Fans crowd surf at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. (2012/File Photo)
You know it’s January when everything that people are responding to on your blog is Coachella-related.
One thing that keeps coming up is the magical question: “When will the Coachella 2013 lineup be released?”
I have a non-specific answer for you: Whenever Goldenvoice feels like its ready. (I seem to remember one year where KROQ kept saying that the announcement was coming and they had to keep pushing it back. ) However, since I’ve covered the festival since 2007 and with a little help from our archives before that, I can tell you when previous Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival lineups were released, as reported by The Press-Enterprise. UPDATE: When will the Coachella 2013 announcement happen? Check out the charts I built based on previous lineup release data in a larger size
Since 2005 Mondays are the most likely day for the lineup, followed by Tuesdays. Coachella took a year off in 2000.
Here’s a look at the lineup release dates by year, from 2001 through 2012. I excluded 1999 because the festival occurred in October and the lineup was announced in August. In 2000, Coachella took a year off.
Each year, the wait for the lineup has grown shorter, with the exception of 2009, when the lineup was announced on Jan. 30.
If you prefer your dates in text form, here you go:
Coachella 2012 release date: Monday, Jan. 9, 2012 (10 a.m. pacific)
Coachella 2011 release date: Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011 (around 10 p.m. pacific)
Coachella 2010 release date: Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010 (around 7 a.m. pacific)
Coachella 2009 release date: Friday, Jan. 30, 2009 (around midnight pacific)
Coachella 2008 release date: Monday, Jan. 21, 2008 (around 4:30 p.m. Pacific, that year they announced from Mexico and I remember I was right up against the now-defunct “Your Life” features section deadline. I listened to the announcement on Internet radio.)
Coachella 2007 release date: Monday, Jan. 22, 2007 (was early in the day because I was the second reporter and went out to talk to people about the lineup at local record stores)
Coachella 2006 release date: Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006 (UPDATE: Brain melt there. 2006 was the final two-day festival. Also, a story in our archive incorrectly listed Queens of the Stone Age was added after the initial lineup was released. Daft Punk, however, did play. )
Coachella 2005 release date: Monday, Jan. 31. 2005
Coachella 2004 release date: Monday, Feb. 9, 2004
Coachella 2003 release date: Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2003
Coachella 2002 release date: Friday, Feb. 22, 2002
Coachella 2001 release date: Friday, March 2, 2001
Coachella took a year off in 2000
Coachella 1999 release date: Wednesday, Aug. 25, 1999 (Festival was in October amid a freak heat wave its first year)
In 2012, Coachella alerted the masses to the lineup via its Twitter and Facebook pages. As we await the lineup, those are two solid places to bookmark and keep an eye on, as is the Coachella website.
When do you think the lineup will be released? Comment below the entry.
If you’re interested in who might be on the lineup, feel free to check out the links below. From Daft Punk to the Rolling Stones and Blur to Nick Cave, these are the predictions and picks from yours truly and Audio File readers.
Jan. 7, 2013: Fugazi, Oingo Boingo
Jan. 5, 2013: Sound City Players
Dec. 31, 2012: Alex Clare, Lucero, Alabama Shakes, Beach House
Dec. 28, 2012: Hot Chip, Warpaint, Father John Misty, Cloud Nothings
Dec. 26, 2012: Muse, No Doubt and Alt-J
Dec. 20, 2012: Aesop Rock
Dec. 19, 2012: Daft Punk, The Rolling Stones, Phoenix, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Dec. 14, 2012: The Rolling Stones
Dec. 12, 2012: Airborne Toxic Event
Nov. 30, 2012: Bjork
Nov. 28, 2012: Nick Cave, Tegan and Sara, Converge
Nov. 14, 2012: Sigur Ros, Pearl Jam
Nov. 9, 2012: Paul Kalkbrenner, Kill the Noise
Nov. 9, 2012: Passion Pit, Nine Inch Nails/How to Destroy Angels, Queens of the Stone Age, Run DMC, Rocket from the Crypt
Oct. 19, 2012: Mumford & Sons, Deadmau5, Local Natives, Blur
Want more Coachella goodness? I tag all of my Coachella prediction posts Coachellaology. The iGuide also has a Coachella section that has interviews, articles, photos from previous years and more. Consequence of Sound also has an excellent running tally of Coachella possibilities and confirmations. You can email me at vfranko@pe.com.