Indio

The Story of a Man Sent to Coachella Jail

We told you earlier about the ways folks try to sneak drugs into Coachella. Also, we told you about how to avoid trouble with the police. But what if, despite your best efforts, you're arrested? Or even taken to Coachella jail? Yes, it is a real place. See also: We Hang Out With Some Crazy Marines ... More >>

The Economics of Music Festivals: Who's Getting Rich, Who's Going Broke?

By Chris Parker It's as though the sad, lamentable death of recorded music was accompanied by a kick-ass wake. Sure, label executives have had to sell their fancy homes and put their kids in public schools, but the rest of us have been feasting on a musical smorgasbord. Nothing better exemplifies ... More >>

The Best Concerts to See in L.A. This Weekend

Friday, April 13 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival EMPIRE POLO CLUB Although it's unlikely that the Rolling Stones and their sprawling entourage will descend on this sun-baked music festival for a surprise set, as was rumored earlier this year, there are still many intriguing storylines scatte ... More >>

Five Great Lesser-Known DJs To See At Coachella

For dance fans there has been little difference between Coachella and Electric Daisy Carnival in recent years, except that the former supplemented its Tiesto-Kaskade-Deadmau5 lineups with alt-rock while EDC did so with dubstep and drum 'n' bass. See also: Everything you need to know about Coachella ... More >>

Music Picks: Coachella, Merle Haggard, Spiritualized

BBQ Contest at Santa Anita Racetrack TOMORROW!

Horse racing and competition barbecue make for strange bedfellows once again at Santa Anita Park tomorrow. The Win, Place and BBQ Showdown brings back over thirty top BBQ teams to the grassy infield, where you can lose your shirt on the ponies, then lament your gambling losses with samples of smoky, ... More >>

[Updated] Indio: New Mexican Beer in Town Debut Tonight at La City Bar

Update: 4:28 p.m. The event tonight at La Cita was originally a private event and is now officially sold out. But don't fret, Guelaguetza has confirmed that there is plenty of Indio available at its restaurant. By now, you've probably seen a few Spanglish billboards around the hipper parts of town ... More >>

Coachella Wins Again: Councilman Drops Tax Proposal

See also: Coachella Organizers Threatening to Take 2014 Off and Move the Festival Elsewhere The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival will remain in Indio, at least for now. City Councilman Sam Torres, who last month proposed an admissions tax that would cost promoters Goldenvoice an estimated $ ... More >>

Coachella: Organizers Threatening to Leave Indio

See also: Top Ten Awkward Coachella Dance Move GIFs The 2013 Coachella could well be its last in Indio, say organizers, due to their opposition to a new events admissions tax initiative proposed by a city councilman there. If the initiative makes it onto the November ballot, they warn, they would ... More >>

Teen Girl Sexually Attacked at Stagecoach Fest in Coachella Valley

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival seemed to go off smoothly again this year, but its cousin, the weekend's Stagecoach country music concert, seems to have had problems with sex crimes. Some are implicating the fest's more liberal alcohol policy, which lets 21-and-up patrons bring in case ... More >>

Coachella Promoters Headed to Court to Stop Counterfeit Concert Goods Sold Around Indio

Goldenvoice, the promoter behind Coachella, wants to put a stop to counterfeit t-shirts, hats and other merchandise being sold today around the event at Empire Polo Club in Indio. It's expected to file a federal lawsuit today that would empower local cops to "seize and impound" the gear, according ... More >>

Coachella: Seven Lesser-Known Acts You'd Be Silly to Miss

Why Did Goldenvoice Purchase a Bunch of Land Near Coachella?

See also: Coachella 2012 Lineup Goldenvoice announced Sunday that it has purchased 280 acres of land in Indio, ensuring that the Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals will be enjoyed by generations of girls in spirit hoods and dudes in speedos and fanny packs The purchase includes El Dorado P ... More >>

The Most Popular Music Posts Of 2011

Josh "CuriousJosh" ReissPeople are freaking psyched about this post​Man, y'all did some clicking this year. You must have had, like, a lot of time on your hands, or not been interested in advancing in your professions or hanging out with your family. Well, we at West Coast Sound salute you! We ... More >>

Whew! Coachella 2012 Back On As Planned

Mason Magruder​See also: Coachella Status Uncertain As Indio Delays Contract With Goldenvoice Following a vote by the Indio city council last night to approve the city's two year contract with festival promoter Goldenvoice, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is back on as scheduled. ... More >>

Coachella Status Uncertain As Indio Delays Contract With Goldenvoice

Vickie ChangWill Coachella 2012 keep you waiting? ​The city of Indio has postponed signing a contract with Coachella festival promoter and organizer Goldenvoice, following pressure from the neighboring city of La Quinta for an environmental review of the popular music and arts festival. The fe ... More >>

EXCLUSIVE: Slayer's Kerry King Reveals How Thrash Survives

Photograph by Steve ApplefordSlayer guitarist Kerry King​ Thrash metal musicians are not always the most social of animals. The guys in Anthrax do tend to get along with other bands, but Slayer, Megadeth and Metallica have famously traded insults across the decades over slights big and small. ... More >>

Music Picks: Prince, Amanda Jo Williams, Kendrick Lamar, Xzibit, Civet,

Also, Miguel, L.A. Bluegrass Situation, Heidecker and Wood, the Ditty Bops and others

Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax Play Coachella April 23

EXCLUSIVE Interview: Why Anthrax's Scott Ian Hates Coachella and Loves the Big 4

Steve ApplefordAnthrax guitarist Scott Ian​ Guitarist Scott Ian has been metal's No. 1 fan ever since his first whiff of Kiss back in the '70s. He's also been the one constant in every lineup of Anthrax, now one of the "Big 4" originators of thrash-metal set to land on the site of Coachella i ... More >>

Coachella Security Includes RFID Tags, Grease

​The good people behind the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festivals aren't leaving all security measures to local Indio police. They've also rolled out some fancy cloth wristbands with RFID tags embedded. Each wristband is apparently unique, so good luck trying to do the "two-in, one-out, two- ... More >>

Coachella: Desperate SWF Seeks Wristband

There is still time to get your ass to Indio, but you'll need a wristband to get anywhere near the field, let alone inside the festival. We've been trolling Craigslist to get an idea just how desperate buyers and sellers are getting as the final minutes tick down to showtime in the desert.

