By Joe Arida
Not that it needs an introduction, Created in 1999: Coachella is now a 2 weekends a year music festival with an aggregate six-day total of more than 225,000 people - general admission tickets selling out in less than 20 minutes, for 182 artists spread out on 8 stages. Now that we have your left-brain satisfied, let’s talk to the right side. Coachella is the siren of the desert, luring a steadily increasing number of people with her gorgeous lineups, legendary atmosphere, madcap fashions and happy hedonists.
There is no one-way to qualify Coachella attendees - as people from every scene and walk of life flock to the planes year after year. Models mingle with mere mortals, rockers party with ravers, hardcore-fashionistas queue up with gangstas for the gourmet food trucks, half-dressed hippies and Goths run across the fields to catch their favorite acts - and the VIP area is crawling with A to Z-list celebrities, actors and singers. The keyword is: HAPPY!
The vibes are bright; fashion is loud, playful – and always audacious. The scene is pulsating - spread out on acres of land are massive stages, indoor clubs, food and drink shacks, art and light installations, a Ferris wheel, camping sites… Think neo-Woodstock meets burning man on the grass of what becomes every year a musical playground the size of a small town; all entranced from dusk till dawn by an eclectic mix the likes of: Lorde, Beck, Queens of the Stone Age, Nas, Calvin Harris, Broken Bells, Motörhead, Haim, Bastille, MGMT, Girl Talk, Foster the People, Ellie Goulding, Lana Del Rey, Rudimental, Pharrell Williams, Empire of the Sun, The Knife, Skrillex, Outkast, Banks, Little Dragon, Disclosure, among others.
And that’s not it, Coachella is also all about “unscheduled performances”, and this year jaws dropped as Beyoncé jumped on stage to do a little dance with sister Solange, Mary J Blige belted out “F for you” with Disclosure, Debbie Harry closed Arcade Fire’s set, Justin Bieber rapped with Chance – … But the real mind-blowing surprise musical cavalcade came courtesy of Pharrell Williams who brought out a few of his mates: Snoop Dogg, Nelly, Busta Rhymes, Puff Daddy and Gwen Stefani for 60-minutes of musical elation amidst a desert sand-storm. Just like the song says: HAPPY was the word, for people of all ages and origins, united by music and wearing the only thing that matters, a big smile.
Not that it needs an introduction, Created in 1999: Coachella is now a 2 weekends a year music festival with an aggregate six-day total of more than 225,000 people - general admission tickets selling out in less than 20 minutes, for 182 artists spread out on 8 stages. Now that we have your left-brain satisfied, let’s talk to the right side. Coachella is the siren of the desert, luring a steadily increasing number of people with her gorgeous lineups, legendary atmosphere, madcap fashions and happy hedonists.
There is no one-way to qualify Coachella attendees - as people from every scene and walk of life flock to the planes year after year. Models mingle with mere mortals, rockers party with ravers, hardcore-fashionistas queue up with gangstas for the gourmet food trucks, half-dressed hippies and Goths run across the fields to catch their favorite acts - and the VIP area is crawling with A to Z-list celebrities, actors and singers. The keyword is: HAPPY!
The vibes are bright; fashion is loud, playful – and always audacious. The scene is pulsating - spread out on acres of land are massive stages, indoor clubs, food and drink shacks, art and light installations, a Ferris wheel, camping sites… Think neo-Woodstock meets burning man on the grass of what becomes every year a musical playground the size of a small town; all entranced from dusk till dawn by an eclectic mix the likes of: Lorde, Beck, Queens of the Stone Age, Nas, Calvin Harris, Broken Bells, Motörhead, Haim, Bastille, MGMT, Girl Talk, Foster the People, Ellie Goulding, Lana Del Rey, Rudimental, Pharrell Williams, Empire of the Sun, The Knife, Skrillex, Outkast, Banks, Little Dragon, Disclosure, among others.
And that’s not it, Coachella is also all about “unscheduled performances”, and this year jaws dropped as Beyoncé jumped on stage to do a little dance with sister Solange, Mary J Blige belted out “F for you” with Disclosure, Debbie Harry closed Arcade Fire’s set, Justin Bieber rapped with Chance – … But the real mind-blowing surprise musical cavalcade came courtesy of Pharrell Williams who brought out a few of his mates: Snoop Dogg, Nelly, Busta Rhymes, Puff Daddy and Gwen Stefani for 60-minutes of musical elation amidst a desert sand-storm. Just like the song says: HAPPY was the word, for people of all ages and origins, united by music and wearing the only thing that matters, a big smile.
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