Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, also known simply as Coachella and also Coachellafest and the Coachella Festival, is a gigantic music and arts festival that lasts three solid days and features music from multiple different genres as well as artworks from many different artists. The festival features various stages where the performers are featured and the artwork is displayed. These include the Outdoor theatre, Gobi Tent, Coachella Stage, Sahara Tent and the Mojave Tent. There was also a dome known as the Oasis Dome during the 2006 and 201 festival, giving the performers and artists plenty of space to do their respective thing.
Many of the bands that have performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival are some of the biggest and most popular in the world, including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Madonna, Oasis, Radiohead, the Beastie Boys, Kanye West, Beck, Jay-Z and many more. The festival was founded by Paul Tollett in 1993 and is organized by Goldenvoice, a subsidiary of AEG Live.
Although the event actually got its start in 1993 when Pearl Jam played for 25,000 fans the inaugural Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was in 1999 and was held 3 months after the ‘Woodstock 99’ festival. The reason it was started in this unusual venue (the California desert where daytime temperatures can reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit) was due to a boycott at the time of Ticketmaster and the auditoriums they controlled in southern California. It was an untested and undeveloped site at the time but has since grown to be one of the largest celebrations of its kind in the United States and indeed the world.
More or less 10,000 people were on hand to witness the maiden event and some of the headliners were Beck, Tool, Rage Against the Machine and the Chemical Brothers, among others. It was, in the eyes of the fans, a success and about the only complaint from the people who were on hand to enjoy the festivities was the oppressive heat. It was, however, a financial disappointment and failed to generate any profits for the promoters, a fact that almost put an end to it before it began.
One of the facts that many who have never attended the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is that it is also a huge draw for visual artists and every year there are many sculptures and installation art features that are displayed. The limited edition posters that are designed by artist Emek are also popular and collected by many who love the festival and go there every year.
If you’re keen on attending the only thing you need to do is make your way to the southern California desert and bring your sunscreen and your love of rock music and sculpture. Leave the rest to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and you’re sure to have an excellent time. Oh, and you'll need to buy some cheap Coachella tickets
