often music festivals host other attractions such as food and merchandise vending, dance, crafts, performance art , and social or cultural activities. Many festivals are annual, or repeat at some other interval, while some are held only once. Some festivals are organized as for-profit concerts and others are benefits for a specific charitable cause . At music festivals associated with charitable causes, there may be information about social or political issues . The Pythian Games at Delphi included musical performances, and may be one of
14824-399: The pieces are interactive , providing a visual treat for attendees. Throughout the years, the art has grown in scale and outrageousness. Paul Clemente, Coachella's art director since 2009, said, "I think the level of detail and finish and artistry and scale and complexity and technology, everything is constantly getting notched up, ratcheted up. We're obviously constantly trying to, for lack of
14960-522: The plywood barriers. Frontman Fred Durst addressed the crowd following the song " 9 Teen 90 Nine " after being approached by festival staff: "They wanna ask us to ask you to mellow out a little bit. They say too many people are getting hurt. Don't let anybody get hurt, but I don't think you should mellow out. Mellowing out? That's what Alanis Morissette had you motherfuckers do. If someone falls, pick 'em up." The tension ultimately boiled over during their performance of " Break Stuff ". Durst briefly riled up
15096-475: The polo club's suitability for large-scale events; Paul Tollett , whose concert promotion company Goldenvoice booked the venue for Pearl Jam, said the concert sowed the seeds for an eventual music festival there. Around 1997, Goldenvoice was struggling to book concerts against larger companies, and they were unable to offer guarantees as high as their competitors, such as SFX Entertainment . Tollett said, "We were getting our ass kicked financially. We were losing
15232-552: The previous week. Although the Doors rejected an offer to play at the first Woodstock, their guitarist Robby Krieger was a surprise addition to Creed's set, performing the Doors' " Roadhouse Blues " with the group. Only five acts on the bill ( Collective Soul , Live , Metallica, Sheryl Crow , and the Red Hot Chili Peppers) had performed at Woodstock '94. Korn frontman Jonathan Davis recalled that management group
15368-560: The proceedings. Amidst financial concerns, Tollett agreed to sell Goldenvoice to Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) in March 2001 for $ 7 million. AEG, which had opened Staples Center in Los Angeles two years prior, purchased the promoter to help them find shows to book. The corporation wanted Tollett to continue staging Coachella, understanding that it initially would lose money; Tollett initially retained full control of Coachella as
15504-438: The program's goals stated, "We are taking deliberate steps to develop a festival culture that is safe and inclusive for everyone". Coachella celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2019. Taking place from April 12–14 and 19–21, the festival was headlined by Childish Gambino , Tame Impala , and Ariana Grande . At 25 years old, Grande became the youngest artist to headline the festival and just its fourth female headliner. The festival
15640-425: The promoter, as the city was keen to avoid incurring another loss; the previous year's Big Gig festival cost Indio $ 16,000 due to last-minute changes to the lineup and poor attendance. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was officially announced on July 28 with a preliminary lineup of 40 acts; tickets went on sale on August 7. Coachella's announcement came just one week after the conclusion of Woodstock '99 ,
15776-409: The promoters wouldn't have been required to dish out the extra money it had promised the GLDC. The promoters stated a figure of $ 38 million in original production costs, not including damages, fees, or emergency costs. Promoters had originally budgeted the festival at $ 30 million. Rome itself became a draw for attendees, who patronized its bars, restaurants, and stores, and stayed in its hotels for
15912-604: The reunited Rage Against the Machine, and Björk, all of whom headlined for the second time. The festival compiled a three-day aggregate attendance of over 186,000, a new best, and grossed $ 16.3 million. In 2008, Coachella did not sell out for the first time since 2003. It featured headliners Prince , Roger Waters , and Jack Johnson . Waters' inflatable prop pig flew away during his set. The 2008 festival drew an attendance of 151,666 and grossed $ 13.8 million, but lost money, due to tickets not selling out and high booking fees paid for Prince and Roger Waters. The 2009 festival occurred
16048-413: The second weekend's headlining vacancy on Sunday night. After they performed, the trio of DJs Skrillex , Four Tet , and Fred Again – all of whom were added to the lineup the day before the second weekend began – concluded the festival. According to reports, Goldenvoice will incur more than $ 4 million in losses from the production costs associated with Ocean's unused ice rink, more than his booking fee for
16184-490: The show by Sunday afternoon. That sunset, and that whole feeling of Coachella hits you. —Coachella co-founder Paul Tollett, describing the rationale behind the festival's location On November 5, 1993, Pearl Jam performed for almost 25,000 fans at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California . The site was selected because the band refused to play in Los Angeles as a result of a dispute with Ticketmaster over service charges applied to ticket purchases. The show established
16320-461: The site. The strong supporting acts helped prove to the Indio community that the event could bring in money and take place without conflict. More than 55,000 people attended over the two days, and for the first time, the festival nearly broke even. The 2003 festival took place from April 26–27. Among the 82 acts booked by Goldenvoice were headliners Red Hot Chili Peppers and Beastie Boys , as well as
16456-512: The song " My Niggas " and had the crowd chant along with him; media outlets later reacted to this in confusion and outrage, as the overwhelmingly white audience chanted the word " nigga " along with him. The "show your tits" chant returned during Sheryl Crow 's set, with Crow responding, "You'd have to pay a whole lot more than you paid to get in to see my tits." Crow reported that one audience member had thrown feces at her during her performance of " My Favorite Mistake ". She would later criticize
