Looking Back at 2009 Stagecoach Country Music Festival: Part One

Three years in a row of great weather and music at the Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio, California, organized by Golden Voice and AEG during the weekend of April 24 and 25, 2009. What amazes me are the organizational abilities (and tastes in Country Music) of Golden Voice/AEG to pull off something of this scale two weekends in a row. Whereas, Coachella has tent camping, Stagecoach is set up with RV camping. Both are temporary small cities with their own social networks supported by temporary telecommunications infrastructure by ATT and Verizon along with public computers and WiFi, cellphone recharging, breakfasts and Bloody Mary's, ice, portable showers, etc.


With regard to the great weather in the day and cool evenings requiring warmer clothing, a Coachella Valley newspaper ran a headline something like "God is Country Fan" after 3 years in a row of searing weather at the Coachella Music Festival which ran the prior weekend. The other major difference is the Stagecoach fans can bring their folding chairs into the Polo Grounds which are not allowed during Coachella. Finally, I want to give a shout out to Altmans RV Rentals in Carson for hanging in there during tough economic times to provide another hassle free and quality RV rental for Stagecoach living.Almost their entire rental fleet was at Stagecoach.

There is one picture I wish I had taken and that was the security poster with the picture of approximately 50 wristbands reflecting the different types of tickets, vendors, performers, staff, VIP status, press, photographers, over 21 to drink (which changed on the second day), camping, etc. I wouldn't be surprised to see the organizers go to some wristbands with RFID chips next year, as it may make it easier to figure out who is allowed in certain areas in low light situations, and it may also, help in getting people through certain gates that became gridlocked with people traffic. I do want to give cudo's to the California Fire Department for making sure that there were well marked and wide fire lanes that helped to create expressways thru different parts of the venue.


Without the blazing heat, there sunstroke wasn't an issue at Stagecoach for these ERT personnel.
However, one problem was that in the desire of creating an atmosphere of 40,000 around the Mane Stage, the vendors seemed to have been set up relatively too close. Three huge screens make it possible for all to enjoy the stage show from where-ever one sets up. Each day when the gates opened, there was a mad dash for those with general admission tickets to set up their lawn chairs right behind those with the higher priced tickets in their corralled space. We choose to set up near one of the firelanes so we could easily find out seats, once it got dark. The Stagecoach Mane Stage at night with 40,000 people sitting in their folding chairs watching the performers on 3 huge video screens, and several more when Kenny Chesney performed, made me think of a modern drive-in movie theater of the 21st Century. And the setting with the sun going down was always spectacular.
With spaces safely secured, we headed off for the BBQ competition to get our five tastes for $10. There were over 50 competitors, most of which were selling to the public. Number one selling item was pulled pork, followed by beef brisket, then spareribs, tri-tip, and chicken. I tried many different types of brisket, some with sauce and others with lots of smoke. To learn more of the rules of a Kansas BBQ competition, I was told to check out the official KC BBQ site. Picture below is of 3 generations from Ribs A Rockin, followed by some BBQ closeup, and one of the many colorful BBQ displays to entice you to sample.


A carry-over from earlier Stagecoach events was the mechanical bull riding that drew a crowd cheering on all that were brave enough to pit themselves against the bull with 50 people or more watching. New to Stagecoach this year was Sony's Play Station Sing Star Country music karaoke video competition with well over a hundred people crowded into the booth to see who sounded like they could make onto the next Country Star competition. Ironically, I met Paulina Bozek,the executive producer of SingStar at E3 several years ago, and I am sure she would have loved seeing this fully interactive Stagecoach social scene.
Then there were the children actitivities that were organized by the Girl Scout Council of San Gregonio. The kids were having a great time doing arts and crafts, dressing up, playing games, and listening to age-appropriate music. Back again for this year was the hay bale maze. Several too tall kids were seen cheating.What would be the West without horses, and so this year, the organizers brought in the Budweiser horses for a promotional stint. Here is one taking a morning stroll through one of the RV campgrounds.
Both Coachella and Stagecoach provided temporary weekend jobs for thousands working security, selling tshirts, working behind the scenes, running the campgrounds, and many other tasks that are required to put on a festival of this magnitude. Here is Sara who was one of such workers, selling Stagecoach souvenirs.And of course Stagecoach is all about the fans of Country Music. Here are Miranda Lambert's fans trying to get a little closer to the music.

Keep watching the ExperienceLA Blog for Stagecoach Part 2 that features performance and music pictures, as I close with pictures of me doing Twitter posts from the RV Campground Interenet and WiFi Tent.

2009 Stagecoach Weekend: Performance Times Released

Stagecoach, the Country Music Festival produced by Golden Voice and AEG out in the Coachella Valley, just released today the detailed 2009 performance schedule for Saturday and Sunday, April 25 and 26. It's been known for months the big name Country artists closing each night. This information from the Forum is not surprising. For the Mane Stage, closing Saturday night at 9:30 pm is Brad Paisley and closing Sunday night at 9:15 pm is Kenny Chesney.

The Stagecoach Country Music Festival, now in its third year, is a family friendly event with activities and music for all ages. I will again be attending and joining the temporary RV City created for the event. Tickets for the two-day event are still available in all price ranges and the long range weather forecast looks to be quite pleasant by Palm Spring standards.

