What does the 2014 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival lineup say to you? (2013/File Photo)
The lineup for the 2014 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has been released and I’ve finally had a little bit of time to process it. Here’s my initial take on the 100+ artists we’ll see at the Empire Polo Club April 11-13 and April 18-20.
A lot of the longtime Coachella-goers I’ve talked to say that 2014 is the most diverse lineup the festival has had. When I think about the fact that I can see both Motorhead and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band this year, it certainly looks that way on the surface.
It doesn’t matter who Goldenvoice books for Coachella–there will always be the armchair promoters questioning and those who refuse to be satisfied until David Bowie decides to be Ziggy Stardust and actually abduct everyone from the polo fields.
At the same time, Coachella has consistently been a tastemaking festival, helping to launch acts like Amy Winehouse, The Killers and 2014 repeat guests MGMT.
RELATED: 10 Coachella 2014 artists that will take you back to the 1990s
And you can’t deny that the lineup is arguably the deepest of any of the major U.S. festivals. If people felt differently, there wouldn’t be so much hand-wringing and complaining about the set times every April.
I think that this is truly the music lover’s Coachella–where you’ll wander from Bryan Ferry to Ramones tribute band the Gabba Gabba Heys to The Glitch Mob to J. Roddy Walston and The Business.
Longtime Audio File reader Aracely Jarrell has attended Coachella every year and I think she wrapped it up best.
“I know I will be starting my Coachella conditioning ASAP because I will be walking many miles!” she said.
What do you think? Is this the most diverse Coachella ever? Let me know in the comments below.