Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival

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Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Location(s) Indio, California, United States
Years active 1999
2001–present
Founded by
Date(s) Last weekend of April
Genre(s)
Website www.coachella.com
This article is about the annual music and arts festival. For other uses of "Coachella", see Coachella (disambiguation).

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly known as Coachella) is a three-day (formerly a one or two-day) annual music and arts festival organized by Goldenvoice held at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, California. The event features many genres of music including alternative rock, hip hop, and electronica as well as large sculptural art. The event has several stages/tents set-up throughout the grounds, each playing live music continuously. The main stages are: Coachella Stage, Outdoor Theatre, Gobi Tent, Mojave Tent, and the Sahara Tent (2006 also saw the addition of a smaller Oasis Dome).

The Coachella Music Festival has a desert setting (the city of Indio is a part of the Colorado Desert), with daytime temperatures frequently rising to over 100°F (38°C). The festival enjoys little cloud cover or shade. The temperature drops drastically after sunset.

Contents

[edit] History

On the evening of November 5, 1993 the rock bands Tool and Pearl Jam performed before almost 25,000 fans that stood and sat through the night on the lawns of Indio's historic and previously rock-festival free Empire Polo Club. Although band management had chosen this untested and under-developed site as part of the boycott of Ticketmaster and the Southern California auditoriums it controlled, the event established the new venue's suitability for large-scale rock events. Such suitability was not a given: the grounds, essentially one vast irrigated desert lawn, sit in one of America's hottest and driest spots, and the region's lightly populated towns, while having a history as resorts, are between one and five hours' drive from regional population centers (San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix).

Six years later, on October 9 and 10, 1999 (a mere three months after the disastrous Woodstock 99 festival) the first actual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (usually abbreviated simply as "Coachella") was held. Due to Woodstock 99's fires and riots, Coachella promoters weren't allowed to offer on site camping, a ban that continued until the 2002 festival. Unlike the widely-criticized Woodstock festival, notorious for water sold at $4 per bottle, Coachella's promoters, for the first year, provided free bottled water for all attendees. In 2001, water bottles were sold for $2. In 2007, a new program was adopted in which ten emptied bottles could be traded for one full bottle from different sites throughout the venue.

About 25,000 people attended the two-day inaugural event, supporting headlining acts Beck, The Chemical Brothers, Tool, Morrissey, and Rage Against the Machine. Other acts included Jurassic 5, DJ Shadow, and Underworld. Originally, promoters had hoped to make the event three days (Friday-Sunday) and even considered the UK band Massive Attack to be the third day headliner - but those plans never came to fruition. The event went smoothly, with the biggest complaint being the blistering heat. It is reported, however, that the event failed to generate any profit, which nearly put an end to the festival.

No festival took place in 2000, likely due to the financial troubles of the inaugural festival. In 2001, however, festival organizers decided to give it another try. They decided to move the event to April (to avoid the intense heat of the late summer), and it was only scheduled for one day, most likely due to a tighter budget. However, the 2001 organizers once again ran into some trouble organizing the festival. Just months before the event was to occur, promoters still did not have a big headliner, and the festival was once again at risk of turning a net loss. In a surprise move, promoters turned to friend Perry Farrell, and were able to bring a reunited Jane's Addiction to the main stage as the event's headlining act.

In 2002, the event once again returned to the two-day format, and saw a reunited Siouxsie & the Banshees, as well as headlining acts Björk and Oasis. The strong supporting acts helped prove to the community of Indio, California that the event was capable of bringing in money and ending without conflict.

Following the 2002 festival, Coachella began to generate large-scale interest, and the 2003 festival featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Beastie Boys (as well as a reunited Iggy Pop and The Stooges) drew the largest crowd yet. (This record, however, was broken by Rage Against the Machine's 2007 reunion performance which drew nearly 100,000 attendees.) Around this time, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival began to develop worldwide interest.

