Ahh, festival season is upon us.
And while many generations enjoy attending music festivals for the music, we also have many who enjoy it for the increase in social media followers.
The one specific festival that comes to my mind is Coachella.
The festival has brought much attention to fashion, content creation, and brand partnerships.
The festival is “so overrated,” said student Rehnsiann Campna. “You can go to another concert and see your favorite artist somewhere else. It doesn’t have to be at Coachella.”
I agree with Campna.
Coachella, in my opinion, has become so overbearing, with influencers going for photo opportunities and sponsorships, that it has started to lack its fundamentals. MUSIC!!!
As someone who has played music for more than 14 years, performed on stage in different countries, and listened to and taken classes on all genres of music my entire life, I have noticed that the performances have become subpar.
Personally, spending my money on Charlie XCX dancing on stage to her back track only to bring surprise appearances from other artists for a song and then leave is not worth it.
And although the nostalgia of T-Pain’s setlist brought warmth to my heart, it was overshadowed by watching him barely survive running around the stage, sweating his pores out and singing approximately 200 words over his auto-tuned backtrack. SAD!!
Not to mention that Coachella has been around for almost 24 years and used to price tickets at $50 back in the day.
But as time went on, the festival got bigger and of course inflation, tickets start around $600 to $1,300 for just the festival passes. This does not include the “luxurious” parking or camping fees, which can range from $180 to $500.
For comparison as of April 2025, apartments.com says, “In general, you can expect to pay about $1,847 per month for a studio, $2,182 for a one-bedroom apartment.”
And for just that and those performances, it is so not worth it.
Aside from the prices, the first weekend at Coachella sounded like a weekend in hell.
Many attendees flocked to social media and reported having to wait in line for up to 12 hours without food, water, bathrooms, or shade during a heatwave just to get to the entrance for the security clearing and to find a parking spot if they did not pay for the preferred front row parking.
Now I know I said I disliked a lot of things about Coachella, I think the only plus to the festival becoming such a big hit and people paying these insane prices is the option for me to stream for free off of YouTube and watch from home.
So next year, grab your friend, a projector, your favorite snacks and start throwing Coachella parties at home for FREE!