Even if you are not a country music fan, and you missed last weekend's Coachella Music Festival, head out to the Coachella Valley to see what our downtown LA music producers and promoters have been doing with this event. All of the temporary performance art work should still be up, including the piece done by Downtown's Sci-Arc. Plus, if you are a foodie, this is a must attend event for the Barbeque Competition considered among the better ones in the entire USA. You will be in food heaven with what these BBQ purveyors are doing with beef, chicken, and of course, pork. Ten tastes for ten dollars and you are voting with your tastes.

I blogged about the 2 day Stagecoach Event in 2007 when we stayed in one of the local Coachella Valley hotels for 2 nights. Headliners returning in 2009 from 2007 include Kenny Chesney and Miranda Lambert. Since I had to eat dinner back in 2007, I missed Miranda Lambert's performance. This time I will be there, and have my dinner with me, for her Sunday, 6 pm performance.

Stagecoach for 2008 was a 3 day event, in which I blogged about staying in the RV campground and about the Eagles on opening night. Returning from 2008 is John Doe (from X) playing with the Knitters. The opening picture above was Riders of the Sage, a classic cowboy band, who were great. As always, Stagecoach will have the full range of country and western acts, but this year, no former American Idol stars. The cowboy bands can always be found on the Palomino Stage, while the Bluegrass bands can show up on the Mustang and Palomino Stages.

These festival promoters have introduced me to many new Country music bands over the last 2 years, and that's what's great about the two smaller stages under the tents. Plus, this year, I get the chance to see the Dukh's on the Palomino Stage on Sunday at 1:30 pm, a band that blends many different genres of Country and Celtic music. The gates open at noon with the first sets in the early afternoon at the covered stages, while the Mane Stage does not getting going until 2:30 pm on Saturday and 3 pm on Sunday. Thus, park your portable chair at the Mane Stage upon arrival, and explore the roots of Country Music at the other stages upon arrival. Or check out many of the vendors selling Western wear and other items of interest.

This is a great event to take pictures with your point and shoot digital camera on the smaller Palmino and Mustang Stages under the tents. You will not be allowed in the Festival with a digital SLRs, removal lenses, or video cameras. The official Stagecoach website hosts pictures uploaded from previous years, and you can find many Stagecoach pictures on Flickr. You can get great results with your point and shoot camera. Again No Digital SLRs (except for credentialed press photographers).

Here is a link to my Sony point and shoot Stagecoach picture set from 2007. These pictures provide an overall feel for all aspects of this Festival. For those with the more expensive tickets, there is a larger viewing area in front of the Mane Stage, which allows for decent camera range with a point and shoot camera. The crowds are quite large around the Mane Stage which features mammoth viewing screens on each side of the stage.

So mossey on over to the official Stagecoach website to get the lowdown on getting yourself to this great event. Watch the ExperienceLA blog for a recap on the event, especially if you passed on this year's event to find out what you missed. I am also especially looking forward to seeing Little Big Town again (whom I saw at the Nokia in Downtown LA) and Lady Antebellum for the first time.

-Curt Gibbs

LA Live Promotes Stagecoach 2008

Last November, the Nokia Theater at LA Live opened with the Eagles and the Dixie Chicks and were followed by Sugarland and Little Big Town. LA Live in Downtown Los Angeles which is owned and operated by AEG is also the co-promoter with Golden Voice of the Stagecoach Country and Western music festival set for the first weekend of May in Indio.


This European style festival with a family emphasis is out in the desert at the Empire Polo Grounds. It opens on Friday night May 2 and continues all day on Saturday and Sunday, May 3rd and 4th. If you were priced out of the market when the Eagles opened at the Nokia, Stagecoach offers the opportunity to see them and many other big named country and western influenced artists. Single day tickets are available along with those for the entire 3 day weekend. A year ago, I wrote about what the first year of Stagecoach was like.

As many followers of American Idol now know, the LA Live Nokia Theater will be the location of the final competion for season 7 switching from the Kodak Theater at Hollywood and Highland. A side note - In years past when the contestants went to Hollywood, they found themselves on Broadway at the Orpheum. Although this current season it was Pasadena, but the Orpheum hopes to have American Idol return next season. Anyway, this AEG American Idol connection is going to Stagecoach with Grammy award winner Carrie Underwood being one of the main headliners and also appearing will be Kelly Pickler who has been making a name for herself with her first CD and music videos.

Other major headliners include: Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw, The Judds, Trisha Yearwood, Dwight Yoakam, Big & Rich, Trace Adkins, Dierks Bentley, Taylor Swift and Gretchen Wilson. All of which will be on the big stage with crowds that will be around 25,000 people. But there are other stages that you can see many other lesser names who are well known in their own country western genre, and it is here that you can see them perform in more intimate settings. Several days before the event, Stagecoach will announce the exact time slot of the already announced day for each performer. Stagecoach will also benefit this year from an additional 20 acres that have been added to the site to create a more open feeling for Coachella Music Festival which is this weekend (needed for its much larger audience).

Just like last year, the Stagecoach festival is reaching out to families. Kids that are 14 and under are free to the festival. There are many activities geared for children, and there are water misting machines and shade as it might get really hot. They even have a camping area set up for families setting them up far enough away from the other 2 camping areas, so that sleep is possible. There is a separate fee for camping, and they have established a separate area for tent camping away from all of the RVs.

Nokia plaza at LA Live has featured a huge banner promoting Stagecoach. With AEG's cross promotion of venues, expect to see other Country and Western acts at the Nokia and other AEG venues, as they work to develop and promote the various forms of country music which in turn will help to grow the Stagecoach Festival in Indio and country music in Southern California. You can also look forward to the Grammy Museum in Fall 2008 at LA Live.