Coachella

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly referred to as Coachella or the Coachella Festival) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, located in the Inland Empire's Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. It was founded by Paul Tollett in 1999 and is organized by Goldenvoice, a subsidiary of AEG Live. The event features many genres of music, including rock, indie, hip hop, and electronic dance music, as well as art installations and sculptures. Across the grounds, several stages continuously host live music. The main stages are: Coachella Stage, Outdoor Theatre, Gobi Tent, Mojave Tent, and the Sahara Tent; a smaller Oasis Dome was used in 2006 and 2011, while a new Yuma stage was introduced in 2013.

The success of Coachella in its early years proved that American music festivals could work and succeed in a destination form, as opposed to a traveling festival. The year of Coachella's debut was also the year of Woodstock '99, which was marred by riots, fires, and rapes, turning many people off music festivals. In the years following Coachella's success, many  other festivals have followed in its footsteps, copying its format as a destination festival with multiple stages, attractions, art, and camping.