Coachella
| Coachella | |
|---|---|
| File:MainPostercoachella.jpg | |
| Dates | Last weekend of April |
| Location(s) | Indio, California, United States |
| Years active | 1999 2001–present |
| Website | www.coachella.com |
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 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.
History
The first Coachella festival was held on October 9 and 10, 1999, just a mere three months after the disastrous Woodstock 99 festival. Due to the fires and riots of Woodstock, Coachella promoters weren't allowed to offer onsite camping to its visitors, a ban that would continue until the 2002 festival. Unlike the widely-criticized Woodstock festival, notorious for its $4 bottles of water, Coachella promoters handed out a free bottle of water to all attendees, except in 2007, water bottles were sold for $2 a piece or were free if an attendee recycled 10 bottles of water found on the site.
About 25,000 people attended the two-day inaugural event, supporting headlining acts Beck, The Chemical Brothers, Tool, 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 complaints 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 people in attendance just for them.) 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, The Cure, Kraftwerk 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 for a 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.
Dates for Coachella 2008
April 25th, 26th, and 27th [1]
A poster with the lineup for 2008 has been released, but is obviously a hoax. It can be seen here. [2]
As of Tuesday, September 18, 2007, According to Billboard.com and Rollingstone magazine, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Radiohead have all signed on to Coachella 2008.
Lineup of musical performers by year
2007
April 27
Arctic Monkeys,Benny Benassi, Björk, Brazilian Girls, Brother Ali, Busdriver, Circa Survive, Jarvis Cocker, Comedians of Comedy, Digitalism, DJ Shadow, El-P, Evil Nine, Faithless, Felix da Housecat, Flosstradamus with Kid Sister, Gogol Bordello, David Guetta, Interpol, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Stephen Marley featuring Jr. Gong, Nickel Creek, Noisettes, Of Montreal, Peaches, Peeping Tom, Satellite Party, Silversun Pickups, Sonic Youth, Tilly and the Wall, Tokyo Police Club, Julieta Venegas, Rufus Wainwright, Gillian Welch, Amy Winehouse
We Are Scientists cancelled due to conflicts with recording schedule
April 28
!!!, Arcade Fire, Andrew Bird, The Black Keys, Blonde Redhead, Busy P and DJ Mehdi, The Chuck Dukowski Sextet, The Civilians, CocoRosie, Cornelius, The Cribs, The Decemberists, DJ Heather, Roky Erickson and the Explosives, Fields, Fountains of Wayne, The Frames, The Fratellis, Ghostface Killah, Girl Talk, The Good, the Bad and the Queen, Gotan Project, Hot Chip, Jack's Mannequin, Justice, Kings of Leon, Lady Miss Kier, LCD Soundsystem, MSTRKRFT, The New Pornographers, The Nightwatchman, Ozomatli, Peter Bjorn and John, Pharaohe Monch, Pop Levi, The Rapture, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mike Relm, Sparklehorse, Regina Spektor, Travis, Tiësto
April 29
Against Me!, Air, Lily Allen, Anathallo, The Avett Brothers, Manu Chao, The Coup, Crowded House, CSS, Cut Chemist, 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.
2006
April 29
Animal Collective, Atmosphere, Audio Bullys, Devendra Banhart, Joey Beltram, Derrick Carter, Cat Power, Celebration, Chris Liberator, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Colette, Matt Costa, Carl Cox, Common, Daft Punk, Damian Marley, Deerhoof, Depeche Mode, The Duke Spirit, Eagles of Death Metal, Franz Ferdinand, Head Automatica, Hybrid featuring Perry Farrell, Imogen Heap, Infusion, The Juan Maclean, Kanye West, Lady Sovereign, Ladytron, The Like, Living Things, Lyrics Born, My Morning Jacket, The New Amsterdams, Nine Black Alps, Platinum Pied Pipers, Rob Dickinson, The Section Quartet, She Wants Revenge, Shy FX & T Power, Sigur Rós, stellastarr*, Tosca, TV on the Radio, The Walkmen, White Rose Movement, Wolfmother, Youth Group, The Zutons
April 30
Amadou & Mariam, Art Brut, be your own PET, Bloc Party, Coheed and Cambria, Coldcut, The Dears, Digable Planets, Dungen, Editors, Gabriel & Dresden, Giant Drag, The Go! Team, Gnarls Barkley, Infadels, James Blunt, Jamie Lidell, Jazzanova, Kaskade, Los Amigos Invisibles, Madonna, The Magic Numbers, Massive Attack, Mates of State, Matisyahu, Michael Mayer, Metric, Minus the Bear, Mogwai, MURS featuring 9th Wonder, Mylo (DJ set), Paul Oakenfold, OneRepublic, The Octopus Project, Gilles Peterson, Phoenix, Scissor Sisters, Seu Jorge, Kristina Sky, Sleater-Kinney, Tool, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Louie Vega, Wolf Parade, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
- Both HARD Fi and The Subways canceled their appearances.