The 2004 event, featuring a reunion of the Pixies, as well as Radiohead, Kraftwerk, The Cure and a number of other major bands, was the event's first sellout, with 50,000 tickets sold for each Saturday and Sunday. Since then, the festival has continued to generate large draws due to strong lineups from top to bottom, including such bands as Nine Inch Nails, Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Tool, Daft Punk, and Massive Attack.

The 2007 show was extended to three days and included headliners Red Hot Chili Peppers, a reunited Rage Against the Machine, and Björk, with all three headlining for their second time. Other notable performers included Arcade Fire, which had made a memorable 2005 Coachella appearance, LCD Soundsystem, Manu Chao, a rare American performance by former Pulp-frontman Jarvis Cocker, and Scarlett Johansson singing with a reunited the Jesus and Mary Chain.

Each year, the festival also features interesting installation art and sculptures. Most of the pieces are interactive, and provide entertainment and eye candy for attendees walking throughout the Polo grounds. Many of the works were initially created for the Burning Man festival. In contrast to the largely non-repeating roster of musical artists represented at the festival, a few of the visual artists, such as Robochrist Industries, The Mutaytor, Cyclecide, and The Do LaB, have appeared during several consecutive years at Coachella.

In 2008, Goldenvoice/AEG Live will also host the similar All Points West Music & Arts Festival at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey on August 8-10. Unlike at Coachella, there will be no camping.[1]

[edit] Coachella Camping History

In 2002 Coachella started to include tent camping as an option for staying at the festival. The camp ground site is on an adjacent polo field next to the venue grounds. The campground has its own separate festival entrance on the southside of the venue. Goldenvoice/AEG Live contracted out Kevin Lyman, owner/promoter of Warped Tour, Taste of Chaos, and Mayhem festivals, to coordinate and run the Campgrounds[2]. Kevin's campground employees are usually his friends or employees from the Production Office of his tours. Kevin also has a series of interns come out from Citrus College, they are paid a minimal day rate and given free camping for helping work the grounds. The first year saw camping attendance around 10,000. It was reported in 2007 that attendance in 2007 was in upwards of 17,000. The campground includes a karaoke lounge, general store, and shower trucks (semi trucks with around 30 showers in the trailer)[3]. Kevin Lyman was also contracted out to do the Stagecoach festival camping, which is usually the weekend succeeding Coachella. Unlike Coachella camping which is all tents, Stagecoach is mostly Recreational Vehicle camping.

[edit] Lineup of musical performers by year

Headliners for each date listed in bold text.

[edit] 2008

The 2008 line-up was announced at a press conference in Mexico City on January 21.[4]

Madness were originally scheduled to perform on Friday, but dropped off because they had not yet confirmed with Goldenvoice. Kate Nash and Yelle were added to Saturday a few days later. Animal Collective were originally scheduled for Friday, but were moved to Saturday. Les Savy Fav and Man Man were both originally scheduled for Sunday, but were moved to Friday and Saturday respectively. On February 25, the following changes were made: Modeselektor was moved from Friday to Sunday, Black Kids were moved from Sunday to Friday, Grand Ole Party were moved from Saturday to Sunday, and Above & Beyond were added to Saturday. Does It Offend You, Yeah? were moved from Friday to Saturday. On March 11 Aphex Twin, Serj Tankian, Red Kross, and Goldfrapp were added, but their respective performance days had not been indicated. It was soon announced, that all four acts had been added to Friday. In the weeks and months leading up to the festival several more acts cancelled including: Jamie T, Reverend and the Makers, New Young Pony Club, The Streets, The Bees, The Horrors, and Turbonegro. However on April 9th it was announced that Prince would headline Saturday night of the festival, changing Portishead from a headliner to a sub-headliner with Kraftwerk.

[edit] April 25

  • Madness were prematurely announced in the Friday lineup, but the booking was never officially confirmed with Goldenvoice.[5]
  • Matt Costa and Mason Jennings appeared as surprise guests during Jack Johnson's headlining set. Both artists record for Johnson's Brushfire Records label.

