As the sun blazes down in the California desert, crowds of people young and old start the half-mile trek down the dusty road toward, what is to many of them, the event of the year. As you get closer to the entrance, the electricity is palpable as the music gets louder and everyone’s excitement grows. Welcome to Stagecoach, the largest country music festival in the world.
Considered the little cousin to the much larger Coachella Music Festival. Stagecoach still packs a punch with over 60,000 Country music fans flooding through the gates during the three day festival. Even with all those fans the atmosphere was great! This may have been the nicest, best looking and the most fun crowd we have ever been around at a festival. The acts were top notch with all of Country music’s best acts like Dierks Bentley, Shania Twain, not to mention living icons Willie Nelson and Jerry Lee Lewis. Plus some amazing newcomers including my personal favorite, Rhiannon Giddens, who left the audience spellbound. Stagecoach far exceeded our expectations and we recommend everyone go!
Things You Should Know
When does it take place?
Stagecoach takes place every year the weekend after Coachella. The days may vary but it is usually the last weekend in April.
Where Does It Take Place?
Empire Polo Club
81 -800 Avenue 51
Indio, CA 92201
How Do You Get There?
Most people drive. If you fly, fly into Palm Springs (Which is a tiny airport.) Can’t do that…fly into LAX or Ontario Airport and rent a car and take a leisurely drive down Interstate 10 East. It’s only a two maybe three-hour drive (depending on wonderful LA traffic).
Hours
This is a three-day festival. Acts start no earlier than 12:30 pm and finish with the daily headliner at 11:45pm
Prices
All Prices are subject to change at anytime
General Admission 3-Day Wristbands - $250
Corral Reserved Seating Wristbands - $500 - $899
Things I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me…
Download the Stagecoach App on your phone. It lets you plan out everything and even sends you alerts. Includes all set times, locations, maps, rules and everything else you need to know when coming to Stagecoach. It even tells you where you parked!
Know where you are staying. The easiest place to stay is at the RV park connected to the festival grounds. While it is convenient, it is also very expensive. Depending on how much money you and your friends can pool together you can look into renting a house through Airbnb, or there are plenty of hotels in the area. But make sure to book those early as they go pretty fast. If you really want to go country, get a campsite where you can park an RV or pitch a tent.
There are no in and outs unless you are in the RV park. That means once you are in you have to stay in.
Day parking is free but the lot closes at 2:00 am. No overnight parking. You can purchase a VIP parking pass or an overnight parking pass. But once again those can be pricey and from what I hear, you have longer waits to get in and out of those lots. If you drink, do not drive! Not worth it…take an Uber or Lyft. It might be expensive but I assure you the DUI will cost more.
Make sure you remember where you parked, and exit from the entrance you came in from. This is really important! At the end of the night you may think leaving through the nearest exit is the fastest and easiest way but believe me…it’s not! It could possibly take you an hour if not more to get back to your car. Yes, it happened and my feet still won’t talk to me…we walked an extra 3, maybe even 5 miles!
Check the weather! The festival goes on rain or shine. Dress appropriately and bring sunscreen. Plenty of sunscreen, it is the desert after all.
Cash and Credit Cards are accepted by all vendors.
Stay Hydrated!!!!
Things You Will Need at StageCoach!
Sunscreen! So important! The desert sun will roast you.
Comfortable shoes. If you wear boots then make sure you can handle them being on your feet for twelve hours a day. Ours were toast; we brought comfy shoes as well thank goodness.
Empty water bottle. You can bring in an empty water bottle and fill it up at the water refill stations by the restrooms. They must be empty though.
Money. These vendors have LA prices. Beers $9-$10, sandwiches $15, etc, etc. All vendors take cash and cards.
Your ID. If you want to drink, they are very diligent at checking ID’s. No ID, no drinking.
Non-professional camera. Cell phones work best. Plenty of things to take pictures of: oversized chairs, boots, wagons, and of course the performers.
Back-up charger. Believe me, it saved me so many times while I was out there. Nothing worse than getting separated from your friends and your phone dies.
Bandana. When the wind kicks the dust up you’ll want to tie it around your face.
A place to stay. It’s a three-day festival, so plan ahead. We stayed in our friends RV a couple of miles away from the festival and split the cost. So much fun!!!
A positive attitude and get ready to have a blast.
HAVE FUN Y’ALL!!!!!
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