8 things you might not know about Coachella

The first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival starts tomorrow, and thousands are putting the finishing touches on their outfits or starting their road trip to Indio. Every year the world is captivated by the festival, but do you know how it all started? Check out eight things you might not know about Coachella.

The first Coachella Music festival was in 1999

Coachella will be turning 23 this year. Its 1999 headliners included Beck and Tool, headlining with 70 other acts. Both bands have played again since.

It all started with Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam’s lead singer Eddie Vedder was not happy with what Ticketmaster was charging their fans to see them in concert. They decided to boycott any venues that were controlled by Ticketmaster and performed at the Empire Polo Club grounds in 1993. Rick Van Santen and Paul Tollett saw how successful the sold-out show and they decided to throw a huge festival, becoming the founders of Coachella.

The first festival only cost $50 a day

Some festivalgoers go into debt buying their 3-day festivals these days with prices starting at $549 for a general admission pass, $633 for a general admission pass with shuttle access, and $1,119 for a VIP pass. But in 1999 they only charged $50 a day.

It used to be a 2-day festival

Coachella was a 2-day festival until 2007. They began only selling three-day passes in 2010.

The festival wasn’t financially stable until its third festival

At $50 a day, the festival actually lost $850,000 in 1999. They raised the price by $10 in 2001 but still lost money. It wasn’t until the third festival in 2002 that the finances stabilized with tickets ruching $74 a day or $125 to see all 75 bands over two days, per Desert Sun. 

There was a Coachella every year from 2001 until Covid

In 2000, organizers canceled what would be the second festival, citing an over-saturation of music festivals in the Southern California area that year, per Sara Shields‘ website Coachella Then and Now. There was a festival every year after until the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to cancel it in 2020 and 2021.

Coachella’s attendance has more than doubled in size

The music festival now has a capacity of up to 125,000 people, but back in 1999, only 20,000 people showed up for Day 1, and 30,000 came to Day 2.

Cesar Chavez and the UFW protested in Coachella Valley

Before Indio became the spot for one of the hippest festivals in the world, the late activist Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers association fought to unionize grape pickers and to improve working conditions.

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