Activations, Art, and Artists Abound at Coachella 2023

In 1999, festival organizers, Paul Tollett and Rick Van Santen (Goldenvoice) launched the first Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which featured headliners like Beck, The Chemical Brothers, Morrissey, and Rage Against the Machine. Despite low attendance in the first year, Coachella soon became the sought after festival, with thousands of attendees and artists from all over the world flocking to Indio, California to attend the annual event.  

Now a mecca for music lovers, brands, and yes, influencers, Coachella has claimed its stake as one of the most influential events of the year. Artists are known, rather, expected, to bring their A-Game and often use their stage time to unveil new projects and collaborations. It’s very possible to spend all weekend gallivanting across the 250 acre Empire Polo Field and still not see everything there is to offer. Nonetheless, there were a few standout activations, artists, and activities that shined a bright light at Coachella Weekend One.

The New Bar

If you’ve been paying attention, you can see the number of those choosing non-alcoholic options over booze are rising dramatically. In fact, Forbes states that “In 2022, sales of no- and low-alcohol beverages grew by more than 7% in volume across 10 key global markets, surpassing $11 billion in market value.” And with the presence of The New Bar at several locations inside of Coachella this showed that the festival industry is starting to realize the trend as well. The New Bar is Venice, California’s first nonalcoholic bottle shop featuring alcohol-free spirits, wines and everything in between. Their booth at Coachella gave attendees the option of everything from Kin Euphorics to Hop Wtr, to French Bloom 0% alcohol champagne. It was a radically inclusive move and as Coachella sets the tone for many other events, we are sure to see the rise of NA drinks at festivals expand.

Adidas X Bad Bunny

 Bad Bunny has made history time and time again, this year as the first Latin artist to headline at Coachella. With a set that drew practically everyone in attendance to the Coachella Main Stage Friday night, it’s no secret that the time of Bad Bunny is now. To commemorate the experience, Adidas unveiled the flower adorned Adidas Campus Experience. With a flat fee of $160 to even get inside, this is where a lucky selection of attendees could get their hands on an exclusive Bad Bunny/Adidas shoe collaboration. 

The Do Lab 

The Do Lab stage at Coachella is a wonderful peek into the eclectic, communal vibes of the production company’s signature festival, Lightning in a Bottle. Underneath the signature Do Lab stage design you will find dancing fans onstage blasting the crowd with mister guns, alongside some of the best dj’s around. While the stage provides guests with refuge from the sun and the stages that draw larger crowds- it packs its own lineup that appeals to electronic music lovers everywhere. With the only stage lineup that had at least one “Surprise” act slotted per day- it was always worth showing up to take part in the magic. This year’s surprises included the likes of Odesza and James Blake who both unveiled new projects and gave guests unique listening experiences.

Party in My Living Room

GV Black and Coachella teamed up on this interactive space that, upon entering, transported guests back in time to the simple and easy days of house parties held in the basement of a high school BFF. With Hip Hop bouncing through the speakers, couches made for chilling out, and pictures of Black music greats adorning the wall – this space was fresh and inspiring. GV Black originally started as an employee resource group at Goldenvoice with the intention to elevate BIPOC voices within the company, and now works to elevate people of color throughout the music and festival industries through measurable initiatives and policies. Party in My Living Room was a visual representation of the unique beauty that Black creatives and artists bring to the music industry and truly brought out the best of vibes.

The Attendees

Attend any festival in Southern California and you are sure to have a glimpse at some of the most fashionable people around. Coachella served as the catwalk for many, and they definitely came to serve. With temps hovering just around 100 degrees all weekend, function and fun had to equally be considered. No matter what direction you looked, guests were shining and sparkling and made us proud to be part of such a colorful community.