Both events slated for April in Coachella Valley
Officials with promoter Goldenvoice Entertainment are in talks to move Coachella and Stagecoach Festivals back six months to October 2020 over growing concerns of the coronavirus outbreak. Billboard reports that organizers should know the fate of both spring festivals, which take place in Indio, CA every April, within the next 48 hours. If it happens, Coachella would be pushed to the weekends of October 9th and 16th with Stagecoach to the October 23rd weekend.
The AEG-owned promoter is considering the move in fear that Riverside County officials will pull the permits for both events which bring more than a half of million fans to the area throughout the three weekends as more cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in the county over the weekend. Agents began working on the move Sunday night.
Billboard states that if enough major artists can commit to the move, the shows will likely move back six months. However, it’ll be a huge undertaking as artists are often on tour during the fall, and aren’t likely to get a commitment from every one. It also contracts hundreds of vendors and tens of thousands of employees for the three weeks.
This year’s Coachella headliners include Frank Ocean, Rage Against the Machine and Travis Scott with Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood and Eric Church helming Stagecoach.
If the moves can’t be made, both festivals are likely to be canceled this year. If so, this would follow SXSW’s cancelation on Friday (March 6) which was pulled by the mayor of Austin in fears the virus would spread in a mass gathering situation. SXSW organizers aren’t sure if they’ll be able to recoup many, if any, costs associated with the cancelation as their insurance doesn’t cover global pandemics. They are unsure of their future as of this writing.