It's probably today for today the most popular musical festival in the world. In addition, Coachella is the music festival whose prestige or relevance is questioned by many people.
Like any mass phenomenon that is in vogue, a number of unconditional followers must be interposed with another good amount of naysayers.
Anticapitalismo y el antisistema, a trademark
It was 1993. The "novices" of Pearl Jam they were on the crest of the wave. The band led by Eddie Vedder came from "bursting" the music market with their debut album This. But the label of "alternative" that accompanied them from their beginnings, was not easy to carry. Made them collide head-on against some customs and traditions within the music industry. Also, they didn't want to know anything about shooting music videos or doing media tours.
Their most emblematic war against the status quo was the one they waged against Ticketmaster. They accused this company of monopolizing ticket sales for shows in the United States, in addition to charging abusive commissions to the spectators.
As a boycott, they took one of their concerts out of Los Angeles and moved it 204 kilometers east. They came up the Empire Polo Club in the small town of Indio. It was a total success: 25.000 fans gathered to “rock” in the middle of the Colorado Desert. In an auditorium under the stars, which was two hours from the capital of California or the city of San Diego.
An attractive idea
Against this precedent, in Goldenvoice, the company responsible for organizing Vedder's protest and his gang reflected. And outside the Ticketmaster domains, they began to probe the possibility of establishing a small music festival in the same town.
The initial idea was conceived as a lifeline to save the event company from bankruptcy. It was about transferring to the Empire Polo Club several well-known bands. And that by getting together in the same show they were able to summon a large audience.
Finally, after a lot of work, rumors that came and went, in mid-July 1999, the completion of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Along with the announcement, tickets were put on sale for two days of concerts: October 9 and 10 of that same year.
With just over two months to market and attract public attention, and after what happened with the infamous Woodstock 99, the outlook for the new festival did not look very promising.
And so the "anti-Woodstock" was born.
Goldenvoice's promise was offer the public a large-scale arts and music festival. Following in the wake of the "European school", but guaranteeing what Woodstock he couldn't: comfort and more importantly, safety.
The last edition the legendary meeting for "love and peace" in the state of New York, was peppered with numerous episodes of violence. There were also many allegations of rape, resulting in multiple unwanted pregnancies.
Beck, The chemical brothers, Morrisey and Rage against the machine led the inaugural lineup.
It was an instant hit. During that weekend of In the fall of 1999, just under 40.000 people gathered to start the legends surrounding Coachella. The specialized press praised the organization, the general atmosphere, the behavior of the public and each one of the musical shows on stage.
Great economic losses
But for the organizers, the result was not so encouraging. Losses for Goldenvoice are estimated to be $ 850.000.
As of the second edition, April was selected as the month of the festival. Although the original plan was to repeat in October 2000, the organizers gave up due to the high number of similar events in the southwestern United States, throughout the summer and early fall.
The climate factor it also entered the equation to move the event into season. In the middle of spring, the desert heat was not so suffocating.
As in the first edition, the original plan also contemplated dividing the show into two days. However, it was not possible to summon enough artists for two dates, so all it was summed up to a single day.
Again the festival received a good amount of public, it was praised in every way, but it left large economic losses.
Against this background, the owners of Goldenvoice were forced to sell the company to Anschutz Entertainment Group, one of the most powerful entertainment companies in the world.
And so the “mainstream” festival was born
With the entry of AEG to the organization of Coachella, the anti-system spirit of that 1993 concert, was definitely buried under the desert sands.
Gradually the festival was losing its alternative character, to become the annual meeting that all the millennials in the world wanted to attend.
But the most noticeable change (and what for some definitely ruined the party): became the festival of the famous. They are frequent visitors, among many others, celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Lindsay Lohan and Katy Perry.
Also became at a rich kids gathering. Of the US $ 50 that a ticket cost in 1999 or the US $ 65 in 2001, in recent editions some costs have exceeded the barrier of US $ 1.000.
There are those who do not see anything bad that celebrities want to enjoy as part of the public of musical shows in the open air. Nor that those who can afford any amount of luxuries without sparing expense do so. However, they are many who think that this type of thing is nonsense within festivals such as the Coachella.
What is a fact is that times change. Also that Woodstock has definitely been left behind.
Beyonce for 2018
Tickets for the nineteenth edition are already on sale. From April 13 to 15 and from April 20 to 21, the Empire Polo Club in Indio, will receive another wave of twenty-somethings (some with their parents), celebrities and even many curious people who simply want to live in their own flesh one of the most important musical events on the planet.
For the moment, Beyoncé, who in the 2017 edition was forced as a result of her pregnancy, to give up her place to Lady Gaga, is the only confirmed figure.
Image sources: Coachella / Red Bull / Time