Coachella: Hot or Flop? 

Coachella is not in the city of Coachella, it's in the city of Indio. I'm from Indio, and I wish you would have discussed the impact that Golden Voice has on the gentrification of my city due to Coachella. Indio and the eastern Coachella valley is an area mostly comprised of Mexican Immigrants who work the fields. Coachella Fest has been detrimental in the rising housing costs in the area and will soon become so expensive that it will kick out the people who have lived and worked here for centuries. It's such a shame that this is often left out of the conversation when people talk about the festival. I really loved your video and it's your channel so I understand that you discuss what you want, just wanted to share some insight from an Indio native :)

I grew up in joshua tree and I remember how Coachella used to be back in its early days. All the hipster indie kids at my high school would attend. The music was the highlight, now it feels like an influencer event

Calling kimono’s “weird” and “obscure” and then literally saying “making it my own” omg 🤦🏽‍♀️ and the girl saying we’re all to happy to be offended by their culture being treated like a costume omg it screams “I have never put myself in another persons shoes” and “I have no poc or even non American friends” all rolled into one

I’m gonna be honest, I was so confused as to why everyone was talking about how 2010s celebrity coachella fashion was so good because no it wasn’t. 😂😂😂

As an old school music festival goer, it is sad that influencers kind of suck the spirit out of everything good.

Coachella is to festivals what Victora's secret is to fashion.

Mina I know you don’t read comments for your own mental health (it’s a necessity these days) but if you see this I want you to know you are awesome and I love your dedication to the subject matter of your videos! Thank you for always creating fabulous content !😉

I think people who romanticized Coachella are finally going and it’s not living up to expectations

I am so glad that Mina aknowledged the Romani influence in the boho chic aesthetic. Many refuse to recognise that the aesthetic "borrows" elements from our traditionally nomadic culture. Her mentioning the name of our community is small, but it made me really happy💚❤️💙

For me Coachella was bound to “die” the moment it became an influencer/Instagram photo opportunity. It’s not about the music anymore. The presentation from the headliners is also really lacking this year (which I expected after Beyoncé set the bar extremely high)

As as European, me (and my surroundings for that matter) see Coachella as a festival to celebrate capitalism at its purest form. That's really it. It's a capitalism festival, not really a music festival. And my husband is a musician, I've been to many music festivals and concerts over our 12 years together. Coachella is just... something else.

I had a great time this year - no influencer passes, just a regular GA band. I witnessed 20+ amazing artists perform. I was there for the music and that’s exactly what I got - no regrets here.

BRUH girlie did not just call a Kimono "a weird obscure thing she can make her own" 🙃 The insanity of it all bro

As a European there’s something about the treatment and air of Coachella that seems so off for me. Like you never see British influencers talk about Glastonbury the same way, sure one is in a desert the other in a muddy field but there are also other fundamental differences that are both obvious and hard to put into words

coachella is the definition of “flavourless”

Those prices you list are also the “list price.” So tickets were much, much, muuuuuuch more expensive. I lived in LA from 2013-2018 and lmaooo tickets were $750-1000 for the normal ticket if you didn’t get it in the first ten minute of tickets dropping. VIP tickets ended up being in the multiple thousands, I usually saw $2500-3250. I went to USC so students often went and we trying to buy/sell tickets the week before.

I was never super into Coachella fashion but I will say I feel like it’s lacking more and more each year. The magic seems to fade a little bit more every season. While it wasn’t good fashion, there was something about it but I feel like that something special is gone. (Except for the cultural appropriation, that has never and will never be fashion to me) Maybe that just has something to with me getting older and not being as impressed by influencer culture. But what do I know, I’ve never actually been to Coachella and probably never will.

I grew up in SoCal and I was 16 in 2010, the people I hung out with always had a negative perception of Coachella. I didn’t hear good things about it until I was living in OC around 2016 and the people who had a positive view were wealthy teenagers 🤷🏻‍♀️

if you want to go to a festival, small independant music festivals are a much better option than coachella. they may not have harry styles, but what they do have is organizers & staff who actually do it for the music cos they believe in music's ability to bring ppl together & foster community.

