As we sat on a hill overlooking the polo grounds, the sun setting on the last day of Coachella, the gravity of the festival started to sink in. It was our first time at Coachella. We had considered ourselves festival veterans—unintentionally jaded by the pursuit of live music—but this festival had something truly unique to offer. Our misconceptions of commercialism were shed the moment we stepped onto the polo field. Coachella is a beautiful festival, so beautiful and well-run that its infrastructure has become a defining characteristic.
Coachella’s massive, flat green expanse creates an environment at the intersection of relaxation and excitement. Coachella is a chill festival; the lushness punctuated by palm trees is an oasis, even between the pounding volume and dust from each stage. But the expanse breeds anticipation. Coachella is so well spread out that you can see what’s coming from hundreds of feet away, building anticipation with each inch of progress like an explorer discovering land.
This year’s Coachella breeds the same sense of discovery. As our tastes develop, more and more names on the lineup become palatable. Bob Moses, Black Coffee, Marco Carola, and Sasha lead each weekend, setting the stage for the new and veteran sounds of electronic music. Bob Moses and Rufus Du Sol will be especially exciting to see in a setting like Coachella—both bands are on the forefront of merging the best elements of electronic music production with instrumentation. Thomas Jack will close Sunday, undoubtedly bringing the chill vibes we remember so fondly from Do Lab last year. Adam Beyer, Black Madonna, and Maceo Plex are our most anticipated producers to see at Coachella, satiating our unquenchable thirst for hard hitting techno and tech house. Our wild card is DJ Koze. This will be our first time seeing him live. If his mixes are anything like his productions, we’ll be topping off Coachella with true house.
Photography by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Coachella.
