The Stagecoach Festival is an outdoor

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

held annually at the Empire Polo Club in

Indio, California Indio (Spanish language, Spanish for "Indian") is a city in Riverside County, California, Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. It lies east of Palm Springs, Califo ...

. Various artists attend, whether they be mainstream or relatively unknown, ranging from

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, mainstream country, bluegrass,

roots rock Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid subgenres from the later 1960s, including blues rock, country rock, Southern rock, ...

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and

alternative country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

. It is the highest-grossing festival centered on country music in the world. The festival is presented by Goldenvoice, The Messina Group, and Moore Entertainment and acts as a sister event to Goldenvoice's

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...

, taking place the following weekend at the same site. The 2020 and 2021 Stagecoach Festivals were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On June 1, 2021, Stagecoach announced its 2022 return. The country music festival took place between April 29 and May 1, 2022.

History

Stagecoach took place for the first time in 2007. Put on at the same venue, also by Goldenvoice, Stagecoach is seen as a "cousin" of

Coachella Coachella may refer to: * Coachella, California * Coachella Canal, in California * Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California * "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind", a 2017 song by Lana del Rey See also

* Coachell ...

. In 2012, the festival's 55,000 attendees marked its first sell-out crowd. In 2018, Stagecoach set a new attendance record with 75,000 attendees. Notable performers have included

Brad Paisley Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album ''Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashvil ...

Jason Aldean Jason Aldean (born Jason Aldine Williams; February 28, 1977) is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to BBR Music Group, Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released ten albums and 40 singles. His 2010 ...

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Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's ''Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 1996' ...

Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country singer and guitarist. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place o ...

Blake Shelton Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single " Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at ...

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The Charlie Daniels Band Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock, country, blues and jazz, pioneering Southern rock. He was best known for his number-one country hit "The D ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited for ...

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Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

Roger McGuinn James Roger McGuinn (born James Joseph McGuinn III; July 13, 1942) is an American musician. He is best known for being the frontman and leader of the Byrds. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with the Byrds. As a ...

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousi ...

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, and

Eric Church Kenneth Eric Church (born May 3, 1977) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has released nine studio albums through Capitol Nashville since 2005. His debut album, 2006's '' Sinners Like Me'', produced three singles on the ''Billboar ...

. In 2020, Stagecoach had initially been scheduled for April, was then moved to October 23–25 due to the

, and on June 10 went (like Coachella) on hiatus by an order from the Riverside County public health official. The hiatus was extended the next year. In recent years, Stagecoach has become somewhat of a hotspot for fans and contestants of the reality dating show '' The Bachelor'', with numerous contestants from Bachelor Nation being invited to attend the festival and post pictures on Instagram. It was revealed that initial drama on Season 6 of the ''Bachelor'' spinoff Bachelor in Paradise resulted from romantic relationships that took place at the music festival earlier in the year. Sections of the 2018 film '' A Star Is Born'', starring

Bradley Cooper Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Grammy Awards, in addition to nominations for nine Academy Awards, si ...

and

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

, were filmed at Stagecoach.

Camping

The facilities provide on-site camping for some festival-goers. The Desert Sun published an article on the camping, reporting that some attendees think that it, as a standalone event, is almost on par with the concerts. The 2013 festival's tent/car camping policy was eliminated and the RV camping rules altered due to the overwhelming 55,000 person sellout crowd at the 2012 festival. The new rules were to stand until Goldenvoice decided on a different approach.

Festival cuisine

The festival showcases a variety of food and beverages to enjoy over the course of the weekend. Some of the restaurants expected for the 2013 festival were Jackelope Ranch, Las Casuelas, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Fisherman's Market & Grill, and vendors like Spicy Pie,

Pink's Hot Dogs Pink's Hot Dogs is a landmark hot dog restaurant in the Fairfax District of the city of Los Angeles. It is on North La Brea Avenue, across the street from the Hollywood district on the east. History Pink's was founded by Paul and Betty Pin ...

, and Waffleman Ice Cream Sandwiches. There are also full bars, a Cantina Restaurant, BBQ contest, and a pancake breakfast supporting the local Lion's Club. Kansas City BBQ Society (KCBS) sanctioned the Stagecoach Invitational BBQ Championship encompassing teams from across the nation competing for the KCBS California State championship.

Grand champions

*2008 - Sug's Shack BBQ & BLQUE Cuttin Edge Que *2009 - Rhythm N' Que & Lotta Bull *2010 - Lotta Bull West *2011 - All Sauced Up *2012 - El Fuego Fiasco

Lineups by year

References

External links

Stagecoach Festival
{{Music venues of California Music festivals in California Indio, California Annual events in Riverside County, California Music festivals established in 2007 Country music festivals in the United States 2007 establishments in California