While Bay Area music festivals Outside Lands and BottleRock are forging ahead in the fall, Coachella won't be following suit. Organizers announced Tuesday that the desert fest will take another year off and return to its regularly scheduled dual April weekends in 2022.
Goldenvoice, which has been putting on the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio since 1999, had tried to reschedule last year's fest to October 2020, ultimately deciding last June to cancel it and aim for this spring. When COVID cases began exploding around Southern California in the fall, particularly in Riverside County and nearby Imperial County, Goldenvoice decided to postpone again, intending to put on the festival in October 2021.
But in the months since that decision, we haven't heard any confirmation of a lineup or any further word from organizers about the October plans. Meanwhile, the state seems OK with having "mega events" like this after June 15, but not without restrictions — outdoor events with more than 10,000 people would have to check attendees' vaccination status and/or require a negative COVID test to attend.
It's not clear why Coachella couldn't happen, or if Riverside County health officials played a role in the latest postponement.
Passes for Coachella 2022, which is happening April 15-17 and 22-24, go on sale Friday, June 4 at 10 a.m. You can pre-register for the advance sale now.
Presumably, passes purchased for the 2020 festival will continue to roll over to 2022, though that has not been made clear in the FAQs.
No lineup has been announced. The original headliners for last year's festival were Frank Ocean, Rage Against the Machine, and Travis Scott.
See you in the desert 🌵 Coachella returns April 15-17 & 22-24, 2022. Register now to access the 2022 advance sale beginning Friday, June 4 at 10am PT.https://t.co/qujCsdCWkp pic.twitter.com/0PzCZYrbB6
— Coachella (@coachella) June 1, 2021