Coachella organizers asking artists to play 2021

The largest music festival in the US, Coachella, generates as much as $100 million for promoter Goldenvoice and its parent company, AEG. So when the 2020 edition of Coachella was postponed from its dual weekends in April to October 9-11 and 16-18, fans were already disappointed. Rage Against The Machine, Travis Scott, and Frank Ocean, are currently set to headline the festival in Indio, California.

However, things are beginning to look bleak for large-scale music events in the fall and winter—especially in the midst of reports that Red Rocks will not open until 2021 and Live Nation projecting a spring/summer 2021 return to their live events. Now Coachella organizers are asking artists lined-up for the annual event to play in 2021 instead, according to inside sources. Bloomberg first reported the news, saying “the odds of pulling off an event that attracts as many as 200,000 people grow dimmer by the day.”

According to the insider sources, who asked not to be identified, the plans for October are still in flux due to a range of issues. Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett and his team need to firm up plans with artists, settle financial issues like insurance, and consult with local health officials. In a world where re-openings are happening slowly, as COVID-19 cases continue to spike in the warm summer months, it seems as though festivals and mass gatherings will be the last to return to normalcy.

Read the full Bloomberg article here.

Photo credit: Daniel Zetterstrom.