Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival

People Smuggling Drugs Into Coachella 2013, From Shoe Stashes to Marijuana Bras

If you were at Coachella, chances are you experienced full-throttle security measures attempting to snatch any drugs. As usual, these included three tiers of security checkpoints, at which eventgoers were frisked and searched. It can all feel a bit personal, particularly considering that drugs and C ... More >>

Coachella 2013: The 13 Best Moments of Weekend Two

The Visual Stimulations for People Who Were High Coachella's art installations -- the ones designed to impress you while you're high, aka all of them -- were particularly impressive this year. There was the tesla coil, the crane that was formerly a flower but now a praying mantis, the giant floresce ... More >>

Coachella 2013: The 10 Worst Moments of Weekend Two

Native American Headdresses These have still not gone away. In fact, one particularly irritating woman (not pictured) wore a towering feather mohawk weave, a sartorial statement that combined racism with rave gaudiness. On Friday, she pushed her way in front of us, obstructing our and everyone else' ... More >>

Coachella 2013: Top Five EDM Moments

Amid the crazy sea of hipsters, hippies, old folks, pre-teens, and babies(!), Coachella's weekend one was also packed with EDM revelers ready to get their fist-pumping music fix. In fact, it seems that dance music lovers are growing in numbers so much that every other car in line at the campground ... More >>

Six Tips for Doing Drugs at Music Festivals and Not Getting Screwed by the Police

Hate to say it, but some of you at Coachella will be approached by police officers assuming you have drugs. Well, you just may, but guess what? You still have rights, man. Cameron Bowman is here to help! As a music festival lover and attorney at San Jose firm Valencia, Ippolito & Bowman, he's a ... More >>

Coachella 2013: An Insane Campsite Tour

The Coachella campgrounds are the Wild West of the festival. They are the sort of place you can imagine Hunter S. Thompson running around with his pants around his ankles. Drugs are more plentiful than food. And going to bed before 4 a.m. is considered an early night. Here are some of the most d ... More >>

Hottest Dancing Girls at Coachella 2013 in Animated GIF!

We've spent a lot of time this Coachella talking about the magnificent bros in attendance, but how about the fair and talented ladies? Per usual, they were everywhere, doing their thing like it wasn't a chicken wing, or something. In any case, here are the hottest dancing girls this year -- in GIF f ... More >>

Brochella! Seven Best T-Shirts the Dudes Are Wearing at Coachella 2013

The bros at Coachella 2013 are freaking bringing it! Sure, we all know about the women who wear just about nothing, but the guys are getting exceedingly creative, particularly when it comes to their funny t-shirts. So it's time to give the men some props for combining humor with style. Here are t ... More >>

New Order's Nostalgic Set at Coachella 2013

While over at the main stage the bulk of the Coachella crowd was enduring Phoenix with the hope that Daft Punk would come out -- they instead got R. Kelly -- a smaller but perhaps- more-enthusiastic crowd got a first-rate greatest hits set from New Order. See also: -Brochella! Seven Best T-Shirts t ... More >>

Coachella 2013's Five Worst Fashion Statements by Famous People

We all know Coachella is a textbook study on the desire to wear things that no human should. That typically applies to the crowd who come decked out in ill-fitting, barely-there costumes, spirit hoodies and every piece of tight neon attire imaginable. But artists on stage can commit some cringe-wort ... More >>

Coachella 2013: Five Worst Moments of Weekend One

Daft Punk Fake-Out Friday and Saturday, all anyone could talk about was if Daft Punk was going to show up during Phoenix's set. Why? Because we were fucking teased. On the main stage before the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a long commercial for their new album played, and then we found out that members of the ... More >>

Coachella 2013: Eight Best Moments of Weekend One

Karen O's Outfit Karen O's wardrobe on Friday night was bad ass. The Yeah Yeah Yeah's front woman appeared on the main stage in a technicolor cape draped over a suit that looked like it was made of mercury. The vibrant collage was topped with a headpiece that Liberace might have worn had he ever bee ... More >>

S.S. Coachella: Top Ten Fashion Moments!

Most people we met on the S.S. Coachella had never been on a cruise. Like us, they were probably not so sure what to pack or how to dress for three days of awkwardly saying "Hi!" to their favorite bands on a floating building at sea. But like the festival, the fans also brought their crazy desert ... More >>

Best and Worst of the S.S. Coachella

The S.S. Coachella returned safely Wednesday morning after a relatively wobbly night's sail across the Caribbean Sea. The voyage was a success. The boat didn't sink, and constant forced Purell-ing kept us all from contracting tropical illnesses or just the flu from our diseased shipmates. Three day ... More >>

S.S. Coachella, Day Two: Stalking Pulp's Jarvis Cocker, Plus Gaslamp Killer, El-P, Black Lips

No one's really interested in reading about the actual performances taking place on this musical ship of contradictions, the S.S. Coachella, amirite? Instead, you want a spoonful of gossipy anecdotal sugar, straight from the decks of this funny ship. As you might have seen, Pulp was the largest na ... More >>