2005
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
May 1
Aesop Rock, Arcade Fire, Armin Van Buuren, Autolux, Beans, Ben Watt, Black Star, The Blood Brothers, The Bravery, Bright Eyes, British Sea Power, Diplo, DJ Krush, Donavon Frankenreiter, The Dresden Dolls, The Faint, The Fiery Furnaces, The Futureheads, Gang of Four, Gram Rabbit, Jem, Junkie XL, Kasabian, The Locust, M.I.A., Matmos, Matthew Dear, Midlake, Miss Kittin, New Order, Nine Inch Nails, The Perceptionists, Pinback, The Prodigy, Radio 4, Roni Size, Roots Manuva, Shout Out Louds, Sixtoo, Sloan, Stereophonics, Subtle, Tegan and Sara, Thrice, Wolf Eyes, Zion I
- Cocteau Twins cancelled a month prior to the show.
- Doves cancelled a few days prior due to an illness in the group.
2004
May 1
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Beck, The Black Keys, Boozoo Bajou, Da Lata, Danny Howells, Death Cab for Cutie, The Desert Sessions, dios, DJ Icon DJ Peretz (Perry Farrell), Electric Six, Erase Errata, The Evens, Eyedea & DJ Abilities, Mark Farina, Laurent Garnier, Hieroglyphics, Howie Day, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Junior Senior, Kinky, Kraftwerk, LCD Soundsystem, Living Legends, Mindless Self Indulgence, Juana Molina, Moving Units, Phantom Planet, Pixies, Q and Not U, Radiohead, The Rapture, Sahara Hotnights, Sander Kleinenberg, Savath & Savalas, Seb Fontaine, The Section Quartet, The Sounds, Sparta, stellastarr*, Stereolab, The Stills
May 2
!!!, 2manydjs, Adam Freeland, Air, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, Ash, Atmosphere, Basement Jaxx, Beck, Belle & Sebastian, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Bright Eyes, Broken Social Scene, The Cooper Temple Clause, The Crystal Method, The Cure, Cursive, Dizzee Rascal, DJ Danger Mouse, Donald Glaude, Elefant, Ferry Corsten, The Flaming Lips, Home Town Hero, Le Tigre, The Killers, MF Doom, Mogwai, Muse, Paul Van Dyk, Prefuse 73, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Sage Francis, Saul Williams, The Section Quartet, Sidestepper, The Sleepy Jackson, Supernatural, Thelonious Monster, The Thrills, Thursday, T. Raumschmiere, Whitestarr
- T. Raumschmiere cancelled before the show.
- Future Sound of London were due to appear but dropped out.
- Jimmy Eat World was on the schedule for a week, before dropping out.
- Wilco also pulled out of the scheduled appearance due to personal problems.
2003
April 26
Amon Tobin, Badly Drawn Boy, The Beastie Boys, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Ben Kweller, Blue Man Group, Blur, Christopher Lawrence, Darren Emerson, D:Fuse, Dillinja and Lemon D, Division of Laura Lee, The Donnas, Felix Da Housecat, Gomez, Groove Armada, Hernan Cattaneo, The Hives, Hot Hot Heat, Idlewild, Jaylib, Joseph Arthur, Kinky, Ladytron, The Libertines, Little Louie Vega and Kenny 'Dope' Gonzales, The Mooney Suzuki, The Music, N.E.R.D, Nightmares on Wax, Particle, Peanut Butter Wolf, Queens of the Stone Age, The Rapture, Roger Sanchez, South, Spymob, Stereo Total, Talib Kweli
- Ladytron was two and a half hours late to set. Thus, The Libertines had a vastly reduced set-time.
