There are two three-day weekends in April that are filled with music, a little bit of art, trendy and ridiculous outfits, and some hot celebrities. This shindig is called Coachella, but I’m sure I didn’t need to tell anyone that.
[quote]This music and art festival is referred to by The Daily Beast as an “oasis for douchebags and trust fund babies.”[/quote]
I wonder why?
Magazines rant and rave about celebrities like Katy Perry, Selena Gomez, Kylie and Kendall Jenner, Paris Hilton and Vanessa Hudgens that attend this crazy event. Yes, I did mention Paris Hilton, and yes, I thought she was irrelevant to social media too, but apparently she’s made some kind of pop-culture resurgence I wasn’t aware of.
Teeny-bopper celebs at Coachella, it must be awesome, right?
Coachella is supposed to be about the music and art, which some people focus on. However, what most people tend to divert their weekend’s attention to is what they’re drinking, what drugs they’re taking, what creative outfits they’re putting together and what celebrities they can spot intermingling with the everyday folk.
Twenty-two-year-old Coachella veteran Kyla Rae, who will be attending Coachella for the seventh year in a row, told the health blog Well+Good, “There’s more competition style-wise now … The number of Coachella virgins increases every year, and, if anything, they’re really into the image aspect.”
Rae’s statement seems to be accurate, because apparently, when headliner Outkast performed on the first weekend of Coachella it was a total bust, and not because the crowd went nuts, but because they didn’t. If you ask me, this is quite a shame, because they are such a great musical group and deserve more appreciation than they got.
Logan Alexxander @saywhatlogan stated via Twitter, “No Outkast didn’t suck the crowd of over privileged brats with shitty taste in music Suck #Coachella2014#Outkast#coachella.”
Even if Outkast’s performance wasn’t the exciting event we all hoped it would be, there were many other successful performances, such as Skrillex, Ellie Goulding and Pharrell with guest stars including Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes and many more.
[quote]Even looking beyond the lack of serious musical interest from Coachella attendees, there are other issues for those who want to go. Specifically, you now need a small fortune and incredible timing and luck to even get tickets.[/quote]
A general admission ticket off the Coachella website is $375. But when Coachella tickets go on sale, the website explodes and buyers need to wait for a random selection to get access to the page where you can actually buy the tickets. The process is nerve-wracking and tiring to say the least. Tickets sell out quickly and the next option is to try and buy them for jacked-up prices from business-savvy swindlers trying to make a buck.
Those interested in Coachella are only left with one choice: if they can’t buy tickets from the Coachella website then their only option is to buy from a friend or off of a third-party’s website. Tickets at this point can range from $500 to $1,000 for just a general admission three-day pass. This is ridiculous. Sellers use a great music festival like Coachella to rip off those who are desperate to attend.
Despite the price and the mockery of Coachella, numerous young adults attend this music and art festival each year, especially students from San Diego State. Coachella is the ultimate party, which wouldn’t necessarily be such a bad thing, if it didn’t detract so much from its original purpose.
Coachella attendees need to stop worrying about their outfits or which celebrities are attending, and start focusing on the good vibes, music, and art. Coachella once was considered a well-recognized music festival in California, but now it has become a “trend” and a joke to some. It’s time for Coachella to return to what it once was, free from those who don’t properly appreciate it.
Photo by Wesley Beights