S.S. Coachella Cruise, Day One: Father John Misty, Yeasayer, !!!, Pulp

The S.S. Coachella set out to sea rather unceremoniously. There weren't horns, not a streamer in sight, and no one smashed bottles against the body of the ship. But we'd all been aboard the Celebrity Silhouette for about four hours at that point and Father John Misty was launching our oceanic musi ... More >>

S.S. Coachella: Goin' to Nail Master Class with Sleigh Bells' Alexis Krauss

Fashion and music are the funniest-looking twin sisters. They're always together, always kinda sloppy. Sometimes they dress up like a swan or wear a big mouse head. Together, they're always looking to make a bold statement. If you follow Sleigh Bells' Alexis Krauss on Instagram (@KraussingAround), ... More >>

Girl Talk as Part of S.S. Coachella Cruise December 16 to 19 and December 19 to 23

Digital Domain: The Fall of a Movie Empire

Does the Looming '90s Revival Presage a Nirvana-Style Breakthrough?

Little Festival, Big Message

S.S. Coachella Cruise Causes Internet Uproar, Triggers Nazi Conspiracy Theories

See also "Coachella Music Cruise to Set Sail Out of Fort Lauderdale! See the Full 22-Act Lineup!" After announcing the inaugural S.S. Coachella cruise, festival organizers launched an official facebook.com/sscoachella page to further push the Coachella brand on giddy hipsters ready to drop anywhere ... More >>

Coachella Music Cruise to Set Sail Out of Miami Fort Lauderdale! See the Full 22-Act Lineup!

If a South Florida music fan wants three days of festival-quality indie rock, hip-hop, and other eclectic tuneage, does he or she have any other option besides buying a ticket aboard a cruise ship headed for international waters? Well, no ... With the abject failure of the 2011 Langerado reboot and ... More >>

EDC 2012: Coachella or Electric Daisy Carnival: Which One is Better?

See also: Our Complete Coachella Coverage Dance music is coming to an arena near you: Kaskade will be the first DJ ever to play Staples Center (July 27). And mainstream concert promoters such as Live Nation are diving into the electronic dance explosion. Electric Daisy Carnival, which is being hel ... More >>

The Worst of Coachella 2012

See LA Weekly's complete Coachella coverage -- the top moments from Friday, April 20, four highlights from Saturday, April 21, including Black Lips' Biggie Smalls "hologram, and the five best things from Sunday, April 22. It couldn't all be great performances, decent recreational drugs, and pleasan ... More >>

Top Ten Dance Moves at Coachella 2012 in Animated GIF!

See "Crossfade's Top Ten Dance Moves at Ultra Music Festival in Animated GIF!" -- plus LA Weekly's West Coast Sound for tons more Coachella 2012 coverage. At Coachella, folks come from all over the world to lose themselves in the music. They'll employ almost anything in this quest. But mostly drugs ... More >>

Coachella 2012: Snoop, Dre, Santigold, and Other Top Moments From Sunday, April 22

See LA Weekly's complete Coachella coverage -- plus the top moments from Friday, April 20 and four highlights from Saturday, April 21, including Black Lips' Biggie Smalls "hologram." By the third day of Coachella's second weekend -- the sixth and final day of this year's festival -- folks had more ... More >>

Freak Yo Friend and Nine Other Dirty Dances at Coachella 2012 in Animated GIF!

See the "Top Ten Dance Moves at Coachella 2012 in Animated GIF!" -- plus "Crossfade's Top Ten Dance Moves at Ultra Music Festival in Animated GIF!" During Coachella's second weekend, temperatures topped 100 degrees every day. Yet somehow folks were dancing even crazier! Most just stripped down an ... More >>

Tupac Hologram? Boring! Top Five Dead Musicians That Should Be Digitally Resurrected

We tried to warn you people back in January: Coachella Music Festival Totally Sucks. But, no ... You refused to heed our warning, shelled out the dough, plopped on your Spirit Hood, and spent the weekend getting ripped off by hippie dealers peddling research chemicals. And then you had to sit thro ... More >>

Rihanna Gets High at Coachella and Four Other Hip-Hop Heavyweights Who Love Weed

Music festivals and illicit drugs. It's no big deal to see someone roll up a fat blunt, get high, and force some dude to carry them on his shoulders at Coachella. But when a pop princess with a bangin' body does it, Media Takeout loses their shit. Over the weekend, "The most visited urban website ... More >>

Video: Tupac Rises From the Dead and Performs Live With Snoop Dogg at Coachella 2012

A resurrection of biblical proportions -- Tupac Amaru Shakur rises from the dead for a three-song set with his homie Snoop Dogg at Coachella 2012. In miraculous fashion, the unbelievable happened last night in the desert. In front of a massive Coachella crowd, a shirtless Tupac 3D hologram virtual ... More >>

