The festival's origins trace back to a 1993 concert that Pearl Jam performed at the Empire Polo Club while boycotting venues controlled by Ticketmaster. The show validated the site's viability for hosting large events, leading to the inaugural Coachella Festival being held in October 1999 over two days, just three months after the disastrous Woodstock '99. After no event was held in 2000, Coachella returned on an annual basis beginning in April 2001 as a single-day event. In 2002, the festival reverted to a two-day format. Coachella was expanded to a third day in 2007 and eventually a second weekend in 2012; it is currently held on consecutive three-day weekends in April, with each weekend having identical lineups. Organizers began permitting spectators to camp on the grounds in 2003, one of several expansions and additions of amenities that have been made in the festival's history.
—Coachella founder Paul Tollett, describing the rationale behind the festival's location
History
Further information: Coachella Festival line-ups
On November 5, 1993, Pearl Jam performed before almost 25,000 fans at the Empire Polo Club, a 78-acre site in Indio, California that had previously never hosted a music festival.[4] Although the band's management
chose the fledgling site as part of a boycott of Ticketmaster and the Southern California auditoriums it controlled, the event established the polo club's suitability for large-scale events. Paul Tollett, who was involved in finding the venue for Pearl Jam, said the concert sowed the seeds for an eventual music festival there: "It was a really great show. Really crazy. So we wanted to do a festival five or six years later, and looked at a bunch of different places. But then we thought 'Why not go back out there?'"
1999, 2001–2002
Six years later, on October 9–10, 1999, the inaugural Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was held, courtesy of concert promoters Goldenvoice. Headlining acts included Beck, The Chemical Brothers, Tool, Morrissey, and Rage Against the Machine; other acts included Jurassic 5, DJ Mike Hawk, and Underworld. Originally, promoters had hoped to make the event three days (Friday-Sunday) and even considered the UK band Massive Attack as the third-day headliner. Due to the fires and riots at Woodstock '99 three months earlier, Coachella promoters were not allowed to offer on-site camping, a ban that continued until 2002. The organizers strived to recreate European music festivals with small crowds in a great setting with plenty of turntables. By booking acts based on artistry rather than radio popularity, Coachella earned the title of "the anti-Woodstock".
Tickets sold for $50 for each day; about 17,000 tickets sold for the first day, and 20,000 for the second,falling short of the overall attendance goal of 70,000.[Attendees were offered free parking and a free bottle of water upon entrance. The event went smoothly, with the well-behaved crowd starkly contrasting with the violence that plagued Woodstock '99; the biggest challenges to Coachella concertgoers were temperatures exceeding 100°F and the decisions of which of the 80-plus acts to attend. However, Goldenvoice lost $800,000 on the undertaking, with prominent bands like Rage Against the Machine, Tool, and Beck agreeing to delayed compensation. Tollett was forced to sell Goldenvoice, eventually agreeing to be acquired by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) in March 2001 for $7 million.Tollett initially retained full control of Coachella, but now shares ownership evenly with AEG.
In 2001, Goldenvoice moved the festival to the month of April in an attempt to beat the heat and scheduled a single day. Ticket prices were raised to $65. Organizers encountered difficulty booking acts for the festival. Months before the event, promoters did not have a headline act and the festival risked failure. Promoters turned to Perry Farrell, who brought the reunited Jane's Addiction to the project.
2003–2005
The 2003 festival featured Red Hot Chili Peppers and Beastie Boys, as well as the reunited Iggy Pop and The Stooges, and drew the largest crowd yet. The event began to develop worldwide interest and began to become nationally known.
The 2004 event featured the reunited Pixies, as well as Radiohead, Kraftwerk, The Cure, Belle and Sebastian, and The Flaming Lips. It was Coachella's first sellout, moving 50,000 tickets for both Saturday and Sunday.
The 2005 event ran from April 30 to May 1 and featured Coldplay, Arcade Fire, Snow Patrol, Weezer, M.I.A, M83, Bloc Party, The Prodigy, Keane, Chemical Brothers, Kasabian, Nine Inch Nails, Bright Eyes, Wilco, Spoon, Stereophonics, Tegan and Sara, New Order, Rilo Kiley, and Jem.
