Every year, in Indio, California, just east of Palm Springs, one of the largest music festivals is held: Coachella. With over 70 performing artists across eight stages, Coachella covers roughly 650 acres of land, including parking, stages, and event grounds (SfGate). Drawing thousands of guests every year, Coachella also earned the titles of “The Influencer Olympics” and “The Influencer Met Gala,” as social media stars become an increasingly popular draw to the festival. This allure for influencers has grown so strong that some resort to faking attendance and spending thousands of dollars – makeup, hair, costumes, professional photography, and editing – to create the illusion of actually being there.
While Coachella is undeniably a massive social event, it can also damage wallets. According to The Independent: “For general admission to the three-day festival, fans can expect to fork over more than a couple hundred bucks. According to Coachella’s official website, general admission passes cost $499 plus fees.”. The absurdly high cost of attending all three days of Coachella has become a massive point of contention. This is further exacerbated by the fact that any person can only attend a few performances; as many as eight performers can be performing at once, making attendees pick and choose which performances they wish to attend over the three days of Coachella.
The outrageous price for a three-day pass is not the only expense: transportation, room, board, and food are all additional weights to consider. A combination ticket for admission and transportation for all three days will run above $700, while combo VIP tickets, offering a more comfortable experience, will cost a whopping $1200, as revealed by Time Out. When calculated per performance (assuming attendees see a full eight), the cost per show amounts to $150 for VIP ticket holders and $88 for non-VIP ticket holders.
Following the most recent trends, the intense influencer culture surrounding Coachella has begun to subside. In the past year, fewer influencers have endorsed the festival, and some have gone so far as to even avoid it altogether.
As someone who has never attended Coachella, I’ve grown accustomed to the rose-colored glasses often depicted through influencer vlogs and reviews, overlooking the negative stories of hour-long waits, bad food, the boiling sun, and poor sound quality. However, this effect has seemed to wear off, causing influencers and concertgoers to voice thoughts about avoiding the festival altogether. Despite this, ticket sales increased this year, reaching over 200,000 tickets sold.
Considering these factors for the future, I plan on experiencing Coachella at least once, if I can afford it, to form my own opinion on its worth. While attending would be a massive financial blessing, I’m leaning towards saving my money rather than spending it on the festival.