Coachella 2012: Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and Other Top Moments From Sunday, April 15

See the video of Tupac Amaru Shakur's resurrection-slash-performance at Coachella; a six-point recap from Friday, April 13; and the top moments from Saturday, April 14 -- plus "Top Ten Awkward Coachella Dance Move GIFs." Wow, that was fast! In a whirlwind of top-notch performances from legends and ... More >>

Nate Dogg Becomes First Dead Musician to Co-Headline Major Music Festival

Headlined by the Black Keys, Radiohead, and west coast rap superstars Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, Coachella's back-to-back weekend stint at Indio, California's Empire Polo Ground kicks off tomorrow. While the festival will inevitably produce memorable moments, few will top the resurrection of Nate Dog ... More >>

Magnetic Man at Ultra Music Festival 2012: A 15-Photo Recap

​Magnetic Man is a collabo between three dubstep dudes from the UK -- DJs Benga, Skream, and Artwork -- who met at a record store in the '90s and have been raging ever since. They're all big-name DJs and producers in their own right. As Magnetic Man, though, Benga, Skream, and Artwork have a maj ... More >>

Top Five Second Saturday Art Walk Parties in Miami

​Art sucks. Get drunk. Music sucks. Dance harder. The lights are too bright. Turn them all off and let the bass drown your body till your heart rattles in your ribcage. Throw your phone against the ground, quit paying your internet bill, never trust a wireless modem, and check out these five Se ... More >>

Ultra Music Festival 2012's Ten Most Exciting Acts

​Coachella's lineup got announced on Monday. And personally, we were underwhelmed. But it got us thinking how excited we are for Ultra Music Festival 2012. Sure, Deadmau5 may think the number of headliner acts on the bill is horrible. But we have to disagree with you, Zimmerman. We haven't been ... More >>

Top Ten Reasons Coachella Music Festival Totally Sucks

That way to Suckville!​Festivals are sort of the Costco of live music. Take, for example, the upcoming 2012 edition of Coachella. If you purchased individual concert tickets for every artist on the lineup, the cost would far exceed the festival's more-or-less $400 fee. But when you visit Costco t ... More >>

Five Key Moments in the Chronology of Hipster Hop

Tyler the Creator: Is he the über-hipster hopper?​There is no escaping the young-and-vulgar West Coast hip-hop collective Odd Future. There was a brief incubation period on the internet. But ever since performing on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, the group has been everywhere: SXSW, Coachella, and ... More >>

Ceu at North Beach Bandshell April 29

Sexy Brazilian Songstress Céu Hits the Heineken TransAtlantic Festival 2011

Photo by Caroline Bittencourt​It doesn't take a connoisseur to know that Brazilian music offers some of the most soothing and sensual sounds you're ever likely to find. And we're not just talking "The Girl from Ipanema" here. From rhythmic samba to bossa nova, which has influenced some of our ow ... More >>

IDMA 2011 Nominees Announced and Crossfade Picks the Winners

James Murphy deserves an IDMA or two.​Every year, coinciding with Winter Music Conference, the International Dance Music Awards (IDMAs) recognizes those who make electronic music great. Sure, it's not exactly the Grammys or MTV's Video Music Awards. But dammit, it's a homegrown awards show and tha ... More >>

Five Coachella 2011 Headliners Absolutely Not Worth the Dehydration and Sunstroke

Kings of Leon ... Not worth it, dude.​Coachella announced its 2011 lineup a couple days ago. And while there's plenty of great bands listed in fine print (the Morning Benders, Tallest Man on Earth, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down) on the festival's e-flier, the headliners listed in bold read mor ... More >>

Black Kids Hit the Vagabond July 2

​It feels like only yesterday when Jacksonville locals Black Kids released their first single "I'm not going to teach your boyfriend how to dance with you" in April of '08. Since then, their debut album, Partie Traumatic, has reached worldwide acclaim, landing them the #5 spot of UK Album charts t ... More >>

Rumor: Ultra Music Festival Expanding to Three Days in 2011

Photo by Ian WitlenUltra may be expanding to a three-day bender.​Word is swirling around that Ultra Music Festival's organizers have decided to expand next year's festival to three days, presumably Friday through Sunday. Supposedly the decision was made after this year's sellout event.We've emaile ... More >>

Sisterhoodliness

Miami's DJ Craze To Play Coachella

​...Speaking of DJ Craze (check the previous post on this blog for an un-missable nugget of joy he passed along), Miami's finest DJ champ will head to the desert this summer to play Coachella for the first time. On the mega-festival's second day, Saturday, April 17, he'll take the stage with frequ ... More >>

Rumble on the Reservation

Beyond the Ultra World

The legendary Ultra Music Festival celebrates its 10th birthday.

Let Her Bang

The female sibling of Flosstradamus’s J2K comes into her own as a sharp-tongued MC

Musical Meltdown

It's sweltering outside, but there's still music worth hearing