By KAYLA DEMICCO
Staff Writer
What do you get when you put together a bunch of rich millennials, even richer celebrities, problematic entrepreneurs, and big musicians? The answer is: Coachella.
Coachella isn’t a concept that too many of us would understand as we live on the east coast. But at least we have Rose Rock.
Coachella owner, Philip Anschutz, is being talked about a lot lately since it was revealed early this year that he is overly problematic by supporting people tied with the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). The Huffington Post found out that his business, “Anschutz Corporation,” was deemed “enemy of equality,” as he is in partnership with ADF, a religious hate group started in the nineties. Freedom For All Americans, an anti-discrimination group, set up an infographic on thinglink.com to demonstrate all the connections with the ADF. Freedom For All Americans were able to find out that in 34 states, there are over 200 anti-LGBTQ+ bills. All of the people and companies tied to the ADF have spent over a whopping 150 million dollars annually towards anti-LGBTQ+ groups.
Anschutz himself has donated large sums of money towards other anti-reform/conservative groups such as Family Research Council, the ADF, and the National Christian Foundation. It’s ironic for him to be anti-LGBTQ+ when former Disney star, Hayley Kiyoko, a gay artist, had performed over the past couple of weekends. When he was called out on his funds going to towards hate groups, he made a statement to Fader saying that it was all “fake news” and “garbage.”
One thing I wonder about is if the main headliner, Beyonce knows about this. Beyonce is incredibly well known for being an activist for furthering gun control in America. People all over the Internet have been saying that Beyonce practically stole the entire show with her iconic performance.
Her performance was called “historic” by many as she is the first black woman to headline the music festival. The New Yorker said her performance was “an education in black expression” as she incorporated “musical history” from different parts all over the world that “continues to shape her.” It’s speculated that she made her performance more cultural than ever due to her knowledge on Anschutz.
Another thing that Beyonce did that was unique, was the fact that made sure that her entire performance was live streamed. Variety found out from a representative from her that the livestream was only a one time thing and unlike other artists, a 60 day window won’t be made available.
Coachella overall racked up an outstanding number of 41 million live views and specifically 458,000 viewers from all over the world. Thus, making Beyonce’s performance the “most viewed live musical festival on YouTube.” Yes, viewers at home won’t be able to have the same experience as the people there, but at least they can say that they saw Beyonce live.
While the idea of being able to see a bunch of amazing artists perform within one space is cool, the cost of attending the festival are out of this world. While an average entry ticket ranges around $400, it can also go as high as $1,000 for VIP passes. But the costs don’t stop there. TIME breaks down all of the other extra necessary things that people will have to spend at the festival. If one doesn’t live in California, they’ll have to spend over $200 on a plane ticket to LAX, depending on where on in the country you’re flying in from.
Then there’s the expense of sleeping somewhere overnight which could cost over $1,000 if one is looking for something close to Empire Polo Club and that is somewhat decent. Also if you’re not able to snag an on-site camping pass for over $100, then the hotel is your best bet. Transportation to and from Empire Polo Club is another costly expense at almost $100 for a shuttle.
Attending Coachella might be a dream for someone, but at what cost will it take them? Do they really want to give their money to a problematic businessman or are they will to pay for the experience?
