Coachella postponed until October due to coronavirus concerns


The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach, two major musical events held every April in Indio, California, are being rescheduled amid coronavirus concerns.
Concert promoter Goldenvoice announced the postponements on Tuesday. Coachella will now take place on the weekends of Oct. 9 and 16, with Stagecoach following on the weekend of Oct. 23. Goldenvoice said the festivals were rescheduled "at the direction of the County of Riverside and local health authorities." They did not say anything about the lineups changing; Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott, and Frank Ocean are this year's Coachella headliners, with Carrie Underwood, Lil Nas X, and Thomas Rhett performing at Stagecoach.
Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser ordered the postponements, saying in a statement, "This decision was not taken lightly or without consideration of many factors. No doubt it will impact many people, but my top priority is to protect the health of the entire community." Six people in Riverside County have tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in nearby Indian Wells was canceled over the weekend due to coronavirus fears. This is a major blow to the area's tourism industry; hundreds of thousands of people attend the tournament every year, and a study found that in 2017, spectators, vendors, and sponsors spent more than $262 million at businesses in the region.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
June 25 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons include war on a loop, the New York City mayoral race, and one almighty F-bomb
-
How generative AI is changing the way we write and speak
In The Spotlight ChatGPT and other large language model tools are quietly influencing which words we use
-
How long can Nato keep Donald Trump happy?
Today's Big Question Military alliance pulls out all the stops to woo US president on his peacemaker victory lap
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores