When I first came to Texas many people asked me if I have ever been to Coachella, a music festival similar to ACL held in Palm Desert, which is about 2 hours from my house. I never have been to Coachella but every year in high school I went to Stagecoach, which was basically the same thing except all country music. When I say basically the same thing I mean its put on by the same company, held at the same venue, and its always one weekend after Coachella. I’m really surprised more people don’t know about Stagecoach here, I guess Coachella just gets more advertising.
The venue its held at is actually professional polo fields so there are horse stables all around which only add to the country atmosphere. There are five stages set up throughout the venue, the big one is called the “Mane Stage” (get it like a horses mane) and then there are four smaller ones. There’s also barns set up with food and dance floors inside where people can go to two step, or if you’re me you just went there to get some shade and escape the heat.
The last year I went to Stagecoach was my senior year and it was by far the best year. I got to see Darius Rucker, Lady Antebellum, Toby Keith, Zac Brown Band, and Dierks Bentley. My favorites were Darius and Dierks by far though; they were having so much fun on stage it was contagious for anyone else watching. Darius kept encouraging the crowd to line dance with him, which in hindsight was not the best idea because I was standing in a mosh pit of people trying to dance so everyone was getting pushed around. Despite the blistering heat throughout the day, my friends and I went right as the gates opened at noon, and stayed until they closed after the last performer that night.
It was so amazing seeing the range of people that were all being entertained by the performers. I went with five of my high school girlfriends and we all saw my 30-year-old cousin with her husband and baby, and also my 60-year-old neighbor sitting in a lawn chair with his wife. Ironically enough, I also ended up meeting my roommate for the first time when we were at one of the smaller stages watching Old Crow Medicine Show perform and resting in the shade. This all just goes to show how country music brings people of all ages together to have a great time and enjoy the feel-good music.
Thanks, Amy, for sharing your stories and pictures from Stagecoach. I agree that Coachella is the more famous festival, but honestly I don’t know very much about it. Do country artists also play there? Do they sometimes play both festivals? Is Stagecoach a kind of country alternative to Coachella? The politics of music festivals are always interesting.
Amy,
I liked reading your post about another festival!
Is Coachella that similar to Stagecoast? I feel like the lineups are completely different, no?
I dont feel like Coachella hosts many (if any) country singers, but I have never gotten the opportunity to go!
Festivals are so interesting, there are so many in so many different places at different times, and its hard to stay updated when the less known ones are! I feel like there should be a better way to madd advertise for all the different festivals that are out there, especially the less known ones, that way people get the opportunity to experience different festivals. I feel like if I knew about more festivals, my music knowledge would be much greater. I guess a part of the ideas of festivals is word to mouth, friends sharing good experiences in the past and recommending different festivals and artists…
Stagecoast sounds like a great festival though!