April 27
22-20s, Aesop Rock, Ben Folds, Black Eyed Peas, Blue Man Group, Café Tacuba, DB, Deep Dish, Dirty Vegas, DJ Irene, Eisley, El-P, Fischerspooner, G. Love & Special Sauce, Iggy Pop and the Stooges, Interpol, Jack Johnson, Johnny Marr and the Healers, The Kinison, The Libertines, The Mars Volta, Mouse on Mars, Mr. Lif, MURS, Perry Farrell - DJ Set, The Polyphonic Spree, Primal Scream, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Richie Hawtin, RJD2, Rooney, Sonic Youth, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, Thievery Corporation, Timo Maas, Tortoise, Underworld, Whirlwind Heat, The White Stripes
2002
April 27
The Beta Band, Björk, Lee Burridge, Cake, Charlatans UK, The Chemical Brothers, Citizen Cope, Cornershop, DJ Z-Trip Folk Implosion, Forest for the Trees, G. Love & Special Sauce, Groove Armada, Jack Johnson, Jimmy Van M., Jurassic 5, Kosheen, KRS-One, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, The Pharcyde, Princess Superstar, Queens of the Stone Age, Sasha & John Digweed, Saul Williams, Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Vines, Pete Yorn
April 28
Bad Boy Bill, Belle & Sebastian, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Blonde Redhead, BT, Christopher Lawrence, Dilated Peoples, DJ Dan, DJ Peretz (Perry Farrell), DJ Tiesto, Elbow, Fairview, Foo Fighters, Galactic, The Mars Volta, Medusa and Cut Chemist, Mos Def, Oasis, Ozomatli, Pete Tong, Ping Pong Bitches, The Prodigy, Rock Steady Crew, Sandra Collins, Saves the Day, Sound Tribe Sector 9, The Strokes, Triple Threat, Zero 7, Mix Master Mike, Jack Black of Tenacious D
2001
April 28
Aceyalone, Adam Freeland, AK1200, Andrea Parker, 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
1999
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
October 10
4 Hero, A-Trak, Andy Maddocks, The Angel aka 60 Channels, Autechre, Banco de Gaia, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, BT, Carl Craig Innerzone Orchestra, Cibo Matto, DJ Cam, DJ Shadow, Esthero, Fantastic Plastic Machine, Gil Scott-Heron, GusGus, Jun, Kool Keith, Lamb, LTJ Bukem and Blame, Luke Vibert, MC Conrad, MC Question Mark, Mira Calix, Mixmaster Mike, Moby, Money Mark, Neotropic, Pavement, Push Button Objects, Rage Against the Machine, Q-Bert, Rahzel, Raymond Roker, Rob Hall, Scratch Perverts UK, Slipmaster J, Spearhead, Thievery Corporation, Tool, Ugly Duckling the vision decision
Installation and Visual Art
Installation arts often receive a much smaller attention then musical arts; nevertheless, Coachella invites many notable installation and performance artists every year. [3]
2007 Artists
- Bill Beaty
- Cyclecide
- Doyle
- Robochrist Industries
- Kinetic Steam Works
- The Mutaytor
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.
- 2007
- Rage Against the Machine reunited after 7 years
- Crowded House - Had reunited for a 12-month tour
- The Jesus and Mary Chain
- The Happy Mondays
- 2006
- 2005
- Bauhaus
- Gang of Four
- Cocteau Twins - Cancelled a month prior to the show
- 2004
- 2003
- 2002
- 2001
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.
- 9 Times
- Perry Farrell - 1999 (as himself), 2001 (as part of Jane's Addiction), 2002, 2003 (last-minute surprise performance in the Gobi tent as DJ Peretz), 2004, 2005 (as DJ Peretz), 2006 (as a special guest of Hybrid), 2007 (as part of Satellite Party and a guest of The nightwatchman)
- 5 Times
- Josh Homme - 2002, 2003 (with Queens of the Stone Age), 2004 (with The Desert Sessions), 2005 (with UNKLE), 2006 (with Eagles of Death Metal)
- 4 Times
- The Chemical Brothers - 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005
- 3 Times
- Blonde Redhead - 2001, 2002, 2007
- Christopher Lawrence - 1999, 2002, 2003
- Maynard James Keenan - 1999 (performed with both A Perfect Circle and Tool), 2006 (with Tool)
- Tom Morello - 1999 (with Rage Against the Machine), 2007 (as both The Nightwatchman and as part of Rage Against the Machine)
- Mos Def - 2001, 2002, 2005 (as part of Black Star)
- DJ Peretz - 2002, 2004, 2005 (three of Perry Farrell's Eight appearances)
- 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 Times
- !!! - 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
- Bright Eyes - 2004, 2005
- BT - 1999, 2002
- Cut Chemist - 2002, 2007
- DJ Shadow -1999-2007
- The (International) Noise Conspiracy - 2002, 2004
- G. Love and Special Sauce - 2002, 2003
- Groove Armada - 2002, 2003
- Jack Johnson - 2002, 2003
- Jurassic 5 - 1999, 2002
- Ladytron - 2003, 2006
- LCD Soundsystem - 2004, 2007
- Los Amigos Invisibles - 1999, 2006
- The Mars Volta - 2002, 2003
- Mike Patton - 2005 (with Fantômas), 2007 (with Peeping Tom)
- Mogwai - 2004, 2006
- 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)
- Thievery Corporation - 1999, 2003
- Tool - 1999, 2006
- Underworld - 1999, 2003
References
- Alexander, Donnell. "Big Things". Los Angeles City Beat. April 26, 2007. Accessed May 15th, 2007.
External links
- Official website
- Coachella Photo Gallery
- 2006 Official Coachella Community
- Official Coachella on MySpace
- Coachella Festival 2006 Google Map (airports,campgrounds etc)
- Coachella 2007 Slideshow on Youtube
Articles
- 2007 Coachella blogs by Araceli Cruz
- Tickets Sell Out by Bruce Fessier
- Out.com Coachella Report by Matthew Breen
- Coachella 2007 Report by NME.COM