Coachella will be returning to its fall roots, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, it as confirmed Tuesday.
The music festival, originally slated for April 10-12 and April 17-19, will now move to Oct. 9-11 and 16-18.
In addition, festival organizers Goldenvoice also announced that Stagecoach country music festival is also moving to October.
— Coachella (@coachella) March 10, 2020
Goldenvoice is no stranger to hosting festivals at the Empire Polo Club in October. The company has a contract for five festivals per year with the city of Indio. They have staged Desert Trip and Phish Fest in October, which is an important month because of weather — plus, it doesn’t conflict with polo season, which runs from January through March.
Additionally, Coachella’s inaugural event took place Oct. 9-10, 1999, and featured Rage Against the Machine as a headliner.
October is generally a slightly hotter month in the Coachella Valley than April. In April, the average high is 87 degrees and average low is 60, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In October, the average high is 92 and average low is 63.
The decision to delay the fest could come due to growing concerns about the coronavirus, which led to the cancellation of the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells and the declaration of a public health emergency in Riverside County by the top public health officer on Sunday, March 8.
A total of six Riverside County residents have tested positive for COVID-19, otherwise known as coronavirus, as of Monday afternoon. Two people are being treated outside of the county, two are being treated at hospitals in the Coachella Valley, and two are quarantined at home in the Coachella Valley.
Several other conferences and large-scale events, including Ultra Music Festival in Miami and South by Southwest music, film and technology conference in Austin, have been canceled.
Coachella’s April lineup already included Travis Scott, Frank Ocean and Rage Against the Machine are to headline Coachella. The Stagecoach lineup includes Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood, Eric Church, Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus, ZZ Top and Alan Jackson. No word on how the postponement would affect the October dates.
Goldenvoice has already released this year’s set times for Stagecoach.
Read more at usatoday.com; Contributing Sun-Times reporter Miriam Di Nunzio
