Andy Steiner

Photo Illustration by Erin O'Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty Images“Bro, I already saw Tyler at Flog Gnaw,” said a guy dressed in a flowery button-down to his friend, also in a flowery button-down. Tyler, the Creator, who put on his own festival at Dodger Stadium last fall, burst through a wall, kicking off his Coachella headlining set with the buzzing bass of “IGOR’S THEME.” But by the time I met up with my friend in the crowd, the pair had already left to see Dom Dolla, the DJ playing at the Sahara stage.In a way, my friends-in-floral summarized what many, including myself, hypothesized during the lead up to this year’s fest. My doubts were never about whether Coachella would provide festival goers with exceptional music or a weekend of sweaty, sunny, sand-filled fun. My concerns were about whether this festival would matter as much as it had before.Even with a lineup of EDM rarities, ‘90s nostalgia reunions, rising pop stars, and artists from around the globe, Coachella lost a little luster without a shocking, triumphant headliner. Rumors of low ticket sales called the festival’s status into question. Headliners don’t shape the attendees’ day-to-day experience, but they do give Coachella its ubiquity and induce FOMO outside the desert. On a personal level, I, like the majority of the attendees, had a blast (Favorite sets: Militarie Gun, Chappell Roan, Tyler, the Creator, and Justice). But at the same time, it was the end of Coachella’s influence in the larger music culture.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesThe grumblings started early. It was just a few days into 2024, and music forums, subreddits, and Twitter replies to a benevolent insider by the moniker of “Festive Owl” were crawling with angry Coachella fans. There was a time, they were eager to remind you, that Coachella’s lineup dropped in the first week of January. But last year, and now this year, the days passed with radio silence. Eventually, other festivals butted in: Boston Calling, Alabama’s Hangout Festival, Bonnaroo, and Governor’s Ball all unveiled their lineups in early January.Even other festivals were pissed. Coachella holds embargoes on artist announcements, meaning other events that share artists with the California festival can’t announce their lineups until Coachella does. Resonate Suwannee, an EDM festival in Florida, delayed at least one artist announcement due to “the radius clause of a certain festival in California.” Their passive-aggressive callout incited a panic among Coachella’s terminally online: What could be delaying the lineup announcement? Was Goldenvoice, the promoter behind the festival, scrambling to find a headliner? Maybe Coachella booked Taylor Swift, but she was forcing them to announce on the 13th, to celebrate her lucky number? Whatever it was, the well-oiled machine that used to reliably deliver shiny, untouchable lineups had rusted.There are always the haters when a lineup gets announced. But when Coachella finally dropped on Jan. 17 (its latest release since 2013), the reaction was vitriolic. And for once, the ticket sales finally caught up with the fatigue that consumers felt. Countless entertainment outlets reported on it with schadenfreude: Coachella 2024 was not selling out. In 2023, the festival sold out within a week; this year, it took nearly a month for the first weekend of the two-weekend festival to do so.Read more at The Daily Beast.