Beyond the musical acts, the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, held in April at Empire Polo Club in Indio, has morphed into something of a cultural phenomenon, with fantastic food and high-wattage stars showing up in their best desert boho outfits. Artists also present large works, making the event a feast for the eyes as well as the ears—which is part of the reason why nearly 200,000 have attended the annual festival in recent years.
The musical lineup for the two-weekend event (April 13–15 and April 20–22) includes Beyoncé, Eminem, and the Weeknd. Joining the headliners are musical acts HAIM, David Byrne, alt-J, Fleet Foxes, SZA, St. Vincent, Portugal the Man, and more than 100 others. Tickets for the 2018 event sold out the day they were released (January 5), but there could still be some passes available through one of the Palm Springs area pass-plus-lodging packages. If you were lucky enough to score tickets, check the Coachella site to book on-site camping spots, VIP dinners, or even the plush Safari Tent lodgings.
If you didn’t score tickets but still want in on the festival atmosphere, there are plenty of events throughout the Greater Palm Springs area during both Coachella weekends. Visit Palm Springs has a list of events—ranging from camel rides to architecture exhibits—throughout April for ideas outside of the festival, including the legendary pool parties, like recent ones with DJs, themed brunches, and other activities hosted by the hip, rainbow-colored Saguaro Resort and Spa Palm Springs and the trendy Ace Hotel & Swim Club.
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—just three months after Woodstock '99. After no event 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 currently held on consecutive three-day weekends in April, with each weekend having identical lineups. Organizers began permitting spectators to camp on the grounds in 2003, one of several expansions and additions of amenities that have been made in the festival's history.
Coachella showcases popular and established musical artists, as well as emerging artists and reunited groups. Coachella is one of the largest, most famous, and most profitable music festivals in the United States and all over the world.[2][3] Each Coachella 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. The success of Coachella led to Goldenvoice establishing two additional music festivals at the site, the classic rock-oriented Desert Trip in 2016, and the annual Stagecoach country music festival in 2007.
The lineup for the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival finally dropped after a day-long tease on Wednesday, and if you’d been expecting the rumored headliners to be the real deal, well, at least you got the soon-to-retire Childish Gambino to close out the Friday lineup.
The other two headliners arrive as a bit of a surprise with Tame Impala atop the Saturday bill and Ariana Grande on Sunday, and no Kanye West, no Justin Timberlake as the rumors had it in recent months.
What else? Well, Coachella fans aren’t fans of promoter Goldenvoice making them wait, and teasing them with a handful of minor reveals on Wednesday. If anger is an energy, they generated enough to power the main stage by the time the lineup dropped.
As far as they rest of our instant reaction to the overall lineup of 150 or so acts? Pop seized even more of the spotlight, women are a stronger presence, and if you go to a lot of festivals around here there aren’t going to be a lot of big surprises. For more on those thoughts and a few more things we noticed, well, read on for our five takeways from the Coachella 2019 lineup, won’t you?
But Coachella has become almost as well known for its art as musical acts in the past decade. This year sees the return of the art collective, Poetic Kinetics, which was responsible for such iconic art pieces as “Escape Velocity,” featuring a giant astronaut traversing the 2014 Coachella, and “Caterpillar’s Longing,” featuring a snail that turned into a butterfly at the 2015 Coachella.
The festival's third prong, besides music and art, is its cuisine and this year will again offer the Outstanding in the Field dinner in the VIP Rose Garden for $225 a person.
Additional general admission passes traditionally go on sale for Coachella Valley residents a few days before each show, but that hasn't been announced.
The rest of the lineup is listed below:
070 Shake
88Glam
Adriatique
Agoria
Alice Merton
Âme
Amelie Lens
Anderson.Paak & The Free Nationals
Anna Lunoe
Aphex Twin
Ariana Grande
A R I Z O N A
Bad Bunny
Bakar
Bassnectar
Bazzi
Beach Fossils
Billie Eilish
BLACKPINK
Blond:ish
Blood Orange
Bob Moses
boy pablo
Burna Boy
Calypso Rose
CamelPhat
Charlotte de Witte
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Childish Gambino
CHON
Chris Lake
Christine and the Queens
CHVRCHES
Cirez D
Clairo
CloZee
Cola Boyy
Dave P.
