When will Coachella, Stagecoach return? Tour dates could offer clues

Popular music festivals such as Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Riot Fest and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival are returning in the summer and fall; however, questions still remain about the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach. 

Some fans have been holding out hope that the festivals, which take place at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, might be rescheduled for the fall. But Indio Director of Communications and Marketing Brooke Beare said this week that Los Angeles-based producer Goldenvoice has not reached out to the city about October dates.

"We are all hopeful to see them back as soon as is safely possible," Beare said. 

The Desert Sun reached out to Goldenvoice for comment.

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Both festivals were canceled in January due to COVID-19; no new dates were announced. Indio has a contract with Goldenvoice that allows five concerts each year. 

Coachella, typically held during the second and third weekends of April and followed by Stagecoach, was initially pushed to October 2020 before being canceled again.

As live music begins to return across the country, recently announced tours could offer clues as to when both festivals will return. 

Rage leaves April 2022 dates open

Rage Against the Machine was previously announced as a headliner for Coachella 2020. The band has since posted rescheduled tour dates for its "Public Service Announcement Tour" in 2022.

The second and third weekends of April are open between stops in Arizona and Oakland. 

Eric Church, Carrie Underwood also available

Stagecoach 2020 headliners Eric Church and Carrie Underwood also show open dates in their upcoming tours through April 2022. 

Church has no scheduled shows April 16-29.

Underwood has a handful of shows scheduled in the summer and fall before she starts her "Reflection" residency in December at the Theatre at Resorts World in Las Vegas, Nevada. But it ends in early April. 

Some festivals on tap for summer, fall

As festivals resume amid declining COVID-19 infection rates and increasing vaccinations, lineups are a mixture of prominent modern artists and older artists. 

Lollapalooza: Happening from July 29 to Aug. 1 at Grant Park in Chicago, the festival includes headliners such as the rock band Foo Fighters, rappers Post Malone and Tyler the Creator, and pop star Miley Cyrus.

It also features the nu metal band Limp Bizkit, whose new album "Stampede of the Disco Elephants" has been in production over a decade. Classic rock band Journey, on its third lead vocalist since Steve Perry's departure in 1998, will also perform. 

Lollapalooza's lineup is rounded out by Angels and Airwaves, featuring former Blink-182 guitarist and lead vocalist Tom DeLonge, Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard, and pop punk band Jimmy Eat World.  

Riot Fest: This festival at Douglass Park in Chicago will be held Sept. 17-19 and feature rock, hip-hop, alternative and punk rock. This year's edition will include industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, alternative rock bands Smashing Pumpkins and Pixies, and reunited rock band Faith No More. 

Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival: Foo Fighters, Tyler the Creator and Lizzo will headline this concert in Manchester, Tennessee. Other notable acts are Australian rock band Tame Impala as well as rapper Megan Thee Stallion and pop artist Lana Del Rey, who were both scheduled to play Coachella 2020. 

Goldenvoice promoting other shows

As fans anxiously await new dates for Coachella, Goldenvoice is promoting shows such as The Who frontman Roger Daltrey at the Santa Barbara Bowl, Future Islands at The Greek Theatre and Modest Mouse at The Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles. 

Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett is also opening a record store called Record Safari Los Angeles in the Atwater Village neighborhood at a former recording studio, The Los Angeles Business Journal reported Monday.

Coachella and Stagecoach have brought tens of thousands of people to the California desert each spring, filling hotels and boosting the local economy. Combined, they are believed to generate at least $400 million in local economic impact.

In 2019, the city of Indio received about $3 million from the Coachella music festival, around two-thirds of which was from ticket surcharges and another $1 million from associated sales tax revenues and transient occupancy taxes from campers.

Desert Sun reporter Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @bblueskye. Support local news, subscribe to The Desert Sun.