The Outsiders Are In At Stagecoach

Stagecoach’s Night 2 vastly differed from the much divided reviews of Eric Church’s Friday gospel infused headlining set. It’s clear to see that the country outsiders are in, and they’re here to stay.

by Erin Hyland / CoachellaValley.com

Post Malone, a multi-genre musician, who previously headlined Coachella, has gone country with an entire set of beloved country covers. Posty clearly has country music’s blessing as country music giant Brad Paisley joined him on stage for his songs, as did legend Dwight Yoakam & Sara Evans did the same. (She has an upcoming desert show at Spotlight 29 Casino in September for those who want more of the songstress. Post Malone’s set was a feel good hour long sing-a-long of many 90’s country favorites.

John Michael Montgomery’s Be My Baby Tonight had the crowd up and dancing, and George Strait’s classic “Check Yes or No” had fans from all generations singing along. Fans teared up to his version of Tim McGraw’s “Don’t Take The Girl” and Post Malone was forever endeared into many country fans’ hearts with his song choices. If the crowd involvement and engagement was our metric, this set of covers was a massive hit.

Speaking of outsiders, Leon Bridges was giving Lenny Kravitz vibes over at the Palomino stage that left fans wanting more. When he played his massive hit “Beyond” there wasn’t a soul in the tent not singing along.

(Fun fact, previous 2022 Stagecoach headliner Luke Combs recorded a duet for that song and it quickly became a fast fan favorite on the streaming services.) Then he surprised the delighted crowd with a duet with Mexican musician Carín León — the Latin Grammy-winning artist who received the key to the City of Coachella last weekend — on stage to perform their popular duet “It Was Always You (“Siempre Fueste Tu”). Two outsiders together, drawing large crowds as fans spilled out of the Palomino tent to enjoy the collaboration at sunset. 

Way outside (but inside Diplo’s HonkyTonk Tent) that I covered yesterday was absolute mayhem Saturday. The Chainsmokers, an incredibly famous DJ duo with a Vegas residency, had the tent at capacity over 90 minutes before their set and left many fans devastated and waiting in an incredibly unorganized and rowdy line hoping to get in.

Many crowd murmurs overheard were upset that the extra pricey Guest/VIP/Corral wristbands didn’t have any special treatment or separate entrance for the HonkyTonk, some paid as much as $1700 a wristband and those fans were not happy they had to miss their favorite artists.

Stagecoach has a huge opportunity for that next year, as the HonkyTonk has rapidly become the Sahara tent of Stagecoach.

For the readers who haven’t attended a Coachella Valley Music & Arts festival: the Sahara tent grows in popularity every year as the DJ stage and had to be moved, expanded, and doubled in size to accommodate the demands. You can currently see the Sahara dome, but it’s repurposed as RV parking and not a music venue for Stagecoach.

Some country outsiders to look out for this third and final day of the festival are: Brittney Spencer (featured on Beyoncé’s “Blackbird”), The War & Treaty (an incredibly soulful duo featured on Zach Bryan’s “Hey Driver”), and world famous DJ Marshmello who’s collaborations are many and his streams are in the billions, yes with a “B” and the iconic Beach Boys!

Some of Marshmello’s songs feature Bastille, Jonas Brothers, Khalid, Selena Gomez, Sting, P!nk, Halsey and more. This man knows no boundaries in music genres and wears a head cover that looks like a Marshmello to maintain worldwide anonymity. 

He has one previously created country track with Kane Brown, so his new set list is a mystery, but sure to have everyone dancing in the HonkyTonk…that is if they can get in and want to spend hours in line. 

But don’t fret if you’re wanting to end your Stagecoach festival with an outsider sure to have you moving, Wiz Khalifa closes out this year’s festival at the Palomino Stage, no capacity limits there. The “Black & Yellow” false hip hop artist is ure to have some surprises us his sleeves as he sends the festival out with big beats and great energy.

The outsiders are in and here to stay, now who can predict who’s on the lineup for next year?