help me understand the appeal of Coachella and music festivals in general
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Anonymous
| Coachella is played out. Just like burning man. Both are cringe. |
Anonymous
For YOU. For an a bunch of 18 year olds, it’s the time of their life. |
Anonymous
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The appeal is saying "I went to Coachella"
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
Agreed. And I say that as someone who has been to both multiple times. Social media has ruined everything. We are going to a festival over Memorial Day. Will be our first festival since having kids. The last time I went was in 2011. But this time we are staying with friends who live near the festival site (15 minute walk) and also have a kid. So we can pop out to the festival for a few hours (with or without kids) and then come back to the house. Friend’s mother (ie, the grandmother) will watch all the kids in the evening after bedtime (ie, 7pm) while us four adults check out evening’s closing acts or after parties. We will still do kid activities - playgrounds, museum, etc - not associated with the festival during the day. This will be an experiment, but it feels fairly low stakes. Would like to do a proper festival experience with my kids once they are young teens. I know my spouse would have zero interest in joining a full festival experience. The only exception I would make is for OldChella. If they did that again, would definitely prioritize attending as that is a perfect set-up. |
Anonymous
| Young people who can afford it go to meet each other and have a good time. |
Anonymous
I had tickets to vans warped tour in Seattle in 1997 but didn’t end up going because the friend I was supposed to go with bailed on me. I was 18 and wasn’t brave enough to go by myself. Plus, it would have been an 8hr drive from where I lived and I didn’t have a car 
Would have been amazing though. |
Anonymous
I was at the Warped Tour in 1998 at Irvine Meadows my rising junior year of high school. So many of the bands on the line-up were from LA and OC - it was basically a “home field” audience and the bands were going nuts. My buddy in HS had an uncle who was a roadie for the Warped Tour. That uncle put us on the list for backstage VIP passes. It was crazy - it was just like that scene in Wayne’s World where they get the VIP lanyard and they keep getting waived through layers of surprised security cards. We were 16 and so impressed with ourselves lol We got to sit on the edge of the main stage for a bunch of sets - 311, Blink 182, Pennywise. The best performance by far was NOFX. Huge mosh pit spread out in front of us, with a massive cloud of dust rising into the sky. Since I was sitting on the side of the stage, Fat Mike had me hold his cooler bag of beers and toss them to various members of the band on demand. The guys from Pennywise gave me a beer from their stash. I was 16 and over-the-moon. Totally wild and memorable. One of those things that only happens when you grow up in L.A. and “know somebody’s uncle.” |
Anonymous
| Bourbon and Beyond is the one to be at this fall. |
Anonymous
+1. Festivals that are clean with proper food and toilets are awesome. I don’t understand the allure of Coachella- so dirty and long lines for crappy expensive food. Plus the line up consists of reams of bands no one has heard of before. I went to lollapalooza 1994. It was awesome. Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys, George Clinton & P-Funk, Tribe Called Quest, Breeders, Flaming Lip. I’ve been to many local festivals. Last year I went to Ocean’s Calling in Ocean City. So many great bands! Jack Johnson, Alanis Morissette, John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, Incubus, The Lumineers, Weezer, Fitz & The Tantrums, OAR, Third Eye Blind, Noah Kahan, Dispatch. This festival was so well done! Never had to wait for a toilet and they flushed. Never had to wait for food or drink. And so clean - they gave away free tshirts for every bag of trash collected. Genius. At 50 years old, I’m going to oceans calling again this September. Another great line up: Blink-182, The Killers, Dave Matthews Band, 311, The Offspring, Counting Crows, Barenaked Ladies, Blues Traveler, OAR, cage the elephant, young the giant, big head Todd and the monsters. I’d much rather see these bands than the line up at Coachella - and I get to sleep in an indoor bed every night. |
Anonymous
It is a blast for the the young ones. I am in my 40s and my SO and I do them but we pay more now for better bathrooms, lounges, expedited lines, etc. I love music festivals - plus YOLO. |
Anonymous
+1 It's a young person's game! Coachella is mostly for the 'gram though. |
Anonymous
So true |
Anonymous
| Op - you're not the target audience so don't worry about it. |
Anonymous
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The production value of the shows at Coachella is unparalleled. It's so close to LA; it's really like none other and I have been to many, many shows. It is the premier music festival and it sets up the entire season/year. The music you hear in the grocery store now and in stores while shopping were new, undiscovered talent that played at Coachella like 10-15 years ago.
Although I am not into the lineups recently, when it started and up until 10 years ago, they had an amazing mix of legendary musicians and new talent. The energy there is amazing. The weather is pretty great in Palm Springs in April, and they have stellar art installations and pretty great food as well. |