Coachella Festival Officially Postponed Until October Due to Coronavirus

2020-03-14

Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello – Story by Cat Badra, photo by Anne Erickson

Coachella Music and Arts Festival will now take place in October due to concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus

The 2020 edition of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has been postponed to October because of to concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus.

The producer of Coachella, Goldenvoice, confirmed the postponement in a statement released this week. The festival was set to feature the much-buzzed about reunion of ’90s rap-rock act Rage Against the Machine.

“At the direction of the County of Riverside and local health authorities, we must sadly confirm the rescheduling of Coachella and Stagecoach due to COVID-19 concerns,” the statement reads. “While this decision comes at a time of universal uncertainty, we take the safety and health of our guests, staff and community very seriously. We urge everyone to follow the guidelines and protocols put forth by public health officials.”

The new Coachella dates will happen during the weekends of October 9-11 and 16-18. In addition to Coachella, the country music festival Stagecoach, which takes place right after Coachella, is now scheduled for October 23-25. Both festivals are still slated to happen at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.

All tickets for the festivals’ original April dates will be good for the rescheduled October event. Those who can’t make it in October will be able to get a full refund.

Goldenvoice hopes to keep as many of the original acts slated for Coachella 2020 on the bill for the October dates, but that remains to be seen. The original Coachella lineup included Rage Against the Machine, Frank Ocean, Travis Scott, Lana Del Rey, Thom Yorke of Radiohead, FKA twigs, Danny Elfman, Lil Uzi Vert and Run the Jewels, to name a few.

Coachella is the latest in a long list of U.S. festivals being postponed or canceled due to concerns over coronavirus. Miami’s Ultra Music Festival and Austin’s SXSW have already canceled their 2020 events.

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Cat Badra

Meet the expert - Cat Badra is a music writer for Audio Ink Radio and a range of other music, sports and lifestyle publications. She's a graduate of Michigan State University with a master's degree in theater and speech. Contact her at cat@audioinkradio.com.