Weekend one of the 2020 installment of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was originally set to kick off this week on April 10, and while the festival is now postponed until October, there are a few fun ways to get your Coachella fix at home in the meantime.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Coachella, which started in 1999 and skipped one year in 2000, and a documentary film two decades in the making will debut on April 10. Coachella: 20 Years in the Desert is a collaborative effort by Goldenvoice, creators of Coachella, and YouTube Originals, with the film streaming exclusively on YouTube. It features never-before-seen footage and interviews, as well as past Coachella performances from some of the biggest names in music, including Billie Eilish, Kanye West, Travis Scott, Jane’s Addiction, Madonna, Moby, Beck, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine and more.
The festival’s 2020 lineup includes the return of Rage Against the Machine, who played in 1999 and again in 2007, when the band had just reunited. Jason Bentley, former longtime KCRW music director and host of Morning Becomes Eclectic, has been involved since the inception of Coachella, performing DJ sets during the festival, as well as hosting the YouTube streaming broadcast in recent years. “Staging and production was primitive [in 1999] compared to the festival today,” says Bentley, “but there was no denying the setting of the Empire Polo Club, hemmed in on all sides by the scenic desert landscapes. My most vivid memory as a featured artist was at the first Coachella, when Goldenvoice thought they were doing me a big favor by having me play on the main stage just before Rage Against the Machine. It was easily the most harrowing DJ set I’ve ever endured. This was well before the dance format had found its place at festivals (Sahara tent, Yuma tent), certainly well before the big shows we see from EDM artists, and so there was little regard for my performance by the band roadies moving equipment around and bumping into me, vinyl skipping, etc. (yes, playing vinyl at the time), so that was one thing. But worse than that was facing a crowd of Rage Against the Machine fans who were rather less than interested in my set. They began chanting ‘Rage… Rage… Rage’ in unison to the rhythm of my records. Needless to say, the whole situation was terrifying. Thankfully, I’m not playing that slot this year as Rage returns to the Coachella stage!”
You can get in the Coachella mood from the comfort of your living room with our playlist highlighting the 2020 artists, including headliners Travis Scott, Frank Ocean and Rage Against the Machine, as well as Lana Del Rey, Calvin Harris, Megan Thee Stallion, Thom Yorke, Flume and many more. Flower crowns optional!
Photography by: Courtesy of Greater Palm Springs CVB