2006–2008
The 2006 event featured Depeche Mode, Massive Attack, Tool, Daft Punk, Scissor Sisters, James Blunt, Gnarls Barkley, and Madonna in her only Coachella appearance.
Organizers extended the 2007 festival to three days and featured Red Hot Chili Peppers, the reunited Rage Against the Machine and Björk, all of whom headlined for the second time. Other notable performers included Arcade Fire, who had made a memorable 2005 Coachella appearance, LCD Soundsystem, Manu Chao, a rare American performance by former Pulp-frontman Jarvis Cocker, and Scarlett Johansson, who sang with the reunited Jesus and Mary Chain. The festival compiled an aggregate attendance of 186,636, a new best, and grossed $16.3 million.
For the first time since 2003, the event did not sell out, although the 2008 festival featured headliners Prince, Roger Waters, and Jack Johnson, along with notable appearances from Portishead, the reunited The Verve, M.I.A., Kraftwerk, Aphex Twin, the reunited Love and Rockets, and the reunited Swervedriver. Another noteworthy performance during the 2008 festival was that of singer/songwriter Adele. The 2008 festival drew an attendance of 151,666 and grossed $13.8 million,but due to tickets not selling out, it lost money.
2006–2008
The 2006 event featured Depeche Mode, Massive Attack, Tool, Daft Punk, Scissor Sisters, James Blunt, Gnarls Barkley, and Madonna in her only Coachella appearance.
Organizers extended the 2007 festival to three days and featured Red Hot Chili Peppers, the reunited Rage Against the Machine and Björk, all of whom headlined for the second time. Other notable performers included Arcade Fire, who had made a memorable 2005 Coachella appearance, LCD Soundsystem, Manu Chao, a rare American performance by former Pulp-frontman Jarvis Cocker, and Scarlett Johansson, who sang with the reunited Jesus and Mary Chain. The festival compiled an aggregate attendance of 186,636, a new best, and grossed $16.3 million.
For the first time since 2003, the event did not sell out, although the 2008 festival featured headliners Prince, Roger Waters, and Jack Johnson, along with notable appearances from Portishead, the reunited The Verve, M.I.A., Kraftwerk, Aphex Twin, the reunited Love and Rockets, and the reunited Swervedriver. Another noteworthy performance during the 2008 festival was that of singer/songwriter Adele. The 2008 festival drew an attendance of 151,666 and grossed $13.8 million, but due to tickets not selling out, it lost money.
2009–2011
The 2009 festival occurred a week earlier than usual. The new dates were April 17, 18 and 19, with the third annual edition of the country-music Stagecoach Festival set to start the following week. The event featured headliners Paul McCartney, The Killers, and The Cure. On Friday, McCartney blew past the festival's strict curfew by nearly an hour. Sunday, The Cure had their performance end abruptly, with the festival cutting stage power after passing their own curfew by thirty minutes. Notable performances included Franz Ferdinand, M.I.A. (whose 2005 encore set in a tent was a first at the fest), Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and rare appearances from artists Leonard Cohen and Throbbing Gristle. The festival drew an aggregate attendance of 152,962 and grossed $15,328,863.
Organizers did away with single-day ticket sales in 2010, offering instead only three-day tickets, drawing mixed reviews. Headliners included Jay-Z, Muse and Gorillaz, along with LCD Soundsystem, the reunited Faith No More, a reunited Pavement, Thom Yorke of Radiohead and his live band Atoms for Peace, Tiesto, and supergroup Them Crooked Vultures.[21] Other notable acts were Fever Ray, deadmau5, La Roux, MGMT, Florence and the Machine, Spoon, Bassnectar, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, She & Him, Céu, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Specials, a rare Plastikman live set from Richie Hawtin, Sly Stone , and David Guetta. The festival drew 75,000 spectators each day, for an estimated average aggregate of 225,000 attendees, surpassing previous attendance records. The festival grossed $21,703,500.
The sun sets over the Coachella Stage in 2011
Prior to the 2011 festival, Goldenvoice made several investments and improvements locally to help support
Coachella. In addition to funding an additional lane for Avenue 50, which borders the festival, the promoter cleared additional space on the polo grounds by leveling a 250,000-square-foot area and moving horse stables. The headliners for that year's event were Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, Kanye West and The Strokes, while other performers included Duran Duran, Mumford & Sons, the reunited Big Audio Dynamite, PJ Harvey, and the Black Keys, among another 190 supporting acts.The 2011 festival grossed $24,993,698 from 75,000 paid attendees, for an aggregate attendance of 225,000 across the entire three-day weekend.