Deep Dish
Dennis Lloyd
Dermot Kennedy
Dillon Francis
Diplo
DJ Snake
Dusky
dvsn
Easy Life
Ella Mai
Emily King
FISHER
FKJ
Four Tet
Gesaffelstein
Gorgon City
Gryffin
Gucci Gang
Guy Gerber
Heidi Lawden
H.E.R.
Hop Along
Hot Since 82
Hurray for the Riff Raff
HYUKOH
Iceage
Idris Elba
J Balvin
Jaden Smith
Jain
Jambinai
Jan Blomqvist
Janelle Monáe
Jauz
Javiera Mena
Jon Hopkins
JPEGMAFIA
Juice WRLD
Kacey Musgraves
Kaytranada
Kayzo
Kero Kero Bonito
Khalid
Khruangbin
Kid Cudi
King Princess
Kölsch
Las Robertas
Lauren Lane
Lee Burridge
Let's Eat Grandma
Little Simz
Lizzo
Los Tucanes De Tijuana
Mac DeMarco
Maggie Rogers
Mansionair
Men I Trust
Mon Laferte
Mr Eazi
Murda Beatz
NGHTMRE
Nic Fanciulli
Nicole Moudaber
Nina Kraviz
Nocturnal Sunshine
Nora En Pure
Ocho Ojos
Ookay
Parcels
Patrice Bäumel
Perfume
Playboi Carti
Polo & Pan
Pusha T
RAT BOY
Razorbumps
Rico Nasty
Rosalía
Ross From Friends
RÜFÜS DU SOL
Sabrina Claudio
SALES
serpentwithfeet
SG Lewis
Shallou
shame
Sheck Wes
SiR
Smino
SOB X RBE
Soccer Mommy
Social House
SOFI TUKKER
Solange
SOPHIE
Soulection
Steady Holiday
Stephan Bodzin
Still Woozy
Superorganism
Tale Of Us
Tame Impala
Tara Brooks
The 1975
The Frights
The Garden
The Interrupters
The Messthetics
The Red Pears
Tierra Whack
Tomasa del Real
Turnover
Turnstile
Ty Segall & White Fence
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
U.S. Girls
Virgil Abloh
Walker & Royce
Wallows
Weezer
Wiz Khalifa
Yellow Days
YG
Yotto
Yves Tumor
Zedd
Back in 1999, Coachella was a two-day festival with headliners Beck and Rage Against the Machine. After that first festival in October, the event moved to the month of April. It wasn’t until 2007 that the Coachella Music & Arts Festival went on for three days rather than two. With more people drawn to the festival from all over the country, it only made sense for Coachella to expand by a day.
And then, in 2012, something even bigger happened. No longer was Coachella just a festival that happened one weekend in California each year. Now, Coachella is the festival– and it lasts for two weekends. Guests can opt to get passes for one weekend or the other, or just a day or two during each weekend event. It depends on who’s playing and who you most want to see– the choice is yours, but tickets sell out fast!
Coachella is more of an experience than a music festival. Folks dress up in their most fashionable summer boho attire and embark on a weekend (or two) of great music, incredible food, flowing drinks, and gorgeous art. In fact, each year, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival commissions several original, large-scale, art installations to be peppered throughout the festival.
Unlike other festivals, like NYC’s Governors Ball Music Festival, Coachella offers on-site camping for those interested! From safari tents to car camping, people travel near and far for this once-in-a-lifetime festival experience.
So, what’s it like to attend the Coachella Music & Arts Festival? It’s an amazing experience, filled with music, food, and tons of fun! From general admission passes to VIP options, as well as a variety of camping opportunities, guests at Coachella will have a great time no matter what. If you’re looking for a low-key event, this is not the spot for you! Folks who attend Coachella are energized, passionate, and ready to let loose and have fun. It’s a bit like Disneyland- there’s so much to see and do, and you’ll even see families in attendance. Coachella has grown so much in nearly two decades and, at this rate, it will only continue to be a must-attend event for any true festival lover.
