Every April, campus feels a bit emptier than usual — weekends are slower and parking spots are vacant. The culprit? The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, a tradition that seems to draw a quarter of the LMU student body to Indio, California.
“I’ve always wanted to go to Coachella. It’s been a dream of mine,” shared senior marketing student Gianna Ross. “It was my first time this year.”
The festival began in 1999 and has been growing ever since, with performers such as Amy Winehouse, Prince and Lady Gaga joining its ranks over the years.
This year especially was noted for the creativity of its headliners, with Sabrina Carpenter entering her set in a vintage car, Justin Bieber sharing music from his past, and Karol G performing an ode to Latin culture as the festival’s first Latina headliner.
“He’s always been such a huge artist in my life since I was younger,” Ross said while explaining her excitement about Bieber’s set. “He ended up doing short clips of his older songs, and he would pull them up on YouTube and show the music videos.”
“I thought it was gonna be a lot more of Swag [his new album],” she continued. “So it’s nice that I got to see a lot of the older stuff. There is definitely a huge sense of nostalgia in that.”
Many performers also brought out guest artists, including Addison Rae sharing the stage with Olivia Rodrigo.
Senior marketing major Sophie Treanor said it happened “out of nowhere,” adding that Rodrigo performed her new single “Drop Dead” live. “It was the best moment ever,” she said. “I think the shock factor added to the moment, and I loved it.”
Treanor was also excited to see Bieber. “He definitely lived up to expectations. The energy was palpable, and he brought out so many special guests, [including Billie Eilish and Big Sean].”
Different genres of music are usually represented in Coachella’s lineup, with pop artists, R&B performers and DJs all sharing the stage. LMU attendees described the festival’s atmosphere as “happy.”
“Someone described it as an adult playground, and I can’t help but agree,” said Treanor. “There were so many different exhibits and pop-ups … you never ran out of things to do.”
“The day was awesome, and everyone in the crowd looked like they were having a blast. It always makes it better when you see the people around you having fun,” Ross said. “I think it was worth it 100%. I wanna go back next year.”
