This year’s Coachella lineup disappoints some students, though individuals are still excited for the overall experience
Every year, people frantically attempt to purchase tickets in preparation for one of the biggest music festivals in the country, Coachella. Tickets go on sale for a few short hours in June and again in January before they completely sell out. Groups of friends mob to Airbnb hoping to book an apartment in Indio that will fit all of their attending friends. People endlessly browse shops in order to find the most Instagram worthy Coachella-ready outfit. Despite all of the stress, planning and fees that go into attending Coachella, attendees are always extremely excited to flock to the dessert and enjoy the festival every year.
The lineup for Coachella doesn’t come out until after all of the general admission tickets have already been sold out, so festival goers blindly buy their tickets every year.
This 2019, headliners for Coachella include Childish Gambino, Tame Impala and Ariana Grande, which to some feels somewhat disappointing after last year’s headliners (The Weeknd, Beyonce and Eminem). Beyond the headliners, the general 2019 lineup appears to be much less stacked with large and notable performers than in previous years.
Aeron Yim, a fourth-year managerial economics major, debated attending Coachella for the first time, noting the possible pros and cons of this year’s lineup.
“Now that I know the set list, I have to admit that the headliners are a little disappointing,” Yim said. “Ariana Grande is great but I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to see her. There are a few smaller artists attending who are the ones that I’m more excited about. At the end of the day, I feel like it’s still worth it to go and it would still be really fun.”
Yim noted that for attendees returning to Coachella this year, it may be a less exciting experience than for those attending for the first time. However, while the lineup for this coming year may be somewhat disappointing in comparison to previous years, the actual experience of attending Coachella is what many people look forward to.
“If I went last year, I might be less inclined to go right now,” Yim said. “But sometimes it’s more fun to be in the crowd for the smaller artists just because there’s less hype for them. All in all, Coachella would still be great for the Instagram and the experience itself would be really fun to have with friends. Since it’s something that I haven’t done before, I think it would be a really cool bucket list experience to have. I’ve always had a good time at music festivals, and I’ve always taken away fun memories with my friends at those events. Despite the lineup, music festivals are always going to be fun.”
Individuals returning to Coachella this year noted that there are both pros and cons to this year’s more relaxed lineup. Wesley Yu, a UC Davis alumnus, plans on attending Coachella for the second time, and shares his excitement for this year’s different Coachella experience.
“I’m excited to keep an eye out for the food and the art installations that are going to be there,” Yu said. “Last year the lineup was really good, but it meant that we were always rushing around to find the stage for the next artist. This year, because there are less artists that I actually want to see, I have more time to walk around and just take my time in experiencing the festival. I think last year was both good and bad in that I couldn’t really get the full Coachella experience with the additional art installations. This year, I can do all of that while still attending the performances that I want to see.”
Yu emphasized that while the music at Coachella is a huge component to the festival, a large part of the experience is the ability to take advantage of everything that Coachella has to offer, from its food stalls to the various art installations to simply relaxing and catching up with friends.
“You can’t have Coachella without the music, and Coachella without all of the art installations would be pretty bland,” Yu said. “It wouldn’t be Coachella without one or the other. Both the music and the art leads to the overall experience that makes Coachella so iconic. Either way, I’m excited for this year’s festival.”
Written by: Alyssa Hada – features@theaggie.org
