Coachella is irrelevant

By Solé Scott

Editor-in-Chief

If you are broke, then you knew to stay home during this year’s Coachella. 

First things first, when did Coachella get so expensive and why is the lineup this year serving dust? 

The only saving grace this year was Megan Thee Stallion, Glorilla and Lady Gaga. 

Weekend one this year was April 11-13 and weekend two was April 18-20. 

This annual music festival started way back in 1999 and has grown dramatically in the last 26 years. The only problem is the dying culture of attendees. 

In the last few years this festival has been geared towards music lovers who took a weekend trip to Indio, California to see and hear underground artists and even mainstream artists. 

There were no boho outfits and flower crowns anywhere in sight. Yet, there were boots, skirts, bikinis tops, rhinestones, cowboy hats and half naked men and women. There clearly was not a proper theme nor were there any outfits that reflected on the festival. 

Now, all we see are opportunists, aka influencers, infesting the event weekend one. There was never a VIP option or secret speakeasies around. 

General admission starts at $600 without tax and parking, camping and other fees included. This is a humongous jump from 1999 where a ticket cost $50. 

Food prices are outrageous as one Nashville hot chicken sandwich is $25, three small tacos for $20, a Michelin caviar burger for $150, a slice of pizza is $12, chicken tenders and fries for $17 and one hot dog is $13.75. 

The lines to use the restroom and take a shower are insane to watch. No one should be waiting for two and a half hours at the crack of dawn to take a 5–10-minute shower. 

All women should be washing their hair before stepping foot on the campground and all women should stop taking an everything shower. All of this would slim down then. 

The best headliner performer this year was Lady Gaga who had to remind the world of her legendary status. 

Lady Gaga put on an amazing performance filled with visuals, vocals and dancing throughout her two-hour set. 

The next good headliner was Green Day who brought nostalgia and fellow Gen X’s from around the country world to rock out in the desert. 

I will not lie and say I watched Post Malone’s set. Then again, he is not my cup of tea as he used my culture’s music to propel him to country music and completely change his aesthetic. I haven’t seen any TikTok’s of his set nor have I seen really anyone speak about it.  

To be real, next year Tyla and Megan Thee Stallion and Benson Boone should headline Coachella since their stage presence was out of this world.  

Megan Thee Stallion performed her hits songs and the intense choreography that reminded me of Beyoncé. She also brought out Queen Latifah and Ciara.  

Tyla and her breath of fresh air music and style is something that has been missing in music for a while. I do not like the comparison to Rihanna and hopefully her headlining will squash those thoughts.  

Benson Boone is an artist I do not listen to at all, yet I strangely enjoyed his set. His magnificent front and back flips separated him from other artists. His vocals were tremendous as he was a gymnast the whole set. Also, he covered Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and Brian May during the song was out of this world. 

Lastly, Charli XCX had all the beats out late Saturday night. The best part in my opinion was Billie Eilish who performed their hit remix song “Guess” which marks the second time they performed live together. I also, loved the part of camera zooming into models Quen Blackwell, Gabriette and Alex Consani doing the apple dance as Kylie Jenner hides with Timothée Chalamet’s behind.  

I no longer have a desire to go to Coachella and feel as though I missed the glory days of 2007-2018. I am still crying that I missed Amy Winehouse and Beyoncé.