Event producers can establish a tone with décor and art. They can book the hottest bands and DJs. They can fill beer gardens with craft suds and experimental gastronomic treats. But at the heart of every festival are the festivalgoers themselves — pulsating, vibrating, and breathing life into the event.
During Weekend 1 of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Palm Springs Life spoke with fans and performers, all of them decked out in their finest festival fashions, to find out what music and the overall experience of Coachella mean to them.
Our takeaway: Coachella is you. The ones dedicated to making this weekend are all about self-expression, spreading the good vibes, and sharing the love of music.
Here’s what they had to say.
GALLERY: Click to view additional festival style photos from Coachella Weekend 1.
Sophie Halliell, 26
Hometown: On the road
Occupation: Artist (Sofi Tukker)
First Coachella memory: Getting onstage at 3 p.m. and expecting nobody to be there — having a sea of people at one of our very first festivals.
Phrase of the weekend: [foreign language]
Music is: Everything.
Tucker Halpern, 29
Hometown: Boston
Occupation: Half of Sofi Tukker
First Coachella memory: I saw and was blown away by Royksopp in the Sahara tent.
Phrase of the weekend: Energea.
Music is: The best thing in the world.
Felicia Cabiale, 21
Hometown: Sydney, Australia
Occupation: Student
First Coachella memory: Mr. Easy. That was [Saturday], he was amazing.
Phrase of the weekend: Coachella it up!
Music is: Bomb. Lit. Hella crazy.
Sean Paul Ryan Frances Henriques (yes, that Sean Paul), 46
Hometown: Kingston, Jamaica
Occupation: Musician
First Coachella memory: That was 2017. At first it was Matoma — big, big, big vibe for him because he had dreamt about being here. And when he came off the stage, I saw him crying, bro, he was so happy that it all came together. So I felt good for the dude, you know what I mean?
Phrase of the weekend: [foreign language] Back against the wall, dirty style.
Music is: Life.
Darryl Davison, 30
Hometown: Stafford, Virginia
Occupation: Customer service
First Coachella memory: I seen Beyoncé last year.
Phrase of the weekend: Let’s get fucked up.
Music is: Life.
Yasmin Sia, 30
Hometown: London
Occupation: Sales and support manager
First Coachella memory: Amazing.
Phrase of the weekend: Loving life.
Music is: Love.
Olivia MacFarlane, “you guess”
Hometown: London
Occupation: Working with children
First Coachella memory:
Phrase of the weekend: Let’s get fucked up.
Music is: Life.
James Andre Vallance, 29
Hometown: Vancouver, Canada
Occupation: Lead keyboards (Bob Moses)
First Coachella memory: Playing the Gobi tent in 2016. It was great. First time here. I remember the crowd was amazing. We rocked it — laptop fell over, show almost fell apart, but other than that, we surived.
Phrase of the weekend: Just keep dancing.
Music is: My life.
Thomas Law Howle, 31
Hometown: Vancouver, Canada
Occupation: Musician (Bob Moses)
First Coachella memory: My first Coachella memory, to be honest, is Patrick Ball’s short skin-toned shorts. Getting cut off on the first weekend [in 2016] because we played too long.
Phrase of the weekend: “This is America!” ’cause we just saw Childish Gambino last night.
Music is: Really fun.
Kate Compton, 26
Hometown: Los Angeles
Occupation: Model
First Coachella memory: Riding on the Ferris wheel.
Phrase of the weekend: “I’m that bitch.”
Music is: My favorite.
The Greats, 29 “of course”
Hometown: Jersey, baby.
Occupation: Project manager; lover of life; project manager and teacher.
First Coachella Memory: Shots!
Phrase of the Weekend: Realize bitch. Give a fuck about it.
Music is: Life.
NNeka Ibeabuchi, 25
Hometown: Lagos, Nigeria. But I live in L.A. now.
Occupation: Model
First Coachella memory: My feet hurting from yesterday!
Phrase of the weekend: Yolo.
Music is: Peace.
Shanika Hope, 25
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama
Occupation: Disability rep
First Coachella memory: Definitely the Ferris wheel.
Phrase of the weekend: Get here when you can!
Music is: Enjoyable.
Keyonna Phillips, 27
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama
Occupation: Assistant manager at Forever 21
First Coachella memory: That mile walk that we had to take inside.
Phrase of the weekend: Young, dumb, and broke.
Music is: Everything.
Cheva Amoncursier, 24
Hometown: Sydney Australia
Occupation: Designer
First Coachella memory: Walking in, passing the Sahara stage.
Phrase of the weekend: Live your best life.
Music is: Life.
Gina Eldahmy, 30
Hometown: San Diego
Occupation: Influencer
First Coachella Memory: Paul McCartney.
Phrase of the Weekend: Boho.
Music is: Passion.
Anna Ebara, 25
Hometown: San Diego but from Tijuana
Occupation: Social media manager for an influencer
First Coachella memory: Blisters on my feet for walking so much.
Phrase of the weekend: Go all out.
Music is: Life.
Jai Thenone, 30
Hometown: Mumbai, India
Occupation: Interior designer
First Coachella memory: Walking in with my friends last year.
Phrase of the weekend: Just chill. Everybody just needs to chill. That’s what it is … yeah.
Music is: Everything.
Bianca Gracie, 27
Hometown: Bronx, New York
Occupation: Billboard music editor
First Coachella memory: Well, this is my first time. Seeing the Ferris wheel for the first time, because I always see it on Instagram. This is my dream festival, so to see it in real life, I was a little emotional. Just seeing that iconic feature made me pretty happy.
Phrase of the weekend: “Yolo.” Yeah, shoutout to Drake. I don’t know when I’ll be out here again, so I’m definitely not taking anything for granted.
Music is: Life.