Coachella Festival Could See 100 Degree Heat Saturday

Bill Jensen.Hot, hot, hot.​Last year saw record crowds at the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. This year the three-day party in the desert town of Indio won't see record highs, but it'll be hot. The National Weather Service is predicting that the peak temp on Saturday in the a ... More >>

New Coachella Passes Go On Sale! (If You Got $975 to Spare for VIP Service)

We're in the money! We're in the money! We're in the money and we got what it takes to get to Indiooooo!​While for you, me, and everyone we know Coachella has been sold-out for months, for members of an exclusive VIP website called GiltCity, this might not be the case. A tipster pointed us to ... More >>

Save The Dates: The Riverside County Fair and Date Festival

Dancing With Ghosts/FlickrDate Festival​ In some dim corner of the country, every food has a festival. For three days each April, the World Grits Festival engulfs St. George, South Carolina. Waikiki holds the Spam Jam. In Clinton, Montana, there is the Rocky Mountain Oyster Festival, or "Te ... More >>

Fixing Coachella

Goldenvoice plans to regain the fans' love after a chaotic 2010 festival. Two words: fewer people

Coachella Organizer Admits There Were "Too Many Bodies" and "Lame Ticketing" Issues at the 2010 Festival, Vows to Address These Issues for 2011

Julian Callos​After witnessing the organizational chaos and potentially disastrous crowd management at the bursting-at-the-seams Coachella 2010, we were shocked to learn that AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips was boasting about the festival's record attendance numbers to The Hollywood Reporter "It w ... More >>

Nightranger's Coachella Check-list: Desert Dos and Don'ts

Ready and rarin' to go for Coachella? If you packed days ago, drove up Wednesday or Thursday morning and didn't over do it at the parties last night, then you probably are. Goodie for you. But those of us preparing to battle Friday traffic in hopes of getting there before sunset tonight, well, we mi ... More >>

Destination Coachella

L.A. bands take to the desert for three days of music overload

Dance Club Pick: Left Behind?

Recession? What Recession? Coachella 3-Day Passes Sold Out

We don't know if this announcement had anything to do with it, but the 3-day passes at Coachella are now sold out, according to Ticketmaster. Thus, you might be forced to do some demeaning stuff in an Indio parking lot to make a weekending yuppie get you in on his corporate passes. But, hey--Muse! ... More >>

Coachella Confirmations Begin to Trickle In, Rumors Abound

The Coachella message board is doing a good job of tracking the upcoming Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio. Now's the time that bands begin leaking confirmations, revealing their hands on MySpace, Twitter and Facebook, and basically spilling the beans one way or another. For example, this f ... More >>

Where Can a Girl With Attitude Take a Guy on a First Date?

Ask Mr. Gold: Where Can A Girl With Attitude (& A Dog) Take A Guy On A First Date?

Photo credit: Anne FishbeinMr. Gold, with dim sum menuDear Mr. Gold: Christ. How one keeps up an appetite is beyond me. So where should I go for a date? I'm picking the restaurant, of course, somewhere between Santa Monica and Pasadena. It's an actual date, so it has to be bearable if the date is no ... More >>

Coachella Day 1: Buraka Som Sistema and Conor Oberst

Timothy NorrisBuraka Som Sistema Buraka Som Sistema Gobi, 5:35 5:50 - 6:20   A sizeable crowd has gathered for Buraka Som Sistema in the Gobi tent, but the music hasn't started. Several men are running around the stage, chasing cables, jiggling things, playing music, stopping and starting again. ... More >>

Countdown to Coachella: Buraka Som Sistema's Portuguese/Angolian Funk (Hot Chip Remix, MP3)

Name check off the top: M.I.A. stars in the great video above, which features an amazing dance move that we around here have dubbed The Flop. It's easy to do: Just jump in the air, move your body horizontal to the ground, and land flat and hard. The chicks totally dig this move. Another variation: ... More >>

Good Times Never Seemed So Good: Snapshots From Coachella

From the express train to the Gobi Tent to the VIP and beyond

Bob the Lefsetz vs. Antony & the Johnsons. ALSO, some words about Coachella.

Why we love Antony and why we hate Coachella.

Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Loads of BBQ

Stagecoach Country Music Festival at the Empire Polo Fields, Indio, May 5-6

Stagecoach Country Music Festival

At Empire Polo Grounds, Indio

The City I Found

Best remnants of hardboiled L.A.

Festivus Maximus

Do you enjoy crowds, music and exhaustion?

Houses of Cards

Where to get poker-faced without leaving L.A.

The Nutty Professors

Ingenious schemes to wash, pipe and blow away our worries

Miracle in the Desert

More Is More

Loved-up in Indio

Tribal Gathering

Coachella festival: It's all in the mix

The Dead Sea

Listening for croakers in the Coachella Valley

Pushing the Right Buttons

Seiji Ozawa: Sun-drenched colors

Why Do You Think They Call ’Em Hams?