The desert will be extremely dry this spring as Coachella, California’s biggest music and arts festival, is set to be postponed over the growing concerns over COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
Concert promoter, Goldenvoice, announced the rescheduling on Tuesday, March 10.
The annual Californian festival, originally planned for the second and third weekends in April, has now been moved to the weekends of Oct. 9 and Oct. 16, 2020.
I’m fine. I’m totally fine #coachella SEE YOU IN OCTOBER!!!! pic.twitter.com/I3zpNaWcck
— Hayden James (@hayden_james) March 10, 2020
The promoter further announced the postponement of California’s country music festival, Stagecoach.
“At the direction of the County of Riverside and the local health authorities, we must sadly confirm the rescheduling of Coachella and Stagecoach due to the COVID-19 concerns,” Goldenvoice said in a press release. “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.”
Goldenvoice made sure to reassure everyone’s previously purchased tickets and how they are handling refund situations.
“All purchases for the April dates will be honored for the rescheduled October dates,” Goldenvoice said. “Purchasers will be notified by Friday, March 13 on how to obtain a refund if they are unable to attend. Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you in the desert this fall.”
Although there is no word yet on whether the lineup will remain the same, some originally scheduled artists have taken to Twitter to confirm their appearances at the festival in October.
Coachella = October 2020.
I’ve dreamed of coming back for 4 years now…we can wait 6 more months! 🙈 Who will I see there?? ❤️🌴 pic.twitter.com/hzxNabw1Af— Matoma (@MatomaOfficial) March 10, 2020
“I’ve dreamed of coming back for four years now,” Matoma said. “We can wait six more months! Who will I see there?”
American DJ duo, Slander, also took to Twitter to comment on the date change.
“Coachella is postponed but we can 100% confirm we are playing the new rescheduled dates in October,” Slander said.
My friends and I walking onto the Empire Polo fields in October like #Spookychella #Coachella #CoachellaCancelled pic.twitter.com/olJMzkSq6m
— MOTOPAPI (@Hectoronii) March 10, 2020
Hayden James, Madeon and Melé are amongst other artists that are still planning on performing at the festival.
While the circumstances for postponement may not be ideal regarding the new coronavirus, the bright side shows that festival-goers can now look forward to celebrating their boho weekend Halloween-style in the fall rather than the spring.
