Coachella 2019: Everything to Know From the Most-Anticipated Performers to the Hottest Parties
Festival-goers are gearing up for a big weekend in the desert.
The annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival kicks off on Friday and music lovers, celebrities and fashion mavens alike will descend upon Indio, California for a weekend full of amazing performances and even better parties.
From this year’s most anticipated sets to the hottest parties that are sure to attract a ton of famous faces, here’s a guide for making the most out of the weekend.
When is Coachella?
The music festival takes place over two weekends, April 12 to 14 and April 19 to 21.
Who are the biggest performers?
Childish Gambino, Ariana Grande and Tame Impala are set to headline this year’s desert fest. Childish Gambino (né Donald Glover) will headline Friday, April 12 and 19, Tame Impala on Saturday, April 12 and 20, while Grande is scheduled for Sunday, April 14 and 21.
Aside from Australian psychedelic rock band Tame Impala, other international bands including K-Pop group BLACKPINK and Mexican band Los Tucanes De Tijuana are also set to perform.
In addition, Kacey Musgraves, Janelle Monáe, Bad Bunny, Khalid, Ella Mai, H.E.R., Kid Cudi and Pusha T will perform. PEOPLE’s reigning Sexiest Man Alive, Idris Elba, is also slated on the lineup.
Solange Knowles, who was previously scheduled to perform, dropped out of the lineup this week due to “major production delays.”
What is Sunday Service?
Last month, Kanye West announced on a plane that he was bringing a special service to Indio, California, during weekend two of Coachella. The video was tweeted out by his wife Kim Kardashian West and the festival also confirmed the service on their Twitter account.
“Attention 737 passengers, we’d like to make an announcement that we just booked another show,” West said in the video. “We will be doing Sunday Service sunrise at Coachella.”
Though West initially said the invite-only service would begin at sunrise, Kardashian West confirmed the event is actually beginning at 9 a.m.
RELATED: Kim Kardashian Says Kanye West’s Sunday Services Are a ‘Healing Experience’: ‘There’s No Preaching’
What else is happening on the festival grounds?
Before guests even hit the festival grounds, Yves Saint Laurent Beauté will be hosting their first-ever Coachella Pop-Up Shop for those taking the trip to Palm Springs. Located on the highway route to the festival at 68899 A Street, Cathedral City, California, the pop-up will mimic a refuel station (but entirely focused on beauty).
Also en route to Palm Springs, BMW will host their #RoadtoCoachella Fan Pitstop Party where fans will get a chance to meet Coachella performer Khalid during the event from 12-5 p.m.
While on site at the festival, eligible card members and their guests can seek respite from the sun inside Amex’s exclusive Card Member Lounge, which will be equipped with charging stations, a bar, games and a station to get nail art done by celebrity nail artist Britney Tokyo. With a tap of the Coachella wristband, eligible card members will also get a complimentary Ferris wheel ride and monogram embroidery on any one item from the Coachella boutique.
Across the grounds near the Gobi stage, festival-goers can refuel at Peet’s Cold Brew Tap Room. Those wanting to sip on something a little stronger can visit the Absolut Planet tent located between the main stage and outdoor theatre to recharge and grab Absolut Grapefruit cocktails.
This year, YouTube Music is hosting the backstage Artist Lounge where they’ll be streaming sets from the festival and doing interviews with artists.
RELATED: 22 Fashionable Music Festival Essentials for Coachella and Beyond
For those who may have forgotten some key essentials for the festival, Amazon customers can have any of their needs shipped to an Amazon Locker right inside the gates of Coachella. During checkout, customers can select one of the Amazon Lockers named “Coachella” within zip code 92201 as their shipping address at no additional cost. Once their package is ready for pickup, customers will receive an e-mail with a barcode that they’ll use to pick up their package from one of the lockers located within the venue.
Los Angeles-based consulting agency, woman., has officially launched soteria., which is the first comprehensive safe-space initiative strategically designed for large-scale cultural gatherings and festivals to coincide with Sexual Assault Awareness Month. soteria. is a designated sanctuary space that will provide a suite of services that ensure the safety and well-being of anyone experiencing trauma triggers, harassment, misconduct, sexual assault and needing skilled compassionate care at the festival. In partnership with Goldenvoice, the team will be co-launching the ‘every one‘ initiative at Coachella and Stagecoach to provide guests in need with 24 hour access to clinicians and quiet spaces. Additionally, there will be highly trained ambassador teams deployed on the ground to offer assistance, de-escalation and safe passage. The ambassadors will be identifiable by the teal t-shirts with the ‘every one’ logo they’ll be wearing.
