Coachella’s iconic music festival has returned to the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. The festival is held over two weekends, April 11-13 and April 18-20. People travel from all over the country to experience live music for a weekend, with an average of 125,000 in attendance each day.
This year, the festival’s headliners included Lady Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone, and Travis Scott. Other notable artists who performed were Charli XCX, Megan Thee Stallion, Missy Elliott, and Lisa and Jenny from Blackpink. Along with these artists, unique features such as LL Cool J performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. There were also surprise appearances by Queen Latifah, and politician Bernie Sanders introduced Clairo. For those who couldn’t attend, the performances were live-streamed on YouTube, starting on the festival’s opening Friday at 7 PM EST (4 PM PT).
General admission tickets for the festival were priced at $649 for the first weekend and $599 for the second. For those looking to upgrade their experience, VIP tickets cost $1,399 for weekend one and $1,199 for the following weekend. Because of these high prices, about 60% of festival goers are using payment plans. These plans are offered not only through the Coachella website, but other vendors such as Klarna, Zip, PayPal, and Affirm.
Camping conditions vary drastically depending on what individuals are willing to pay. Common choices are standard car camping, Ready-Set camping, and the recently added La Campana tents. Each option varies with the level of comfort and amenities. The VIP camping has been upgraded this year, with expanded shaded lounges outside of the air-conditioned safari tents. These areas also include air-conditioned showers and restrooms, private parking, breakfast and late-night snacks, and golf cart transportation.
Many people paid hundreds to thousands of dollars for this weekend getaway, but the festival has faced various complaints. Traffic on the first Friday was dreadful, with attendees stuck in their cars, making little to no progress for hours. The heat has been another major concern, as California was coming off a heat wave, and temperatures in the desert reached 103 degrees Fahrenheit. To cool down, people had to pay $17 for a cup of lemonade, which has also sparked outrage.
For some, Coachella is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and for others, it has been described as a “miserable money trap,” based on online reviews. Ultimately, it is up to the music lovers and how far they are willing to go, and the money they are willing to spend to enjoy a full weekend of live artists.
