By Nicole Sanchez, Staff Writer
After two years of cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Coachella Valley Music and Art festival has confirmed they will be returning to the Empire Polo Club in Indio California.
The event will take place Friday, April 15 through Sunday, April 17 and again on Friday, April 22 through Sunday, April 24.
Coachella is an annual music festival with performances from popular artists. The festival’s origins trace back to 1993 with performances from Pearl Jam.
In 1999, the festival started its two day event but in 2001 Coachella returned to their basis as a single-day event. In 2002, the festival reverted back to two-days but in 2007 they expanded to three days. Finally in 2012 they added a second weekend festival.
This year’s headliners include Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Kanye West and Swedish House Mafia. Other artists performing are Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Baby, 21 Savage, Doja Cat, Carly Rae Jepsen, City Girls, Denzel Curry, Brockhampton, and many more.
Coachella was originally postponed in March 2020 and festival organizers attempted to push the event to October 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was eventually canceled. This was the first year without Coachella in 20 years.
Before the festival was canceled in October, Coachella announced they would no longer require full vaccination for attendees, but after seeing the immense increase in numbers of COVID-19 infected people, Coachella released the following statement, “We feel confident that we can update our health policy to allow for: Negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of the event OR proof of full vaccination,” organizers wrote on social media.
Fans are excited to head back to the desert in California for the weekend to dance and sing along to their favorite artists but some are hesitant about the headliners.
Adelphi junior Gileen Reyes, discussed how excited she is for Harry Styles to perform.
“I went to his “Love On Tour” this past Fall and it was honestly one of the best experiences of my life. I am so happy Harry Styles is performing at Coachella this year. He is a well deserved artist and I know he’s going to give it his all during his performances,” Reyes said.
This will be Styles’ first performance at the event and there are rumors that he may release new music leading up to his performance.
Styles has not released a new album since his “Fine Line” album on Dec. 13, 2019. He also has just completed his North American Tour, “Love on Tour” and is scheduled to tour in the UK, Europe, and South America starting Saturday, June 11, 2022.
Although many fans agree with Reyes about Styles’ performing there are others who don’t think it is a great idea.
“I personally don’t hate Harry Styles but they already have Billie Eilish performing who is another popular pop star. When you think about Coachella you automatically think about raves and I feel like they could’ve replaced it with another rock band,” Queens College Junior Lauren Hernandez said.
Though excited at the anticipation of seeing their favorite artists live, some people shared their disappointment at the high prices of tickets.
Tickets for the event went on sale Jan. 14 for $549 and sold-out in minutes. There is currently a waitlist for the first weekend. Prices for the tickets were: $549 for general admission, $633 for general admission with shuttle access, and $1119 for a VIP Pass.
Tickets from 2020 will be honored.
“As much as I would love to see Kanye West live in concert, $549 is way too expensive. I would rather wait for him to go on tour himself and I could get tickets for $100 instead,” Molloy College Junior Jeorgio Llantino said.
It’s been a long journey for Coachella to be up and running again, but with the unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic, nothing is ever certain. As of now, plans for the festival are in full speed and fans are eager to return and dance the night away.
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