Coachella

The origins of the festival 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 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 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 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 annual country music festival Stagecoach in 2007.

History

On November 5, 1993, during their Vs. Tour, American rock band 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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 the decision to announce a new festival just two months prior to staging it "financial suicide".

1999, 2001–2002

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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 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.

2003–2005

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 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.

In late December 2003, Van Santen died at 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 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 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.

2006–2008

The 2006 event featured headliners Depeche Mode and Tool. Two of 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 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, 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.

2009–2011

The 2009 festival occurred 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 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 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 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 the entire three-day weekend.

2012–2014

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 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 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 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, 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 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 a record-breaking $78.332 million. For the fourth consecutive year, Coachella was named the Top Festival at the Billboard Touring Awards.

2015–2017

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 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 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 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 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 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 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.

2018–2019

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 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 performance featured on-stage appearances by fellow Destiny's Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams as well as Beyonce's sister Solange Knowles. The 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 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, 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 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 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 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 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 the harsh sun, minimum wages, and poor communication and coordination between the organizers and the subcontracting security firms.

2020–present

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 Coachella and Stagecoach had been cancelled altogether due to 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 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, 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 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 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 the performance. The promoters were also fined $133,000 for curfew violations from the opening weekend.

The 2024 edition of the festival featured headliners Lana Del Rey, Tyler, the Creator, and Doja Cat plus a reunion by No Doubt, their first shows together since 2015. 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 2025 featured headline performances from Lady Gaga, who previously headlined in 2017, Green Day, and Post Malone. Travis Scott, who was not initially attached to a specific day, is also given headline billing and performed after Green Day on the Saturday shows. Gaga became just the second woman to headline Coachella twice, following Björk. Her show received critical acclaim and was described by several media outlets as "an all-timer experience" and one "for the history books", with the singer being called a "once-in-a-generation" performer. Green Day and Post Malone made their Coachella headlining debuts, while Scott headlined after previously being scheduled at the cancelled 2020 edition of the festival. On April 12, 2025, Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, became the first major orchestra to perform at Coachella.

Coachella 2026 took place between April 10–19. It featured headlines of Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber, Karol G (noted as the first Latina artist to headline the festival), and Anyma. Several artists became the first from their native countries to perform at the festival, including the girl group Katseye, Bini, Noga Erez, and Joost Klein.