For those of you hoping that Coachella and Stagecoach would be back this April, well, sorry. To what should come as a surprise to no one, this year’s Coachella, which was announced to take place on April 9-11 and April 16-18, is canceled. Stagecoach was supposed to take place from April 23-25.
Riverside County (where Coachella takes place) Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser announced the news of the cancellation in a tweet.
“Due to the pandemic, Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser today (Jan. 29) signed a public health order canceling Coachella Valley Music and Arts, Stagecoach Country Music festivals planned for April 2021. We look forward to when the events may return,” the tweet read.
SPIN has reached out to Goldenvoice, the promoter of both festivals, for comment.
Last year, Coachella moved from April to October due to the pandemic but that didn’t happen either. Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott and Frank Ocean were slated to headline the 2020 edition of the festival in Indio, California. Last year, it was reported that Coachella had reached out to the artists who were slated to perform in 2020 about playing in 2021. It seems like that could be a pipe dream as well, depending on how quickly the government is able to roll out more vaccines, though Dr. Anthony Fauci did say things could go back to normal later this year if things go right. But it’s looking like Marc Geiger’s assessment that music wouldn’t really return until 2022 is more realistic.
