Everything to Know About the Coachella Valley
Right now, it’s nearly impossible to go on social media without seeing photos or videos of Coachella, the famous music festival held in California. You probably know who has been performing or which of your favorite influencers and celebrities are in attendance, but what about the location itself? We realized we did not know much about the venue, so we did some research.
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is an annual event held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California which is in the Coachella Valley of the Colorado Desert. The first Coachella was put on in October 1999, after a Pearl Jam concert held earlier in the 90s on the polo fields revealed it was a good place to gather crowds who want to hear music and enjoy the desert.
Now, Coachella is one of the world’s most popular festivals annually, featuring artists from various genres.
The Coachella Valley, located in Southern California between the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa mountains, is made up of nine cities: Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Coachella and Indio. The latter city is where the festival actually takes place.
Coachella’s use of Indio as its backdrop has earned it the title of the “City of Festivals.” Annually, the city attracts over a million people a year for events including Coachella and Stagecoach Festival, the Coachella for country music.
Indio was a railroad town established in the 1870s, though it quickly became an agricultural region by the early 1900s. In 1930, it was the first city within the Coachella Valley to be incorporated.
Although mainstream festivals certainly put Indio on the map, it has always had a festival atmosphere and became a natural venue due to its nearly year-round sunny climate and spaciousness.
Today, Indio is the largest and fastest growing city in the Coachella Valley and is ranked as one of the top emerging travel destinations in the U.S.
Heading to the desert sometime soon? Make sure to tag @theedgemag in all of your pics!