Outdoor music festivals are considered safe, but some ticketholders are rethinking their Coachella attendance in wake of safety protocols being eliminated.
On Tuesday, concert promoter Goldenvoice rescinded all COVID-19 safety protocols for its Coachella and country-themed Stagecoach festivals in Indio in April. Will Davis, a Coachella ticketholder in Costa Mesa with an immunocompromised wife, has been to every edition since 2009. Now he’s reconsidering. “I generally think Goldenvoice does an amazing job handling all the logistics. But their decisions around this year’s fest seem baffling to me,” he said via email. “Why remove all the very standard COVID safeguards? My wife is immunocompromised and pregnant and I am not sure if I should attend now, even though I am healthy and boosted.” Another immunocompromised Coachella ticketholder, Nicole H. from Cleveland (who asked not to use her full last name), said by email that she wished Goldenvoice had been clearer that these changes might be coming. “I was and still am frustrated. I’ve personally taken steps to mitigate my risk, but they’ve made it much more difficult to stay safe now.” For two years, COVID-19 has forced the live music industry to craft safety polices month to month (sometimes week to week) in response to the pandemic. In August, Goldenvoice’s parent company AEG Presents was one of the first promoters to institute a vaccine mandate for its shows, as live music began its halting return to clubs, amphitheaters and arenas. But now Coachella and Stagecoach, both held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, have eliminated all COVID-19 safety protocols. While policies could change closer to showtime, as of Tuesday unvaccinated fans are welcome, no one will be asked to show a recent negative test result and there will be no mask requirements. “We’re moving into a complicated period,” said Anne Rimoin, professor of epidemiology at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health. “We’re starting to see people getting restless with public health measures. We do still have virus spreading, though, so we still need to be thoughtful, cautious and able to pivot as needed.” Coachella, with headliners including Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Kanye West (now Ye) is the trend-setter in music festivals, and it’s sold out for both April 15-17 and April 22-24 weekends, with125,000 fans expected daily. Stagecoach, featuring headliners Thomas Rhett, Luke Combs and Carrie Underwood, is scheduled for April 29-May 1. Representatives for Goldenvoice did not respond to requests for comment. A representative for AEG Presents declined to comment. Back in August, AEG earned praise when it mandated vaccines for fans and staff at all concerts except where prohibited by local laws. “We have come to the conclusion that, as a market leader, it was up to us to take a real stand on vaccination status,” Jay Marciano, the chief executive of AEG Presents, said then. “We realize that some people might look at this as a dramatic step, but it’s the right one.” But on Tuesday, Stagecoach posted on social media that “As we prepare to spend an incredible weekend in the desert together we are announcing that there will be no vaccination, testing or masking requirements at Stagecoach 2022, in accordance with local guidelines.