On Friday and Saturday, NYX Professional Makeup (the official beauty sponsor of Coachella) will host their onsite activation, Glitter Trip, from Friday to Sunday.
At the Heineken House, guests can enjoy a beer garden with games while enjoying sets from artists like Jauz on Friday, The Roots on Saturday and Ghastly on Sunday.
What are the most exclusive parties?
Coachella is about more than just the music. Whether you prefer to lay low at pool parties or dance until the sun rises, there’s an option for everyone when it comes to the weekend’s biggest events. As a tip for those planning on party-hopping, ride share services like Lyft are definitely the way to go.
Thursday, April 11:
Donald Glover’s new film, Guava Island, will premiere at Coachella on Thursday night, just a day before his alter-ego Childish Gambino headlines the festival. The film will premiere in a specially constructed theater built for the event and will continue to screen on the Coachella grounds until the end of the festival. Amazon will also make it free to stream until 6 p.m. PT Saturday at http://www.amazon.com/guavaisland, after which time it will be available only for Amazon Prime Video customers. Guava Island will also stream on Twitch.tv/primevideo at 5pm PT on Saturday for free as well.
Ugg is also partnering with Desert X and artist Ivan Argote for a celebration of art and music to kick off the festival weekend.
Friday, April 12:
Fashionistas will be flocking over to Rachel Zoe and The Zoe Report‘s fifth annual “ZOEasis.” This year, guests will be welcomed into Zoe’s Saint-Tropez-inspired soirée under the desert sky with sips of Sunseeker rosé and light bites while taking a stroll down the boardwalk, browsing the marketplace and getting pampered at the Sephora Beauty Lounge. Paramount Pictures’ upcoming Elton John biopic, Rocketman (in theaters May 31), will host an immersive photo experience and creation station for guests. Additionally, Swatch will launch their new Energy Boost Collection, Zappos will present their Style Room offering curated product displays and fashion sketches, Kendra Scott will offer their famed custom Jewelry experience called the Color Bar for guests to design a piece to take home and rideshare parter Lyft will provide attendees with transportation to and from the event. Set to join Zoe herself are Victoria Justice, Madison Grace, Kiernan Shipka, Alisha Boe, Paris Berelc and Chloe Bennet.
Meanwhile, husband-and-wife duo Evan Ross and Ashlee Simpson Ross will be hosting a pool party to celebrate the launch of Ciroc Summer Watermelon at the Ciroc Summer House at the Korakia Pensone until the evening.
At the BeGlammed Sunset Soirée hosted by model Shaun Ross, celebrities and influencers will have the opportunity to experience complimentary services like ear-piercing, hair-braiding, a lash and lip bar, a makeup counter, manicures, temporary tattoos, hand massages, a glitter bar, jewelry counter and charging station while also enjoying light bites and signature cocktails.
Just around the corner, Day Club will be keeping the party going at the Hilton Palm Springs starting at 12 p.m.
After hours, #REVOLVEfestival will be partnering with TAO Group once again for their exclusive, invite-only party Desert Nights. Desert Nights has been the go-to party for A-list festival attendees including The Weeknd, Nicki Minaj, Chance The Rapper, Iggy Azalea, Kourtney Kardashian, Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner in the past. Guests lucky enough to make the list will enjoy specialty Casamigos tequila and mezcal cocktails, including the Casamigos margarita and Jalisco mule, while enjoying surprise musical performances.
At the HITS Desert Horse Park, Rhonda INTL Queen of the Desert will be keeping the momentum with DJ and fashion designer Virgil Abloh and DJ Nina Kraviz.
Continuing into the wee, wee hours of the night, the h.wood Group’s Poppy Nightclub is teaming up with Google to present their exclusive party, Midnight Bloom.
Saturday, April 13:
On Saturday, the record labels behind some of the weekend’s biggest performers will host their exclusive soirées. Republic Records will be taking over the Zenyara Estate for a day party featuring performances by Republic artists like Blueface, Jacquees, Kiana Ledé, Jeremy Zucker and DJ SG Lewis. Over at Interscope Record’s Coachella House, guests will chow down on some much-needed food from chef Stephanie Izard and Girl & the Goat.