[edit] DJ Sets in the Do LaB
  • Chad Rock
  • DJ Wolfie
  • Djun Djun
  • Geno Cochino
  • Henry Strange
  • The Ianator
  • Jesse Wright
  • Sammy Bliss

[edit] April 26

[edit] DJ Sets in the Do LaB
  • Adam Ohama
  • Dandelion
  • David Starfire with i Catching
  • DJ Imajika
  • The Glitch Mob
  • Jesse (of Brazilian Girls)
  • Random Rab

[edit] April 27

  • The Field were scheduled to appear but had to cancel due to problems getting into the United States
  • M. Ward showed up as a surprise guest during My Morning Jacket's performance.

[edit] DJ Sets in the Do LaB
  • Adam Freeland
  • Ana Sia
  • El Papa Chango
  • Helios Jive
  • Jupiter
  • Oscure
  • Patricio
  • Saynt

[edit] 2007

[edit] April 27

Coachella 2007 Main Stage.
Coachella 2007 Main Stage.

[edit] DJ sets in the Dome
  • Travis Keller
  • Jacob Thiele of the Faint
  • Marques Wyatt
  • David J
  • Kraak & Smaak
  • Junglist Platoon/Respect Ft. Machete
  • Scooba
  • Clutch
  • No Face
  • Drone

[edit] April 28

[edit] DJ sets in the Dome
  • The Professionals
  • Eugene Carla and Greg of Autolux
  • Daniel Ash
  • Andy Rourke
  • Lady Miss Kier
  • Bassrush Ft. Silver
  • Hazen
  • XXXL
  • Subflo
  • MC Dino
  • Question Mark

[edit] April 29

Against Me!, Air, Lily Allen, Anathallo, The Avett Brothers, Manu Chao, The Coup, Crowded House, CSS, Explosions in the Sky, Fair to Midland, The Feeling, José González, Grizzly Bear, Richie Hawtin, Happy Mondays, Infected Mushroom, Junior Boys, Kaiser Chiefs, Kid Beyond, Klaxons, Konono N°1, The Kooks, Amos Lee, The Lemonheads, Lupe Fiasco, Mando Diao, Mika, Willie Nelson, Placebo, Rage Against the Machine, Ratatat, Damien Rice, Rodrigo y Gabriela, The Roots, Soulwax, Spank Rock, Tapes 'n Tapes, Teddybears, Paul van Dyk, VNV Nation.

DJ sets in the Dome: Franki Chan, Busy P and DJ Mehdi, Kevin Haskins, Cut Chemist, Paul Harding of Pendulum, Total Science, Adam Freeland.

[edit] 2006

[edit] April 29

Daft Punk performing on April 29.
Daft Punk performing on April 29.

[edit] April 30

[edit] 2005

[edit] April 30

Ambulance LTD, Amp Fiddler, Bauhaus, Bloc Party, Boom Bip, Buck 65, Café Tacuba, Hernan Cattaneo, The Chemical Brothers, Coldplay, Jamie Cullum, DJ Marky, DJ Peretz (Perry Farrell), Eisley, Evil Nine, Fantômas, Four Tet, Jean Grae, Gratitude, Immortal Technique, Katie Melua, Keane, The Kills, k-os, M83, Mercury Rev, MF Doom, Nic Armstrong and the Thieves, Razorlight, The Raveonettes, Rilo Kiley, Sage Francis, The Secret Machines, The Sexy Magazines, Snow Patrol, Spoon, Swayzak, Tiga, UNKLE, Weezer, Wilco, Josh Wink, Zap Mama

[edit] May 1

  • Cocteau Twins cancelled a month prior to the show.
  • Doves cancelled a few days prior due to an illness in the group.

