This year I will be going to Coachella for the first time. I’m so excited! I’m also a little nervous. That’s how I feel about almost any new venture. As long as the excitement outweighs the nervous feelings then I know whatever the things is will be amazing.
For those of you that don’t know what Coachella is, let me tell you what little I know about it. Coachella is an annual three-day music and arts festival held in the California desert. The event takes place in the city of Indio, which is in Inland Empire’s Coachella Valley.
Every year before the festival, fashion publications write guides on what to wear. It seems like people dress like fashionable hippies there. Tickets for this year’s festival sold out in three hours. Also, since there are a lot of people there and room to roam around, the crowd atmosphere lends itself to songs with lots of “oh, oh, oh ohs.” That’s my basic knowledge about it. If you have more to contribute let me know in the comments below.
I’ll be going with some Coachella veterans, so I should be well taken care of. My boyfriend and his sister have been going for years now. The boy has only missed it once in seven years or something like that. Crazy! I have been to, count ’em, two music festivals ever.
In the spring of 2009, I went to The Bamboozle California at Angels Stadium with one of my sisters and her friend. I was a freshman in college at the time. The highlight was seeing Something Corporate perform, but seeing Never Shout Never and The Briggs sticks out in my mind too. Looking back at the lineup, I wish I had paid attention to the Bouncing Souls. But what’s done is done. This past summer I went to FYF at L.A. State Historic Park. I got to see some pretty awesome artists, including MGMT, Beach House, The Breeders, Solange, Yo La Tengo, Toro y Moi and Washed Out. I would have to say Toro y Moi and Yo La Tengo totally tie for a favorite.
When the lineup was announced for Coachella, my boyfriend and I were going back and forth between looking at an image we had saved of the lineup and texting each other about it. Our texts pretty much were just names of bands we were excited to see. I’m so glad I get to go after hearing him talk about it for the past two years.
Unsurprisingly, there are a few bands I have seen before, some I vaguely know of and some I am just know learning about. OutKast, Muse and Arcade Fire are headlining this year.
Out of all the bands on the lineup, I’m most excited to see Arcade Fire, Lana Del Ray and Disclosure perform. Those should all be amazing. I saw Frank Turner at the House of Blues Anaheim, but I’ll be very happy to see him again, especially since it will be a very different venue. I saw Solange and Washed Out at FYF this past summer, but I didn’t see their either of their entire sets because I was switching between stages. Hopefully this time I’ll catch more of them. I also want to see Pharell Williams, Beck, Calvin Harris, Pet Shop Boys, Neko Case, Head and the Heart, Aloe Blacc and Grouplove.
I want to listen to as much music from the artists as possible before April. Well, maybe I shouldn’t put it that way. I want to listen to at least one song by each artist I’ve never heard of and then if it sucks, I’ll move on. I already started a Spotify playlist, but I’m thinking that might not be the best way to go since there isn’t that much music on there.
Are any of you, my lovely readers, also going to Coachella? If so, who are you most excited to see? If not, which of the artists on the lineup is your favorite?
Modern Notebook 