Saturday also marks the start of #REVOLVEfestival 2019, which runs through Sunday at a private location in Palm Springs. Scheduled to perform on Saturday are SZA, Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Zacari Reason and 2 Chainz. And if the stellar lineup isn’t enough, guests can also enjoy tequila and cocktails provided by JAJA Tequila, treat themselves to the #REVOLVEbeauty and merchandise tents, chill out at Virgin Voyages’ beach lounge or in KAOS’ Cabanas presented by Palms Las Vegas, enjoy soda from Schutz’s soda shop and a Cotton (as in The Fabric of Our Lives) pop-up shop. Later on in the evening, #REVOLVEfestival will also host their top-secret Superdown Night Party.
At the Sands Hotel and Spa, Levi’s will host their Party in the Desert with DJ sets by Snoop Dogg, St. Vicious and Yaeji.
Lucky Brand will take over the Arrive Hotel for their third annual Desert Jam in collaboration with Rolling Stone Live from 12-6 p.m. The event will feature live performances by X Ambassadors, Jax Jones, Ama Lou, Drax Project and Palm Springsteen.
As for Bootsy Bellows’ annual daytime Coachella celebration, it never disappoints. Sponsored by McDonalds and PacSun, the party will feature performances by Rich the Kid and Roddy Ricch. Additionally, DJs Devin Lucien, Fred Matters and Siobhan Bell will keep the party going.
The owner of 1OAK LA will team up with Velocity Black, V Magazine and NANA JUDY to host a weekend of pool parties featuring performances by Miguel and Charlotte Lawrence at their Desert Beach Club on Saturday and Sunday. Among those expected to make an appearance are Madonna, Katy Perry, Kanye West, Post Malone, Rihanna, Hailey Baldwin, Alessandra Ambrosio and Taylor Hill.
American Express will host their Platinum House at the Avalon Palm Springs open exclusively for Platinum Card Members from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Platinum House will come complete with complimentary food and drinks, live DJ sets, a first look at Platinum partner Equinox’s reimagined spa experience called EQX Body Lab, FriendWithYou’s presentation of an immersive experience entitled Follow Me, experiences curated by Platinum Collective Members and a bungalow dedicated to networking and hosting meetings.
For Grande fans wanting to represent in the crowd before her headlining set, American Express will have exclusive merchandise made in partnership with the pop star available in their Member Lounge located between the Gobi and Mojave tents. The limited-edition crewneck that will be available features the lyrics “Black card is my business card” from Grande’s hit “
.”
Create & Cultivate is hosting a pop up in Palm Springs on Saturday for a day filled with music, food, drinks, beauty treatments and panel discussions with female leaders in business, including keynote speakers and Tone It Up co-founders Katrina Scott and Karena Dawn. Also scheduled to speak are Good Place star Jameela Jamil and model Rocky Barnes.
Returning for its tenth consecutive year is Neon Carnival (presented by Levi’s Brand, Bondi Sands and the new film POKÉMON Detective Pikachu), an outdoor dance party complete with amusement park rides and games, including bumper cars and a giant Ferris wheel. In the past, celebrities like Rihanna, Leonardo DiCaprio and Usher have all been seen partying late into the night at the Brent Bolthouse founded event with their pals.
In honor of its 10-year anniversary, Neon Carnival will extend for the first time to “weekend three,” aka the Stagecoach Festival.
Moschino designer Jeremy Scott will host a star-studded crowd at his annual Palm Springs Desert Party with The Sims to celebrate the launch of a new capsule collection inspired by the life simulation video game franchise. The collection features an array of ready-to-wear Moschino items and accessories featuring pixelated designs.
Sunday, April 14:
The parties will continue at the American Express Platinum House and #REVOLVEfestival on the last day of the Coachella. Scheduled to perform during #REVOLVEfestival’s Sunday lineup are Migos rapper Offset, Tyga, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, Rich The Kid, Saweetie and Saint jHN.
On the festival grounds, singer Billie Eilish will be hosting a vegan cooking class as a part of Marriott Bonvoy Moments, which is exclusive to Marriott Bonvoy loyalty members.
After rapper YG takes the stage at Coachella, he’ll be hosting an after party available to the public with 4HUNNID.