[edit] 2004

[edit] May 1

[edit] May 2

[edit] 2003

[edit] April 26

  • Ladytron was two and a half hours late to set. Thus, The Libertines had a vastly reduced set-time. The Libertines were rescheduled for the following day.

[edit] April 27

[edit] 2002

[edit] April 27

[edit] April 28

[edit] 2001

[edit] April 28

Aceyalone, Adam Freeland, AK1200, Andrea Parker, Aphex Twin, Bad Company, Jason Bentley, Jason Blakemore, Blonde Redhead, The Chemical Brothers, Nikka Costa, The Dandy Warhols, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Detroit Grand Pubahs, Dieselboy, DJ Rinse & Flux, DJ Z-Trip, Doc Martin, Fatboy Slim, Gangstarr, Ian Pooley, Iggy Pop, Jane's Addiction, DJ Dara, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Christopher Lawrence, Medusa, Mos Def, The New Deal, The Nortec Collective, The Orb, Ozomatli, Paul Oakenfold, Pedro the Lion, Photek, Plaid, Raymond Roker, The Roots, Saint Germain, Sigur Rós, Roni Size and Reprazent, Smith & Mighty, Souls of Mischief, Squarepusher, Supernatural, Tricky, Überzone, Weezer

[edit] 1999

[edit] October 9

A Perfect Circle, Amon Tobin, Art of Noise, At the Drive-In, Bassbin Twins, Beck, The Bicycle Thief, Bis, Breakbeat Era, The Chemical Brothers, Christopher Lawrence, Cornelius, Derrick May, DJ Food, DJ Rap, Die, Dynamite MC, IQU, Juan Atkins, Jurassic 5, Kevin Saunderson, Kid Koala, Los Amigos Invisibles, Medeski Martin & Wood, Ming + FS, Modest Mouse, Morrissey, Mr. Scruff, µ-Ziq, Nightmares on Wax, Perry Farrell, Plastikman, Richie Hawtin, Roni Size, Sandra Collins, Simply Jeff, Spiritualized, Super Furry Animals, Tomas, Underworld, The Wiseguys

[edit] October 10

[edit] Installation and visual art

 This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can (June 2008).

Installation arts have grown significantly over the years. Coachella invites many notable installation and performance artists every year.

[edit] 2008 installation artists

  • Gerard Minakawa: Bamboo Waves, The Do LaB, Sean Orlando: The Steampunk Treehouse, Mike Ross: Big Rig Jig, Mark Lottor: The Quad Cubatron, Ball-Nogues: Copper Droopscape, Martti Kalliala and Jenna Sutela: Super Ball, Aaron Koblin: Flight Patterns, Michael Christian: Beyond the Garden, Christopher Janney: Sonic Forest, Syd Klinge: Cauac Twins, Corndog: Parabola, Ron and James Nick Sears: The Orb, Orion Fredericks: Fata Morgana, Robotronia: Hotshot the Robot, SWARM, SLICK: The Pig(during Roger Waters)

[edit] 2007 installation artists

  • The Do LaB, Lucent Dossier, Johnny America, Syd Klinge: Tesla Coil, Brian Corndog: KA Labyrinth, Mark Lottor: Cubatron, Cyclecide Bike Rodeo, Kinetic Steam Works, Jaime Vaida: Goes Around Comes Around Carousel, Stronghold Productions: FirePod, Michael Christian: I.T., and Babel, Sean Sobczak: Love and Dragons, Domes Guys: 90' Dome, Jason Hackenworth: Megamite Army, Dorothy Trojanowski: Rubber Horses, Perpetual Art Machine, NON Designs, Mark Esper: It's in the Air and Enlightenment, Brose Partington: Tide, Greg de Gouveia: Cubed []3, Jim Bowers: Terrasphere, Hotshot the Robot, LT Mustardseed: Aquatic Temple of Chill, Stefano Corazza: Field of Sunflower Robots, Sasstown Crew (Portland): Threemove, Rosanna Scimecca: St. Taudry's, manIC

