It’s the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival—the best weekend of the year.
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, widely known as Coachella, is an annual three-day music festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. I came back from Coachella a little over a week ago and I am still sad about it. For whatever reason, I went back to work the day I returned home and it couldn’t have been worse. I was tired, Buffalo was cold and Coachella was now just a memory; a memory I’ll hold near and dear to my heart until next year. (Yep, that’s right. I enjoyed myself so much that I plan on going back next year for the third time.) If I’m being honest, the trip wasn’t perfect, but I had a good time. I felt like this year was my first although I’d gone twice before. With that being said, the experience was awesome and I would do it all over again.
This was my experience...
I understand that many people shy away from Coachella due to cost, but if you take advantage of the pre-sale, you'll find that it can be quite affordable. My group of friends and I purchased our tickets in June and paid for them in installments until December because... why not? We didn't know the artist lineup but, because we love music, that didn’t matter. You will be sure to enjoy some of the best performances from a roster of 150 artists. Coachella is way more than just music, so it can be easy to get carried away in the moment. Prepare for the worst by having your finances clearly mapped out; try not to be that friend who relies on the others’ financial literacy and keep tabs on who owes whom.
Music
Music is life and that's the real reason for the festival. With 150 artists on the roster, you’re guaranteed to find an act you love. I, of course, was looking forward to seeing SZA, Beyoncé, 6lack and Cardi B. You’ll discover new things that you like because the festival is so big; it's a dope time.
Food & Drink
There were an insane amount of food and drink vendors at Coachella—you won't go hungry. I remember eating Spicy Pie pizza, which was the worst pizza I've ever had, but pizza is pizza and it cured my hunger. I had a quesadilla that was quite delicious as well. Food on the festival grounds is quite expensive, so I tried to avoid it at all costs.
Art
There are many art installations on the festival grounds that are worth checking out. The installations are huge and it’s almost like you can't avoid them.
Transportation
First off, wear comfortable shoes. There’s going to be a lot more walking involved than you think, even for an outdoor festival. If you're not camping on the grounds, or willing to drive, you’ll have to find a way to commute to the grounds… obviously! Rideshare options such as Uber and Lyft were available, but the wait times and surge pricing were outrageous due to low supply and high demand. I purchased the ticket package with the shuttle pass, so we took a bus that shuttled from a nearby hotel to the grounds each day.
Connectivity
Simply put, don't lose your friends. It’ll be tough to find them and the cell signal may not be strong enough to contact them either. There are places equipped with WiFi, but I didn't utilize them.
Day 1:
We had a late arrival in Palm Springs thanks to traffic and spending too much time exploring Los Angeles; the congestion on the commute was awful. In light of our late arrival, we didn’t go to bed until late and woke up on Day 1 of the festival around noon and didn’t make it to the Polo Fields until around 4:00 PM. One of our group members couldn’t get his wristband activated using the official Coachella app until after we waited for ten minutes in the hot sun. Finally, we made it through the ticket booth alive and stopped to take photos for Instagram… I mean, that’s what Coachella is about, right?
Our Friday agenda wasn’t too packed. Daniel Caesar was the first performance we saw, catching him right at the end of his hit ballad, “Get You.” I thought that was perfect because I didn’t care to hear much else. We went on to see Vince Staples, The War on Drugs, Belly (with special guest NAV), SZA (with special guest Khalid) and Friday’s headliner, The Weeknd. Day 1 was a success and I was tired!
Day 2:
Once again, another late arrival. I missed the earlier acts, which sucked, but we were able to see Alina Baraz. She’s beautiful, and sings well, but was a slightly boring performer; I noted her set though. We walked around for a bit, ate and then stopped by Tyler, The Creator’s set in order to secure our spots for Beyoncé. At some point I felt ill, laid on the ground and fell asleep for about two hours. I didn’t wake up until the very beginning of Beyoncé’s set, but I still felt sick and had to leave.
YO, I MISSED BEYONCÉ!
That's not entirely true. I do remember hearing her band, and that's about it. I woke up the next day at 2:00 PM, not knowing what happened.*Insert Jordan crying face meme* LOL. Luckily, I have tickets to On The Run II in August, so it’s all good; I think it was meant to happen this way. I told myself not to watch the live stream of her performance during Weekend 1 and I did, so maybe it’s not that bad, but damn!
Day 3:
A bittersweet day; as mentioned before, I woke up late, once again, due to my rough night. I wanted to see Cardi B, but her time slot was moved up and she was already on stage as I was entering the festival. First stop of the day: Jidenna, “the Classic Man.” Miguel was amazing and Migos were OK, but rappers just don’t belong on that Sahara stage. After that, I retired back to our hotel. It was a long and eventful weekend. We had an early start to the day ahead on Monday morning. Despite festival sickness and my lack of vitamin Bey, my trip was 100% worth it and I’m glad I went.
Did you make it to Coachella this year? If so, how was your experience? If not, do you ever plan on going? Comment below!