And we couldn't compete with the money.' As a result, the idea of a music festival was conceived, and Tollett began to brainstorm ideas for one with multiple venues. Tollett said, 'We were getting our ass kicked financially. Īround 1997, Goldenvoice was struggling to book concerts against larger companies, and they were unable to offer guarantees as high as their competitors, such as SFX Entertainment. The show established the polo club's suitability for large-scale events Paul Tollett, whose concert promotion company Goldenvoice booked the venue for Pearl Jam, said the concert sowed the seeds for an eventual music festival there. The site was selected because the band refused to play in Los Angeles as a result of a dispute with Ticketmaster over service charges applied to ticket purchases. On November 5, 1993, Pearl Jam performed for almost 25,000 fans at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. Coachella co-founder Paul Tollett, describing the rationale behind the festival's location That sunset, and that whole feeling of Coachella hits you.' We want you to go out there, get tired, and curse the show by Sunday afternoon. So you can't leave your house and see a couple bands and be back home that night. Coachella's success led to Goldenvoice establishing additional music festivals at the site, including the annual Stagecoach country music festival beginning in 2007, the Big 4 thrash metal festival in 2011, and the classic rock-oriented Desert Trip in 2016. The 2017 festival was attended by 250,000 people and grossed $114.6 million. Each Coachella staged from 2013 to 2015 set new records for festival attendance and gross revenues. It is one of the largest, most famous, and most profitable music festivals in the United States and the world. Ĭoachella showcases popular and established musical artists as well as emerging artists and reunited groups. The festival had not been held in 20 due to travel restrictions and ban of public gatherings in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers began permitting spectators to camp on the grounds in 2003, one of several expansions and additions in the festival's history. Coachella was expanded to a third day in 2007 and eventually a second weekend in 2012 it is now held on consecutive three-day weekends in April, with the same lineup each weekend. In 2002, the festival reverted to a two-day format.

After no event was held in 2000, Coachella returned on an annual basis beginning in April 2001 as a single-day event. The show validated the site's viability for hosting large events, leading to the inaugural Coachella Festival being held over the course of two days in October 1999, three months after Woodstock '99. 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. Across the grounds, several stages continuously host live music.

The event features musical artists from many genres of music, including rock, pop, indie, hip hop and electronic dance music, as well as art installations and sculptures. It was co-founded by Paul Tollett and Rick Van Santen in 1999, and is organized by Goldenvoice, a subsidiary of AEG Presents.

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. Rock, pop, indie, hip hop, electronic dance musicĬonsecutive 3-day weekends in April (currently)

Pearl jam albums before 2003