[edit] 2006 installation artists

  • Syd Klinge (Cauac), Brian Corndog (Metron Transformer), Michael Christian (Flock and Hypha), Rosanna Scimecca (Zephyrus' Disgolmerate), Jerico Woggon, Orion Fredricks (Harmonizer Water Sculpture), Doyle (The Spider), Cyclecide/Bike Rodeo, O2 Creative (Gnome Dome), The Do LaB (Lucent Misting Oasis), Keith Greco (Leaf Rake Tree+Snow Globe Domes), Johan/www.domeguys.com (Dome structures) domeseurope.com

[edit] 2005 installation artists

  • Syd Klinge (Cauac Tesla Coil), Rosanna Scimecca (The Sublim of Da'ath), ThermoKraken, HornMassive, Christian Ristow (RoboChrist), The Do LaB (Lucent Misting Oasis), Corndog (Platonic Chamber), Mass Ensemble (The Drum Orb), Cyclecide (Bike Rodeo), Michael Christian (Celestial Body and the Archway), Jerico Woggon (Year of the Snake), LT Mustardseed (Dragonfly and Serracenia Insectivorous)

[edit] 2004 installation artists

  • Syd Klinge (Cauac Tesla Coil), Nairb (Deus Ex Machina), Laura Crosta and Funn Roberts (Lanternaria), LT Mustardseed (The Journey of the Dragonfly, Finley Fryer ("Stan" - The Diver), Rosanna Scimecca (Cleavage in Space+Red Widow Spider), Christian Ristow (Robots), David Wharton+Scott Mattison (Diffraction Light Tunnel), Howard Hollis (Linticular 3-D Art), Gaspo (HypKnowTron), D-light (Helix IV), Gabi Tuschak, Juli Gudmundson and Melody Byrd (Chitlin'n Grits), Mass Ensemble (Earth Harp), Jerico Woggon (Year of the Snake), Cyclecide (Bike Rodeo)

[edit] Musicians reunited at Coachella

In 2001, the festival organizers were having trouble attracting a major headlining band. Running out of time, they went to friend Perry Farrell, who reunited Jane's Addiction in order to headline that year's event. Since then, it has become somewhat of a Coachella tradition to reunite at least one band for each festival. Although the line between a hiatus and an actual breakup is somewhat blurry, a number of artists are considered to have been reunited at Coachella, or have played Coachella as one of their first major shows after a reunion. The following is a list of performers who reunited or made a big return at a Coachella festival.

[edit] 2008

[edit] 2007

[edit] 2006

  • Daft Punk - First U.S. performance since 1997[6]
  • Tool - Not a reunion, but their first performance in three years

[edit] 2005

[edit] 2004

  • Pixies
  • Kraftwerk - First US show since 1998, and marking only their third Southern California appearance since 1981.

[edit] 2003

[edit] 2002

[edit] 2001

[edit] Performers who have played more than once

In order to keep each festival unique and fresh, the organizers of Coachella tend to book performers who have not appeared at the festival previously. To date, there have been only fifteen individuals or artists who have played at Coachella more than twice.

