It’s the weekend of April 10th and the city is unusually empty. Traffic has migrated onto the 10 East Freeway and people have traded the 80 degrees of Los Angeles for the heat of the desert. It’s happened before you’ve even realized: Coachella is here!
For those lucky souls that are preparing to head to one of the world’s most popular music festivals, you’ve probably been thinking about Coachella for months on end and packed your suitcase to the brim with outfit potentials. But before you go, make sure you read up on these last minute tips so you can fully embrace the magic of Coachella.
If you are worried about not getting enough water, bring a Camelbak.
Going to Coachella is almost in line with going into a journey into the middle of nowhere. Prepare for the worst possible situation. Thankfully, the worst thing you might be expect at Coachella is that the line for the refillable water station will be way too long (and it will be) and you aren’t willing to spend $3 on a water bottle. Good way to beat that scenario? Bringing along a Camelbak guarantees you a bigger amount of water so you don’t have to refill it as often.
Booties and sandals are cute but sneakers will save your feet.
Fashion and Coachella go together like peanut butter and jelly but first things first, you are at a music festival. A very big one. With lots of walking and standing. After three days of going from stage to stage, pushing and shoving people to get to the front of Florence and the Machine, waiting in line for food, and so much more, you’ll want to be in the comfiest shoes possible.
Narcissists, leave your selfie stick at home.
Yep. You read it. On Coachella’s list of things that aren’t allowed at the festival, selfie sticks are included with blankets, drones, knives, laser pointers, and refunds. Another kicker was what they cross listed selfie sticks with: narcissism. Coachella is trying to send a subtle message to forget about how you look and enjoy being present in the moment. Not to mention you might hit someone with the stick…
Mo’ cell phones, mo’ problems.
Trying to call your friend during St. Vincent’s “Digital Witness?” You can try, but the odds are that you’ll have no cell service. Coachella becomes a big service-less pit once all the people enter the vicinity. Combat this struggle by creating a meeting spot with your friends incase of an emergency. What if your phone is about to die? Thankfully, there are cell phone charging stations scattered through the festival grounds. Be sure to go when you have free time between sets because it will be a long wait just to get an outlet.