Coachella And Stagecoach Festivals Canceled For 2020, But 2021 Dates Set – Update

UPDATED with 2021 dates set: Coachella and Stagecoach promoter Goldenvoice on Thursday confirmed 2021 dates for its twin festivals.

“As of now, Coachella weekend one will take place April 9-11, 2021 and weekend two will be April 16 – 18, 2021,” it said today. “Stagecoach is set for April 23-25, 2021. We look forward to sharing our new lineups and more information. We can’t wait to be together in the desert again when it is safe.”

It said all 2020 passes will be honored for next year’s events.

PREVIOUSLY, June 10 PM: The Coachella Music & Arts Festival and its sister country music festival Stagecoach, which had originally postponed its spring dates because of the coronavirus outbreak, are officially canceled. The order came down Wednesday evening from the Riverside County (CA) public health officer.

The two SoCal events, must-attends on the music fest calendar, had in March decided to postpone their dates to October as COVID-19 became a global health crisis. Both events are held annually at the 78-acre Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA.

Goldenvoice is the promoter for both shows.

“This Order recognizes that both the Coachella Music and Arts Festival and the Stagecoach Country Music Festival are music concerts and gatherings of an international scope, attracting hundreds of thousand of attendees from many countries, including several disproportionately afflicted by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic,” said the order (read it here) from Riverside County health officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser. He added: “If COVID-19 were detected at these festivals, the scope and number of attendees and the nature of the venue would make it infeasible, if not impossible, to track those who may be placed at risk.”

Kaiser said Riverside County currently has 9,590 confirmed coronavirus cases and 365 deaths.

This year’s Coachella slate included headliners like Rage Against the Machine, Megan Thee Stallion, Run the Jewels, Calvin Harris, Travis Scott, Thom Yorke, 21 Savage, Danny Elfman, Frank Ocean, Lana Del Rey, Lil Nas X, FKA Twigs, Fatboy Slim and others.

California continues to works its way through a phased reopening of the state amid the pandemic. Most of the state is in Phase 2, with shopping and restaurants beginning to reopen with restrictions. Concerts and other large events including sporting events are in the final Phase 4 of reopening, with that date still unknown.