16592-594: The three days of the festival, which vendors took advantage of to raise prices; by the third day of the festival, booths charged up to $ 12.00 (equivalent to $ 21.95 in 2023) for water bottles. As an alternative, festival-goers faced a long walk or cramped travel via looping buses to Rome's modest shopping areas, where stores had long lines and low stock. Most outside food and drink was confiscated by security, though several concertgoers reported that security often overlooked or were bribed to ignore attendees bringing in various drugs. Attendees stood in long lines to access
16728-475: The time to draw media and popular attention. Rome mayor Joseph Griffo received Lang's proposal for the festival and approved it in an effort to revitalize the area and attract funding, holding a press conference with Hillary Clinton to announce the festival once the venue was secured. Organizers had planned to hold a European leg of the festival in Wiener Neustadt, Austria , on the weekend prior to
16864-404: The two weekends of Coachella, scenes for the film A Star Is Born , starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper , were filmed on the festival grounds. The 2018 festival featured headlining performances from the Weeknd , Beyoncé , and Eminem . Making up for her cancellation the previous year, Beyoncé became the first African-American woman to headline the festival. Her performances paid tribute to
17000-516: The two weekends; 80,726 tickets were sold for the first weekend, and 77,661 for the second. Prior to the 2013 festival, it was announced that Goldenvoice had reached a deal with the city of Indio to keep the Coachella and Stagecoach Festivals there through 2030. As part of the agreement, Indio's per-ticket share of revenue would increase from $ 2.33 per ticket to $ 5.01. Headlining the 2013 festival were Blur , The Stone Roses , Phoenix , and Red Hot Chili Peppers . General admission tickets sold for $ 349,
17136-472: The venue size by about 50 acres along Monroe Street, Avenue 50, Avenue 52, and Polo Road. The 2016 festival was held on April 15–17 and 22–24, and was headlined by a reunited LCD Soundsystem , a reunited Guns N' Roses (with original members Axl Rose , Slash , and Duff McKagan ), and Calvin Harris . Ice Cube 's appearance featured a reunion of N.W.A. , while Guns N' Roses' first weekend performance featured
17272-479: The venue's campgrounds. West and a gospel choir performed an approximately 33-song set list of his songs as well as classic R&B and gospel covers. The first weekend of the festival suffered audio technical difficulties with several high-profile performances. The following weekend, The Daily Beast published a report of the alleged "inhumane treatment" of the festival's security guards. The workers cited poor tent conditions, insufficient food and water, long hours in
17408-649: The venue. Rolling Stone called it a "very risky move" and said there was "no guarantee that demand [would be] high enough to sell out the same bill over two consecutive weekends". Nonetheless, 2012 tickets sold out in less than three hours. The 2012 festival featured headliners the Black Keys , Radiohead, and a twin billing of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg . During the latter's performances, a projection of deceased rapper Tupac Shakur appeared on-stage (a voice actor performed his introduction lines) and began performing " Hail Mary " and " 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted ". Although
17544-481: Was also beset with last-minute lineup changes. The originally announced headliners were Bad Bunny , Blackpink , and Frank Ocean ; the former two were Coachella's first Latin and Asian headliners, respectively. In the days leading up to the first weekend, Ocean suffered leg injuries from an alleged bicycle accident on the festival grounds. The production for his performance was then scaled down extensively; plans to utilize an ice rink with over 100 skaters were scrapped at
17680-455: Was attended by 250,000 people and grossed $ 114.6 million. Coachella's success led to Goldenvoice establishing additional music festivals at the site, beginning with the annual Stagecoach country music festival in 2007. Even before we looked at [Empire Polo Club], it hit us. We wanted it to be far. So you surrender. So you can't leave your house and see a couple bands and be back home that night. We want you to go out there, get tired, and curse
17816-501: Was beset with several challenges. Justin Timberlake was reportedly slated to headline but had to cancel after bruising his vocal cords. Goldenvoice was also forced to abandon plans for Kanye West to headline, as they could not accommodate his request to build a giant dome for his performance in the middle of the festival grounds. West was instead allowed to hold the first public " Sunday Service " performance on Easter on April 21 at
17952-409: Was considered a risky proposition after a rain squall at Woodstock '94 (later sardonically dubbed "Mudstock") led gatecrashers to breach fences and attendees to throw mud at each other and the performers, leading to a large financial loss and negative press coverage. Lang and Scher began organizing plans for the festival in the fall of 1998. Scher quickly began scouting for multiple high-profile acts of
18088-408: Was critically acclaimed; Hilburn called it "the premier pop music festival in the country", while Rolling Stone labeled it "America's Best Music Festival". Tollett said that 2004 was the turning point for Coachella, and he credited booking Radiohead with elevating the festival's stature and interest among musicians. However, he also described that year's event as a missed opportunity, as he passed on
18224-449: Was held in 2000, Coachella 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
18360-452: Was its "TRASHed :: Art of Recycling" campaign, which challenges local artists to design and decorate recycling bins that are placed across the festival grounds. Another program is "Carpoolchella"; launched in 2007, it rewards festivalgoers who carpool in groups of four or more and display the word "Carpoolchella" on their cars by entering them in a drawing to win VIP tickets for life. Through
18496-468: Was less hospitable than a place built by Nazis ". Numerous budget cuts were made during the hiring and delegation process for concession vendors; organizers were forced to lease services from numerous subcontractors, whose contracts gave them complete control of pricing. Concessions sold by onsite vendors were regularly marked up to inconvenient prices; bottled water was sold for $ 4.00 (equivalent to $ 7.32 in 2023). Supplies of food and water dwindled over
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