2003–2005
The 2003 festival featured Red Hot Chili Peppers and Beastie Boys, as well as the reunited Iggy Pop and The Stooges, and drew the largest crowd yet. The event began to develop worldwide interest and began to become nationally known.
The 2005 event ran from April 30 to May 1 and featured Coldplay, Arcade Fire, Snow Patrol, Weezer, M.I.A, M83, Bloc Party, The Prodigy, Keane, Chemical Brothers, Kasabian, Nine Inch Nails, Bright Eyes, Wilco, Spoon, Stereophonics, Tegan and Sara, New Order, Rilo Kiley, and Jem.
2006–2008
The 2006 event featured Depeche Mode, Massive Attack, Tool, Daft Punk, Scissor Sisters, James Blunt, Gnarls Barkley, and Madonna in her only Coachella appearance.
Organizers extended the 2007 festival to three days and featured Red Hot Chili Peppers, the reunited Rage Against the Machine and Björk, all of whom headlined for the second time. Other notable performers included Arcade Fire, who had made a memorable 2005 Coachella appearance, LCD Soundsystem, Manu Chao, a rare American performance by former Pulp-frontman Jarvis Cocker, and Scarlett Johansson, who sang with the reunited Jesus and Mary Chain. The festival compiled an aggregate attendance of 186,636, a new best, and grossed $16.3 million.
For the first time since 2003, the event did not sell out, although the 2008 festival featured headliners Prince, Roger Waters, and Jack Johnson, along with notable appearances from Portishead, the reunited The Verve, M.I.A., Kraftwerk, Aphex Twin, the reunited Love and Rockets, and the reunited Swervedriver. Another noteworthy performance during the 2008 festival was that of singer/songwriter Adele. The 2008 festival drew an attendance of 151,666 and grossed $13.8 million,but due to tickets not selling out, it lost money.
2006–2008
The 2006 event featured Depeche Mode, Massive Attack, Tool, Daft Punk, Scissor Sisters, James Blunt, Gnarls Barkley, and Madonna in her only Coachella appearance.
For the first time since 2003, the event did not sell out, although the 2008 festival featured headliners Prince, Roger Waters, and Jack Johnson, along with notable appearances from Portishead, the reunited The Verve, M.I.A., Kraftwerk, Aphex Twin, the reunited Love and Rockets, and the reunited Swervedriver. Another noteworthy performance during the 2008 festival was that of singer/songwriter Adele. The 2008 festival drew an attendance of 151,666 and grossed $13.8 million, but due to tickets not selling out, it lost money.
2009–2011
The 2009 festival occurred a week earlier than usual. The new dates were April 17, 18 and 19, with the third annual edition of the country-music Stagecoach Festival set to start the following week. The event featured headliners Paul McCartney, The Killers, and The Cure. On Friday, McCartney blew past the festival's strict curfew by nearly an hour. Sunday, The Cure had their performance end abruptly, with the festival cutting stage power after passing their own curfew by thirty minutes. Notable performances included Franz Ferdinand, M.I.A. (whose 2005 encore set in a tent was a first at the fest), Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and rare appearances from artists Leonard Cohen and Throbbing Gristle. The festival drew an aggregate attendance of 152,962 and grossed $15,328,863.
The sun sets over the Coachella Stage in 2011
Prior to the 2011 festival, Goldenvoice made several investments and improvements locally to help support
Coachella. In addition to funding an additional lane for Avenue 50, which borders the festival, the promoter cleared additional space on the polo grounds by leveling a 250,000-square-foot area and moving horse stables. The headliners for that year's event were Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, Kanye West and The Strokes, while other performers included Duran Duran, Mumford & Sons, the reunited Big Audio Dynamite, PJ Harvey, and the Black Keys, among another 190 supporting acts.The 2011 festival grossed $24,993,698 from 75,000 paid attendees, for an aggregate attendance of 225,000 across the entire three-day weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment