The legendary festival, which Began with a Concert by Pearl Jam

At the Beginning, There was a Pearl Jam Concert

Coachella is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Coachella Valley, after which it was named. The beginning of Coachella’s history, which hosts representatives of various musical genres (such as rock, pop, hip hop, indie, and electronic music), dates back to 1993 when the band Pearl Jam performed at the Empire Polo Club on November 5th. Due to disputes over paying service fees when purchasing tickets from Ticketmaster, they refused to play in Los Angeles.

The Idea for Organizing the First Festival

The concert, organized by Paul Tollett and his company Goldenvoice at this venue, was a success. So when the company found itself in trouble in 1997, it occurred to them to organize a festival that would have multiple music stages. The already proven Empire Polo Club was chosen as the venue for the event. The first Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was announced on July 28, 1999, and tickets for it went on sale on August 7.

Favorable Reception Despite Financial Failure

The festival itself took place from October 9 to 10, 1999, and featured acts such as The Chemical Brothers and Rage Against the Machine, with performers being invited more on the basis of their artistic qualities than their chart success. The admission fee was set at $50 per day, with a total of 37,000 tickets sold (compared to the expected 70,000). Goldenvoice suffered a financial loss, but the event was positively received by both performers and attendees.

Coachella Gains Supporters

Thanks to this, Coachella was held again in 2001, with the ticket price increasing to $65, and the event (which this time was held for only one day and featured acts like Jane’s Addiction) attracted 32,000 people. The following year, Coachella returned to a two-day format, with performers such as Björk and Oasis taking the stage, and for the first time, with an attendance of 55,000 people, almost all the costs were recovered.

“America’s Best Music Festival”

In the following years of 2003 - 2005, Coachella began to attract the interest of music fans around the world, and gradually featured performers such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, David Bowie, Coldplay, and Rolling Stone magazine called it “America’s Best Music Festival.”

Years Go By

As time went by, the festival (featuring acts such as Daft Punk, Depeche Mode, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and many others) evolved into a three-day event, and in 2011, it was even announced that starting from 2012, it would take place over two consecutive weekends due to overwhelming ticket demand.