Coachella 2022

Coachella is a large music festival that started in 1999 by Paul Tollett and Rick Van Santen. This event occurs every year at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. This year was the first time they had been back since the pandemic. 

Teens, 20 year olds and celebrities rave about this huge festival every year. The performances are famous singers and dancers from around America that come for about one week. This year, from April 15 through April 24, nearly 2,400 performers appeared at the festival. Some of these performers were Harry Styles, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish, The Weekend, and Megan the Stallion. 

When looking back at the week of performances many people have said that the experience was “the time of their lives.” While others say that the whole idea of wasting all of your money and traveling was not worth the hype. Courteney Larocca, who has reviewed about 15 music festivals and has dreams of going to Coachella since she was 15 years old says, “after experiencing it for myself, I think its iconic status is overblown.” Yes, this fun, entertaining music festival is one that most will remember, but is it worth all the hype that it gets? After spending over $400 on a ticket, most people don’t even end up getting to see who they went for. With tThe crowds are overflowing with Tik Tokers and other celebrities, that most people do not even get to experience the actual music. LaroccaWhen LaroccaCourteney speaks to different people, she gets information from a fashion critic who puts it as, “Coachella is the perfect example of how capitalism sells us the promise of unforgettable experiences, community, and music, all under the guise of participating in capitalism. It is the vehicle, and the destination is ‘fun'” (Larocca). 

 Most teens dream of going to Coachella so after all the money is spent most people don’t want to admit that it wasn’t as great as it would seem. 

On the other hand, tons of people go and say that it is tons of fun and the money was worth the trip. When speaking with Mackenzie Morante, a junior at Ramapo High sSchool, she says, “I thought the performances were incredible. They didn’t choose anyone who wasn’t electric on stage, and I even enjoyed some of the smaller acts that I hadn’t planned on seeing. Obviously the headliners were out of this world. Nothing bad to say about the artists. 

“As for the price, it was ridiculous. But that’s only because I bought the tickets so early. Next time I definitely plan to buy them the day before. Despite how much it cost, it was worth it because the experience of being surrounded by music for hours was surreal” (Morante).

To sum it up, Coachella is a music festival that has been going on for 21 years. This gathering of celebrities and performers is a huge deal to many people around the country. The choice is up to you if you want to risk it all and possibly have “the time of your life” or waste your money on something that wasn’t worth the hype.