Far Out Facts: Everything you need to know about Coachella 2024
Although the weather might not have gotten the memo yet where you are, music festival season is just around the corner. As usual, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival will be getting the giant inflatable ball rolling and the music blaring.
Coachella has arguably become North America’s most iconic annual music festival, taking on the mantle from Lollapalooza at some point earlier this century.
The event seems to have passed through several stages of adolescence in just a few short years. From a guitar-shredding noise factory to a bastion of indie cool, through a phase of all-day clubbing, to reach the cusp of adulthood it stands on today. Now paying its way by doing things a younger Coachella might have shaken their head at.
As well as being the number one music hangout for celebrity dates (I’m looking at you, Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello), Coachella is now pretty much the biggest show in town. Any touring major artist can’t help but cast an eye towards this sun-baked Californian valley, and wonder if there’s a headline going spare.
Enough of all this hype, I hear you say. There are plenty of questions still to be answered about Coachella 2024. Without further ado, then, let Far Out guide you through anything you might want to know, with a little help from Lana Del Rey, Blur, Tyler The Creator, No Doubt, and co.
What is Coachella all about?
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is officially 25 years old this year. That makes its 2024 iteration a particularly special one.
The festival was inspired by a gig Pearl Jam played at its site in 1993. The band’s promoter at the time, Goldenvoice, had booked the venue and realised it might work as a relatively inexpensive place to hold a brand-new music festival.
In October 1999, the festival debuted with an indie-heavy lineup headlined by Rage Against the Machine, Tool and Beck. It continued to be viewed primarily as an “alternative” music festival even after sets from Coldplay and Madonna in the mid-noughties. Coachella was also the venue for Tupac’s famous “hologram” performance during a joint set by Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre.
Since 2017, however, like many of the popular music festivals across the globe, Coachella has seen its headline slots taken over by some of the world’s biggest pop acts pretty much every year. 2023’s lineup saw reggaeton star Bad Bunny and K-pop girl group Blackpink headline alongside a newly reformed Blink-182.
Where is Coachella?
Coachella takes place every yet at the same venue, within the valley from which it takes its name. To be more specific, that venue is the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. Indio, a town in Coachella Valley, is located in the Inland Empire region of the Golden State, on the fringes of the Colorado Desert.
The climate means temperatures at the festival can go above 40 degrees centigrade in the day. But they also drop to as low as six degrees centigrade at night. So it’s best to bring clothes for both hot and cold weather to the festival and check the forecast before you go.
When is Coachella 2024?
Coachella now takes place every year over two weekends in April. At this time of year, the Colorado Desert heat isn’t too stifling in the daytime, while the temperature stays above zero at night. This way, the festival has also carved out a niche for itself in the festival calendar before most other big North American and European festivals take place in the summer.
Coachella 2024 runs from Friday, April 12th to Sunday, April 14th and Friday, April 19th to Sunday, April 21st.
Each act is booked to perform twice over the two successive weekends, on the same day of the week each time. So all of the acts performing on Friday the 12th perform on Friday the 19th as well, and so on.
When does the Coachella lineup come out?
The full Coachella festival lineup is usually announced in January, although some acts, including certain headliners, can be announced before then.
The full lineup for the 2024 event came out on January 16th this year.
Who’s in the 2024 lineup?
The big names topping the bill at Coachella this year are headliners Lana Del Rey – in anticipation of her upcoming album Lasso – Tyler, The Creator and Doja Cat. And let’s not forget Britpop trailblazers Blur or fellow nineties legends No Doubt – who are reforming especially for the gig.
Lower down the list, there are disco revivalists Jungle, rapper Ice Spice, alt-metal greats Deftones, grime star Skepta, French electro-house duo Justice, and New York indie-poppers The Drums, to name just a few.
You can find the full Coachella 2024 lineup right here.
What time does Coachella start?
The Coachella festival site opens around 11.00am local time on each day of the festival, with the music starting an hour later at 12.00pm.
Acts higher up on the bill perform later in the day, before headliners take to the stage at night, typically at 10.00pm or 11.00pm. The festival then wraps up by 1.00am.
What are the Coachella set times?
Set times for Weekend Two of Coachella 2024, set to take place between April 19th and April 21st, have now been released.
The good news for Friday is that you’ll be able to catch both Lana Del Rey and Justice, who are headlining the Coachella Stage and the Outdoor Theatre at 11.20pm and 10.15pm respectively. Deftones also make for the perfect soundtrack to the sunset at 6.45pm.
Saturday sees three mega acts take to the Coachella Stage back-to-back. First it’s Blur at 7.40pm, followed by the newly reunited No Doubt at 9.25pm, before alternative hip-hop king Tyler, the Creator rounds off the evening at 11.40pm.
If you’re a fan of disco house act Jungle but want to see all of the above, you might have a problem squeezing them in. They’re on stage at the Outdoor Theatre between 8.40pm and 9.30pm. The same goes for dream-pop act Bar Italia, who appear on Sonora at 8.15pm.
On the other hand, if you’re more into alternative hip-hop then Weekend Two is serving up a treat for you. As well as Tyler, the Creator, you get to see special guest Kid Cudi from 5.10pm on Sunday, in the Sahara tent. Get there early for a good spot, as it’s set to be packed out.
Otherwise, unless you’re really into Doja Cat, April 21st could be a quieter day for you. One low-key, chill-vibe highlight to wind down with could be R&B songstress Victoria Monét’s appearance in the Mojave tent at 6.55pm.
See the full set times schedules for Weekend Two of Coachella 2024 below.
How long is the festival?
Three days, roughly 14 hours a day, including over 12 hours of music, come and go anytime. Ins & outs are not allowed (except for camping guests).
Coachella runs across six days in total, spanning two weeks of the calendar. But each festival goer attends for a maximum of three days, choosing either the first or the second weekend to attend.
The main festival site is open for roughly 14 hours a day, with over 12 hours of music performances and art exhibits. But there is also a camping area for which you can purchase a spot if you’d like to stay over at the festival.
Note: Only campers are allowed back into the festival a second time during the same day once they have exited.
When do tickets go on sale?
Coachella tickets go on sale within days of the full lineup announcement. This year, for example, they were selling from Friday, January 19th. First-weekend tickets had sold out by the third week of February.
But, thanks to the slowest ticket sales the festival has experienced in a decade, you can still get your hands on some Weekend Two tickets.
How much are Coachella tickets?
Passes to the music festival itself are separated into three price tiers which allow you access to spaces within different proximities to the performance stages.
Weekend Two passes range from $619 to $719, depending on the tier. You could also splash out on a VIP pass for up to $1,269. Ticket processing fees are excluded from all price listings.
There are also various types of camping tickets, bundles and add-ons you can purchase, from a locker for $79 to a two-person safari camping experience for over $11,000.
Take your pick from the full list of festival passes, on-site accommodation options, and extras here.
If you’d still really like to try and get week two tickets, you can pay $20 to join the official Coachella festival Waitlist in the hope of snapping up a returned pass or two.
Note: This article will be updated continually up to the event itself, as the festival organisers publish new information and updates.
