COACHELLA, STAGECOACH: Officially Canceled for 2020
The Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals, which had been postponed until October, have now been officially canceled for 2020 due to risks from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Riverside County public health officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser announced Wednesday.
The popular festival (and its country cousin Stagecoach), held over two weekends in Indio, California, won't return until 2021 at the earliest.
Originally scheduled for April,Coachella was set to be headlined by Rage Against the Machine, Frank Ocean and Travis Scott. It was bumped to October after initial concerns about the coronavirus.
Stagecoach was to be headlined by Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood and Eric Church this year, and was also originally set for April and then postponed to October.
Kaiser said Wednesday, "I am concerned as indications grow that COVID-19 could worsen in the fall." He added that the festivals would fall under Stage 4 on the scale set by California Governor Newsom, which require a vaccine or treatment to be developed before such events will be allowed again.
This will be the first year without Coachella since 2000. The fest started in 1999, but took a year off before returning in 2001 and going on to become one of the most prominent music festivals in the world.