For those who don’t really follow festival culture that closely, Coachella is basically a huge annual music and arts festival held in the California desert, where artists from completely different genres come together to perform over two weekends. It’s known for big performances, art installations, and honestly, the kind of crowd that makes headlines almost as much as the music does.
This year, like every year, it completely took over social media. You probably saw Justin Bieber all over your feed again, just casually vibing with the crowd, singing along, looking like he was having fun without really trying too hard, which people found weirdly refreshing. At the same time, Sabrina Carpenter had one of those sets that people kept reposting, with the outfits, the staging, the whole performance feeling very thought-out and designed to be remembered.
And honestly, all of that was fun to watch. It felt like a break from everything else going on in the world. But that’s not really what this article is about. What’s more interesting is how Coachella itself has changed over time, and what it represents now.
Origins: Where It All Started
Coachella didn’t actually start as this big glamorous thing. Its roots are kind of the opposite of what it looks like today.
Back in the 90s, Pearl Jam had a major issue with Ticketmaster because of how much control the company had over ticket pricing and venues. Instead of just going along with it, they decided to perform at the Empire Polo Club in California, avoiding the usual system altogether.
That decision didn’t immediately create Coachella, but it kind of set the tone. A few years later, in 1999, the first official Coachella festival happened at the same location. It didn’t have a smooth start though. There was no festival in 2000, and when it came back in 2001, it was just a one-day event. By 2002, it became a two-day festival.
So yeah, the beginning was a bit unstable, which is funny considering how huge it is now. Rocky start, quite literally.
The Turning Point
Things really started to shift in the early 2000s. By 2004, Coachella had its first sell-out, which basically meant it was no longer just a niche music festival.
After that, it slowly became the place to be seen. Celebrities like Vanessa Hudgens and Kendall Jenner started showing up, and suddenly people weren’t just talking about the music, they were talking about who attended, what they wore, and how they looked.
This is also when the whole “Coachella aesthetic” started becoming a thing. The boho outfits, the boots, the accessories, everything started looking a certain way, like people were dressing for a theme rather than just a festival. It stopped feeling random and started feeling curated.
From Festival to Influencer Playground
At some point, the focus shifted without anyone really announcing it.
Coachella is still about music, obviously, but it’s also very clearly about content now. Influencers go there with brand deals, planned outfits, and full schedules of what they’re going to post. It’s not just about enjoying the festival, it’s about documenting it in a way that performs well online.
And then there’s the cost. Earlier, tickets were relatively affordable, somewhere around $50 a day. Now, if you actually want to attend properly, you’re looking at tickets, travel, stay, outfits, and everything else adding up to something that feels like a luxury trip. For a lot of people, it’s just not realistic anymore unless they’re sponsored or have that kind of money.
So, the whole idea of it being accessible has kind of disappeared along the way.
Social Media vs Reality
If you only see Coachella through Instagram or TikTok, it looks perfect.
Everything is shot in golden light, people look effortless, the Ferris wheel is always in the background, and it all feels very dreamy. But when you actually hear people talk about being there, it’s a different story.
It’s extremely hot. There’s dust everywhere. You’re walking a lot, standing a lot, waiting in long lines just to get water or food. Phones overheat, people get exhausted, and it’s not always as smooth as it looks online.
That doesn’t mean it’s bad, it just means the version we see is edited. You’re only getting the best moments, not the full experience.
Sustainability and Fast Fashion
Another thing that doesn’t get talked about enough is how much waste is created around the festival.
Outfits are a huge part of Coachella culture now, but a lot of those clothes are worn once, posted online, and then never seen again. Fast fashion brands benefit a lot from this cycle because people are constantly buying new looks just for the weekend.
On top of that, there’s the general environmental impact. It’s a massive event in the middle of a desert, which already raises questions about resources, waste, and sustainability.
So, while it promotes creativity and self-expression, it also contributes to overconsumption in a pretty visible way.
Why We Still Care (and Maybe Always Will)
Even with all of this, people still care about Coachella. A lot.
It’s easy to criticise it for being too commercial, too expensive, too focused on influencers, but at the same time, people are still watching the performances, still following updates, still talking about it every year. That hasn’t changed.
Part of it is the music. Big artists still perform there, and those moments still matter. Part of it is the cultural relevance, because Coachella sets trends, whether it’s fashion, music, or just what ends up on your feed. And part of it, honestly, is just FOMO.
You can roll your eyes at it and still want to experience it.
Maybe the more honest way to look at Coachella is to accept that it’s both things at once. It’s still a space for music and art, but it’s also a very polished, commercialised version of that space. It hasn’t completely lost what it started as, but it has definitely moved away from it.
And maybe instead of pretending it’s one or the other, it makes more sense to just question it, talk about it, and expect better from something that clearly still holds so much attention.