For just one weekend every year more than 75000 people travel to Indio Calif. to have their ears blown and their lives changed by the Goldenvoice-promoted Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. This year nothing has changed for the already sold out venue. Coachella will begin the weekend of April 15 and people from all over the world will come together at the Empire Polo Fields ready to rock.
From the folk sounds of two-time Grammy nominee Mumford & Sons to the Brazilian electronica duo The Twelves Coachella never ceases to try to please every genre of music that is hot on the market. With headliners like the Taylor Swift-dissing Kanye West and the multi-instrumental Arcade Fire it is going to be hard for many people to decide on which main stage to feast their eyes.
When the countdown is closer to the festival starting date the times of each band will be released and decisions will have to be made. Every day five main stages — the Coachella Stage Outdoor Theatre Gobi Tent Mojave Tent and the Sahara tent — will feature musicians simultaneously playing. Unfortunately for fans with wide-ranging musical interests you will most likely not be able to attend the show of every single band you want to see. However if you do in fact try to run around the entire field to catch glimpses of all your favorites be sure to make a pit stop in the always-misting Do LaB to cool off from the desert heat.
In 2010 Coachella organizers opted only to sell three-day passes rather than single-day tickets which while upsetting many people still drew in a sold-out audience. On Friday Jan. 21 at 10 a.m. tickets went on sale for the this year’s festival. Again the 2011 Coachella experience will only be available to those who can purchase the $269 (plus tax) wristband that will provide entry for the entire three-day weekend.
This costly ticket is worth it to Chelsie Corbett junior and Cubbie Hupp freshman.
“When I saw that The Black Keys were playing I basically ruptured Corbett said. Last year the tickets sold out and I did not get to go so I am already not buying groceries to pay for my ticket this year.”
“I bought my ticket right at 10 a.m.!” Hupp said. “Arcade Fire and The Strokes are the bands I would instantly deem my favorite so I freaked out!”
Junior Nathan Trenholm feels differently about the three-day passes.
“The line-up looks really good but paying [up to] $400 to see a lot of bands I’ve seen before? Probably going to have to pass but we’ll see Trenholm said.
If you were lucky enough to get tickets to Coachella this year, don’t forget your wristband. In addition to your wristband, be sure to plan ahead as to where you are going to be sleeping each night. If you decide to camp on the Coachella campgrounds, plan to be awake because the craziness does not end until the weekend is over.
The Coachella website, coachella.com, provides a laundry list of nearby home and condo rentals as well as hotels and motels. Most of these also include a shuttle service to and from the festival, but not without a charge. Expect these beds to fill up quickly so book your place to stay now. Otherwise, you might end up sleeping in the wilderness of the desert — literally.
Junior Kooper Macleay has attended Coachella a number of times and says he will, without a doubt, be attending this year.
Coachella is the best intro to summer Macleay said. The Strokes and Bright Eyes in the same weekend? They could have kicked off Kings of Leon and put The Stones White Stripes or Daft Punk; but either way it is one of the most impressive lineups in my years of going!”
Some students haven’t gone in past years and this will be their first time to have the Coachella experience.
“This is such an ideal lineup for my first year of going to Coachella junior Sam Roesler said. I am so excited to see The National Arcade Fire Ellie Goulding City and Colour and just to be there in general.”
So load your playlists start hydrating find a bed get a ride and be there for Coachella 2011.