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Drink · Indio
Date shake
Thick date shake with vanilla ice cream, with a caramel-like flavor. It originated at roadside date shops in California’s Coachella Valley.
Music · Indio
Coachella
A music and arts festival in the Coachella Valley desert at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California: two April weekends with stages for rock, pop, hip-hop and electronic music, large art installations, and on‑site camping.
In the photo: Indio
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Coachella — Indio
When
In April, over two consecutive weekends, Friday through Sunday, with the same lineup both weekends.
April
Dates change every year: check this year's date before you travel.
The festival
What is Coachella
Coachella, short for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, takes place in April at the Empire Polo Club, a polo club in Indio in the Coachella Valley, in the southern California desert about 200 km east of Los Angeles. The club’s lawns host multiple stages and tents featuring rock, pop, hip‑hop, electronic music, Latin music and emerging artists, plus large sculptures and art installations spread across the grounds that change each edition.
The site’s history as a concert venue began in 1993, when a rock band played a large show there outside the usual club circuit and showed that the polo club could hold crowds. The first edition of the festival was in October 1999, over two days, organized by the promoter Goldenvoice. After a break in 2000, the festival returned in 2001 and moved to April. On‑site camping was added in 2003, a third day in 2007 and, in 2012, the second weekend with the same lineup to meet demand. Since then the festival has run across two consecutive weekends.
The stages are named after deserts. The main outdoor stage hosts the closing acts each night; beside it is a second outdoor stage, and large tents — like the Sahara, dedicated to electronic music — and smaller tents for emerging artists complete the layout. Each tent has its own schedule, and the crowd moves between them throughout the day.
The landscape is part of the experience: palm trees, dry mountains surrounding the valley and the desert sunset behind the stages. Many of the art installations are interactive and several meters high; they are meeting points by day and are lit at night, and the Ferris wheel has become a festival symbol. Days are usually hot and nights considerably cooler. Many people camp on a neighboring polo field and spend the whole weekend at the festival, with shows from the afternoon into the early hours. The festival also runs recycling programs, reusable bottle initiatives and carpool incentives, with prizes for full cars.
Coachella is also known as a showcase for fashion and pop culture, and several performances have been career milestones for artists. The following weekend, the same club hosts Stagecoach, a country music festival created in 2007. If you travel to southern California in April, the festival can be combined with Palm Springs, known for its modernist architecture, and Joshua Tree National Park in the mountains above the valley.
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What not to miss
The sunset behind the stages with the valley mountains in the background. The large art installations, which change each edition and are lit at night. The smaller tents, where you can discover new artists before they’re famous. The nightly headliners on the main stage and the Sahara tent, dedicated to electronic music. The illuminated Ferris wheel at night, with views across the grounds. For campers, the social atmosphere in the camping areas. Before or after, Palm Springs with its modernist architecture, and Joshua Tree National Park. In the valley, date farms and the date milkshake, a local specialty.
How to enjoy it
Pick one of the two weekends; the lineup is the same. A pass is valid for all three days, while camping and transport are sold separately. People who don’t camp usually stay in Indio, Palm Desert, La Quinta or Palm Springs; the festival runs shuttle buses between regional hotels and the club, which helps avoid heavy traffic and crowded parking; the carpool program may offer prize drawings according to the edition’s rules. Days are hot and dry and nights cool down a lot: bring a reusable bottle, sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses and a jacket for the evening. Wear comfortable shoes, because distances between stages are large. Check the official site for the allowed bag size and the list of permitted items. Pick a fixed meeting point to find friends again: with the grounds full, messages and calls don’t always get through.
Plan ahead
Tickets go on sale many months in advance and usually sell out quickly; watch the official site for pre‑sales, typically opened the year before. Accommodation in the Coachella Valley becomes very expensive and competitive for both weekends and for Stagecoach right after; book early or plan to camp. Visitors from afar often fly into Los Angeles or Palm Springs airport. During the week between the two weekends the region is somewhat quieter for visits to Palm Springs and Joshua Tree.
In the city
Make the most of Indio
Flavors of the United States
To try in Indio
April
Around the same time
March/April
Culture · Washington, D.C.
National Cherry Blossom Festival
From mid or late March to mid April, lasting about four weeks, following the blooming of the cherry trees in Washington.
Spring festival in Washington that celebrates the cherry trees donated by Tokyo in 1912: weeks of events around the Tidal Basin and the National Mall, including a kite festival, a parade on Constitution Avenue, fireworks and a big Japanese street festival.
April/May
Culture · Virgínia
Historic Garden Week in Virginia
For eight consecutive days, usually in the second half of April and sometimes into early May; each locality opens its houses and gardens on specific days.
For eight spring days, private homes, gardens and historic properties across Virginia open to the public, decorated with floral arrangements made by garden clubs; proceeds fund the restoration of the state’s historic gardens.
Your questions
Questions about Coachella
When is Coachella?
Every April, with two identical editions on consecutive weekends, each running Friday through Sunday.
Where is Coachella held?
At the Empire Polo Club in Indio, in the Coachella Valley — a desert region of southern California near Palm Springs.
Can you camp at Coachella?
Yes. There are camping areas on the festival grounds for tents or for cars, sold separately from the festival pass.
Festivals and events in the United States
Other festivals
January
Popular festival · Tampa
Gasparilla Pirate Festival
On the last Saturday in January; the children’s parade takes place on the previous Saturday.
Tampa’s pirate festival in Florida: a pirate ship sails into the bay with hundreds of boats, the pirates take the key to the city and march along Bayshore Boulevard, throwing beaded necklaces to the costumed crowd.
January
Popular festival · Pasadena
Rose Parade
On the morning of January 1; if the 1st falls on a Sunday, the parade is held on Monday, January 2.
New Year’s Day parade in Pasadena, near Los Angeles, featuring floats completely covered with flowers, seeds and other natural materials, marching bands and mounted units along Colorado Boulevard. On the same day, the Rose Bowl stadium hosts the college football game of the same name.
February/March
Popular festival · San Francisco
San Francisco Chinese New Year
On a Saturday night, a few weeks after Lunar New Year, between February and early March; the celebration in Chinatown lasts several days.
San Francisco Lunar New Year nighttime illuminated parade organized by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce: floats, lion dance, acrobats, bands and, at the end, the Golden Dragon carried by dozens of people, amid firecrackers and lanterns.
March
Popular festival · New York
St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York
On March 17, St. Patrick’s Day; if the date falls on a Sunday, the parade is moved to Saturday, March 16.
Irish parade along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on St. Patrick’s Day: bagpipers, bands, Irish associations and groups from across the country march on foot, with no floats, passing in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
March
Music · Miami
Ultra Music Festival
Over three consecutive days in March, from Friday to Sunday, usually in the last week of the month.
A three-day electronic music festival at Bayfront Park, beside Biscayne Bay in downtown Miami; the highlight of a week when the city hosts parties and DJ shows from around the world.
June
Popular festival · San Francisco
San Francisco LGBT+ Pride Parade
On the last full weekend of June; the celebration runs Saturday and Sunday, and the parade takes place on Sunday morning.
One of the world’s largest LGBT+ pride events: on the last weekend of June, San Francisco hosts a festival with stages and booths at Civic Center and, on Sunday morning, a parade along Market Street featuring hundreds of groups from the city.