Performers who have played more than once
Times Performer Occurance
9 Perry Farrell
5 Josh Homme
4 The Chemical Brothers
  • 1999
  • 2001
  • 2002
  • 2005
Maynard James Keenan
DJ Peretz
  • 2002
  • 2003
  • 2004
  • 2005 (four of Perry Farrell's nine appearances)
3 Blonde Redhead
  • 2001
  • 2002
  • 2007
Café Tacuba
  • 2003
  • 2005
  • 2008
Emily Haines
Jack Johnson
  • 2002
  • 2003
  • 2008
Christopher Lawrence
  • 1999
  • 2002
  • 2003
Tom Morello
Mos Def
  • 2001
  • 2002
  • 2005 (as part of Black Star)
The Rapture
  • 2003
  • 2004
  • 2007
Roni Size
  • 1999
  • 2001
  • 2005
The Section Quartet
  • 2004 (twice)
  • 2006
DJ Z-Trip
  • 2001
  • 2002
  • 2005
Cedric Bixler-Zavala
  • 1999 (with At the Drive-In)
  • 2002 and 2003 (with The Mars Volta)
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
  • 1999 (with At the Drive-In)
  • 2002 and 2003 (with The Mars Volta)
Ozomatli
  • 2001
  • 2002
  • 2007
2 !!!
  • 2004
  • 2007
Air
  • 2004
  • 2007
Amon Tobin
  • 1999
  • 2003
Arcade Fire
  • 2005
  • 2007
Atmosphere
  • 2004
  • 2006
Beck
  • 1999
  • 2004
Belle and Sebastian
  • 2002
  • 2004
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals
  • 1999
  • 2003
Björk
  • 2002
  • 2007
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
  • 2002
  • 2004
Bloc Party
  • 2005
  • 2006
Blue Man Group
  • 2002
  • 2003
Bob Forrest
  • 1999 as part of the Bicycle Thief
  • 2004 with Thelonious Monster
Bright Eyes
  • 2004
  • 2005
BT
  • 1999
  • 2002
Cornelius
  • 1999
  • 2007
Cut Chemist
  • 2002
  • 2007
DJ Shadow
  • 1999
  • 2007
EL-P
  • 2003
  • 2007
The (International) Noise Conspiracy
  • 2002
  • 2004
G. Love and Special Sauce
  • 2002
  • 2003
Gogol Bordello
  • 2007
  • 2008
Groove Armada
  • 2002
  • 2003
Hot Chip
  • 2007
  • 2008
Interpol
  • 2003
  • 2007
Jack White
Jurassic 5
  • 1999
  • 2002
Justice
  • 2007
  • 2008
Kim Deal
Kinky
  • 2003
  • 2004
Underworld
  • 1999
  • 2003
Kraftwerk
  • 2004
  • 2008
Ladytron
  • 2003
  • 2006
LCD Soundsystem
  • 2004
  • 2007
Los Amigos Invisibles
  • 1999
  • 2006
The Mars Volta
  • 2002
  • 2003
Metric
  • 2006
  • 2008
Mike Patton -
Mogwai
  • 2004
  • 2006
My Morning Jacket
  • 2006
  • 2008
Nightmares on Wax
  • 1999
  • 2003
The Prodigy
  • 2002
  • 2005
Queens of the Stone Age
  • 2002
  • 2003
Rage Against the Machine
  • 1999
  • 2007
Raymond Roker
  • 1999
  • 2001
Red Hot Chili Peppers
  • 2003
  • 2007
Sage Francis
  • 2004
  • 2005
Sigur Rós
  • 2001
  • 2006
Stellastarr*
  • 2004
  • 2006
Supernatural
  • 2001
  • 2004
Talib Kweli
  • 2003
  • 2005 (as part of Black Star)
Tegan and Sara
  • 2005
  • 2008
Thievery Corporation
  • 1999
  • 2003
Tool
  • 1999
  • 2006

[edit] References

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Lustig, Jay. "All Points West festival on track for Liberty State Park", Star-Ledger, 2008-01-21. Retrieved on 2008-01-22. 
  2. ^ www.4fini.com Title=Coachella Campgrounds
  3. ^ www.coachella.com Title=Camping Amenities
  4. ^ Boucher, Geoffrey. "Coachella 2008 line-up announced", Soundboard, LA Times, 2008-01-21. Retrieved on 2008-01-21. 
  5. ^ "Madness not playing Coachella 2008, will play shows in 2009", Soundboard, Brooklyn Vegan, 2008-02-04. Retrieved on 2008-04-24. 
  6. ^ Coachella Show Review on Merry Swankster

[edit] Notations

  • Alexander, Donnell. "Big Things". Los Angeles City Beat. April 26, 2007. Accessed May 15th, 2007.

[edit] External links

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