There’s an old saying: sometimes when you take one step forward, you end up taking two steps back. That’s not always a bad thing, but this time, it is disappointing because the Stagecoach and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has been postponed, again!
Coachella was scheduled to take place over two consecutive weekends, April 9–11 and 16–18. Unfortunately, since COVID-19 hit us, our plans have been canceled frequently and nothing has really been the same. With vaccines rolling out, hopefully this will be the last cancellation to these iconic festivals.
Why is Coachella such a big deal? That is easy to answer: each year the who’s who of the music world descends on this desert community, making it the place to be and the place to be seen, no matter if you’re a fan or a band.
The list of sonic juggernauts who have played the festivals is insane and there’s no surprise why fans go cartoon crazy over this event. So who’s played it? Well, let’s see… there was that time the Foo Fighters played, then Oasis, Beck, Beastie Boys, Bjork, Jane’s Addiction, Chemical Brothers, The Cure, Nine Inch Nails, Iggy Pop, Morrissey, Paul McCartney, Z-Trip, Radiohead, Pixies, Muse, and Weezer. The list goes on and on and the R&B acts are just as insane.
This year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was planned to return in April 2021, but we just got the news that it has been canceled due to the possible public health concerns it could cause related to the pandemic. According to Dr. Cameron Kaiser, the public health officer for Riverside County. Dr. Kaiser wrote, “This order is intended to reduce the likelihood of exposure to COVID-19, thereby slowing the spread of COVID-19 in communities worldwide. If COVID-19 were detected at these festivals, the scope and number of attendees and the nature of the venue would make it infeasable, if not impossible, to track those who may be placed at risk.”
As for the announcement, it read “Due to the pandemic, Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser today (Jan. 29) signed a public health order canceling Coachella Valley Music and Arts, Stagecoach Country Music festivals planned for April 2021. We look forward to when the events may return.”
This announcement marks the third time the festival has been postponed in the past year. The familiar saying of “third time’s a charm!” will hopefully prove true and we return to the popular festivals in October 2021!
Stay tuned as more information becomes available on this developing story.