There were two scenes in this first weekend of Coachella – that is, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, the most famous pop music festival in the world, certainly the most social – which made people say that no, everything is not going well over there. For the public, for the organizers and for the direction of the show itself.
Damon Albarn's outburst
The first concerns the outburst of Damon Albarnwho criticized the spectators for their “apathy”, that is, for remaining immobile in front of his team's performance Blur with Girls & Boys. Now: Girls & Boys It's a classic Nineties Britpop and a pillar of shared culture, and the chill in front of a song like this, rather than a lack of cultureknows of sincere disinterest. Simply, most of the people there – actually very young Americans, in a country where the memory of Blur is not so vivid – perhaps weren't attracted to that type of music, even if it was gigantic; or rather, maybe she's not really into music in general, and not there for her. It's there for more.
Grimes' fool
And this brings us to the second scene, a dystopia style Black Mirror in which everything is performance, and which has the protagonist pop star Grimeseverywhere defined as «Elon Musk's ex-girlfriend». Which, of course, is reductive compared to his career as a pop star. But the point is that we are talking about a pop star, and instead at Coachella she presented herself as djgiving life to a disastrous performance ever since the program he wanted to rely on to mix the songs raised the white flag. Result: global fool (the festival is live on YouTube, it can also be seen from Italy), and an apology to the public with the adjoining admission of «not being capable» otherwise. Technical problems exist, but DJing is a job that requires study, and anyone who is prepared does not need to resort to certain shortcuts, as she does. It's safe for Grimes to capitalize on his name and brand by improvising as a DJ; less so, that such a festival invites her to play, effectively favoring form over substance. Otherwise the doubt arises: but it will not be indicative of how Coachella is now a empty shell? Eh, yes a little.
The decline
This criticism is not new, but it is as if two such dramatic and symbolic facts have shown what the festival has transformed into today. Because the truth obviously lies in the middle, especially for those who have never explored what the festival really was and have been dazzled by the social spotlight it has had in recent years, in which it has ended up everywhere and has been described, more or less, as marvelous, an earthly paradise. Coachella has existed since 1999, it has always been held in a sort of desert 200 kilometers from Los Angeles on two consecutive weekends of spring break (last year and the one to come, in this year's case) and after an initial difficulty it truly represented excellence. In Italy, where for various reasons it is impossible to stage such events, it is difficult to imagine, but for a while it was an oasis in which to take refuge and listen to great concerts – in terms of names, dimensions, everything – capable of combining more snobbish tastes of critics and others of the general public.
There decadence according to many it began in recent years: on the one hand the organizers couldn't stand it the growing turnout of the public (with tickets that now have a base of five hundred dollars, difficulty in parking and getting food and the rest), and on the other hand they have worked more and more and better on communication And the image of the festival. At the expense, however, of substance.
More form, less substance
The consequence is paradoxical: there have been Tremendous performances recently (that of Frank Ocean, in 2023, still screams revenge, it almost seemed to sing unwillingly), and the lineup this year is even weak as a decoy, with few valid names in person (Doja Cat, Tyler, The Creator) and names that aren't up to par (Lana Del Reywhich is never flawless on stage) or truly emblematic, like that of Grimes; yet, if you scroll through social media, it's everywhere, it is the place to be.
And here comes the organization, which pushed to make it a meeting place for influencers And content creator of all kinds, that riding FOMO and neo-hippie aesthetic (the ritual outfits are in the public domain) have made it a place to create content and advertise with the complicity of the festival itself. They describe it as indispensable and beautiful, allowing themselves to be admired by the majority of people who cannot afford it and stay at home; alongside, the context becomes more and more virtual, digitally oriented. The one who loses out is musicwhich has had a collapse in terms of quality, but also the experience itself, which is the fulcrum of a festival: the influencer-friendly turn has made it, in fact, a great scenography, unlivable for mere mortals. And this isn't there and won't be on Instagram, of course, but just read the bullshit some newspapers (Guardian above all) to understand how things are.
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And the other festivals?
Clearly it's a problem that affects all the big pop festivals in the world, from Primavera Sound Of Barcelona at the Sziget Of Budapest, in which the more or less nourished niche of enthusiasts has had to give way to an occasional audience, attracted by the desire to be fed by various social networks and influencers, and which for those who work there means more or less money; but at least, in these cases, the various organizers have tried not to completely go along with the current, not to sell out, or at least to keep their foot in both shoes, protecting both the concerts and the experiential side, so at certain events the everything is more than the sum of their lives. At Coachella, however, the new wave has made a massacre, and risks having nothing left, apart from the stories. And for us at home there is only one lesson left: we don't believe everything the influencers say, the world is full of beautiful, less highlighted festivals; and if we had spent five hundred dollars to stay there, well, maybe we would have regretted it.
Source: Vanity Fair
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
