Sold Out STAGECOACH 2024 Highs And Lows

Over 80,000 people enjoyed Stagecoach: California’s Country Music Festival this past weekend here at the Indio Polo fields.

By Erin Hyland / CoachellaValley.com

A great time was had by many, and the mass exodus of the RV’s and campers on the 10 freeway this morning is a reminder of that. Avoid the westbound freeway at all costs today!

Some things that Stagecoach should be applauded for:

Partnering with the Galilee Center (https://galileecenter.org/) an incredible local Nonprofit in Mecca that was Founded in 2010 by Claudia Castorena and Gloria Gomez. The Galilee Center is a nonprofit organization that fulfills the food, clothing, shelter and other basic needs for disadvantaged children, families, asylum seekers and farmworkers in the eastern Coachella Valley. 

How do they partner? Well Goldenvoice encourages campers to leave anything in good condition behind at their campsites for pickup and collects and delivers to the center. Locals, they are always needing volunteers, I implore you to learn more about the organization.

Here is their mission statement: “To fulfill the needs of the underprivileged and disadvantaged by providing food, clothing, and other basic needs and affirm their dignity with love, compassion and respect.”

Another thing Stagecoach did well was upgrade their robust shuttle system. Many drop offs around the valley, catering to locals and those visiting alike. A greener alternative to all the cars as well as help mitigate traffic in all of the close by residential areas, as well as not impede access to nearby Desert Care Network’s JFK Hospital. 

Now some areas with room for improvement:

There were many. I personally waited over 2 hours between stopped traffic on 48th Ave (with zero intervention by the multitude of police along the route) then to park, then to wait for the wristband scan line, then wait again at security.

Now I absolutely expect lines at festivals and have been attending Stagecoach since it’s inception in 2007 where it was capped at 55,000 people. But missing multiple sets of artists having left 2 hours prior to make sure I had time because of inadequately trained parking regulators, and staff that lacked best practices when crowds get angry and rowdy with the excessive wait times in tight corners.

This definitely tarnished the experience. It didn’t feel staffed sufficiently for 80k plus attendees. I didn’t wait nearly as long in any situation at Coachella which has tens of thousands of more people. 

The HonkyTonk tent fiasco. Now clearly I loved this venue, as I raved about it on my Day 1 article linked here…

but to have your second most popular venue with a capacity of less than 18% of concertgoers…well, the math isn’t mathing as they say. The lines were exceedingly long, with some patrons waiting over 4 hours. This clearly should be at a bigger venue next year. So many VIP, Saloon, Corral, and Guest List wristband holders were infuriated that their expensive wristbands didn’t get them access to the tent, which many purchased to see the world famous djs. Keep the larger grounds and Sahara tent set up next year for Stagecaoch too to keep fans happier, as it’s clear the DJs are a hot spot.

Last but certainly not least was the decision to livestream via Amazing Prime but to exclude Morgan Wallen’s headlining/closing set. Not sure who made this call or why (money I’m sure is a culprit) but to have country’s biggest selling artist of the year excluded from the Livestream left a horrible taste in many mouths. They were looking forward to it and it wasn’t communicated that Sunday night’s 9:30 pm set with Wallen wasn’t going to be televised. Social media platforms are abuzz with this indiscretion and fans are pissed. 

But if you were lucky enough to be there in person you witnessed the debut of Wallen & Post Malone’s new single “I Had Some Help” it was a fabulous collaboration and left fans wanting more. It’s clear that Post Malone has solidified his place in country music and on his terms. 

I can’t wait for Stagecoach for 2025, but definitely will not waiti 50 minutes in line for pizza or hours upon hours for the HonkyTonk Tent just to be tuned away for capacity. I look forward to the improvements and upgrades next year.