Hi Mina :) love your videos, I actually played coachella this year and some takes aways for me as someone who played and attended (my first time) Is there was a wide range of really exciting artists I haven’t had the chance to see anywhere else, ie: stadium headliners and very high production. Compared to other big fests I’ve played the backstage has absolutely no privacy - they allow anyone who vaguely knows the artists or is affiliated in some way, I ran into only one other person backstage that actually was playing the fest over the two weekends I was there. The first weekend was heavily influencer based and a lot more glamorous whereas weekend two felt like a very different vibe and fan base. I noticed alot of people in attendance weren’t down to rock out super hard to any artists - headliners included, compared to other fests. I had an amazing time but it was incredibly expensive to eat and for transport, no one wore masks or seemed to care about Covid including staff, it was very complicated to get to the fest - even for people playing, and desert lung is so real lol. However, if you’re there for the music I think it’s worth it - I pretty much watched music all day and left feeling very satisfied and inspired. I also want to mention that weekend one, despite playing, I felt a bit out of place - it felt like Instagram in real life haha little akward forsure

one thing i love about UK festivals, we don’t give a shit about ‘influencers’ we just wanna get pissed in a field and listen to music !

I think a lot of these issues also apply to Comic Con. Haven’t been since 2013 but I stopped because of the increase in ticket pricing and the ridiculous lines for events. Also told off a couple of people who inappropriately touched cosplayers as they were posing for photos.

it's a shame how much the festival has become a magnet for marketing deals and people uninterested in the music because even though the draw for a lot of people are the headliners (for obvious reasons, especially with ticket prices that high), there are a some smaller and/or international artists on the setlist as well. Coachella might be the ONLY chance a person living in the US has to see that artist and they're basically locked out of it by ticket prices and how quickly those tickets sell to people uninterested in the music altogether. I've been a fan of Kyary Paymu Pamyu since high school and as far as I can tell, Coachella is the only festival she consistently performs at in the US. At this point, it would probably be easier for me to fly to Japan to see one of her shows than to go see her at the festival, and that makes me sad.

To me as someone who only sees Coachella on the internet, it looks like a once alternative grounds for people who don't fit into popular mainstream media,it's a place of leisure and a sense of community, but it turned into a ground of promotion and business, a lot of people get into coachella because of sponsors and brand deals, it's not so much about the music and fun anymore

So excited for this topic, i think that Coachella is really seen via rosy glasses in Germany like this beautiful dreamy fairy festival that isn't as dirty and smelly as Rock am Ring or Wacken or Hurricane or Deichbrand. But is it that different? I think if you go to a festival to Germany for 100 Euro per card you know what you get 😅🙈 beer, mud and anarchy. And I think the people who go to festivals love it.

Here in Brazil, Lollapalooza is our Coachella 🥴 it just feels like an influencer event, majority of the people I see only go to create content. I refuse to pay a month’s rent for a day pass, specially when I’m only interested in seeing like…4 bands, and they’re usually spread throughout the other festival dates 🤡

"Geriatric era" finally a word for my life 🙌

As someone from Europe, I’ve definitely seen a change this year in how Coachella has been negatively perceived online - I just put it down due to society views changing post Covid and how people are sick of influencers ‘influencing’ in large and outlandish ways, but your research on how Coachella started, slowly changed and commercialised is really insightful! Great content as always!

i miss when festivals gave a shit about punk, grunge, indie etc music bcs watching all these festivals slowly become mainstream pop temples is sad to see :// it’s just like reading and leeds here in the UK which used to be the home of heavy music and now we have a weird mix bag that just doesn’t work

As a indigenous person I really appreciate the things you said about culture appropriation. Boho chic (and hippie) fashion border on culture appropriation. I’m not saying it IS so don’t came at me. But in indigenous communities we literally have a running joke about those types of fashion that’s been running since the 60’s. Trust I could go off but you get the point. And the Headdress festival craze is genuinely upsetting and so disrespectful. The type of headdresses they wear would never been worn by women and even most men. Those headdresses are given to Chief’s only. Those men don’t just get it handed to them they are knowledge keepers who take care of our communities so to see non indigenous girls wearing them it genuinely makes me upset and sad. Then to get into wearing skimpy clothes in those headdresses is a whole other can of worms. Indigenous women are so sexualized and it comes with dire consequences. Our women are at a such high rate of sexual violence, 6 out of 10 indigenous women will experience sexual assault. it was really hard for me to grow up in a era where I would innocently look up indigenous women on any and every search engine and social media because I craved to see other people like me but always ended up seeing pictures of half naked women in headdresses. Thankfully many indigenous influencers have risen to fame in recent years, being able to educate people but there is still a long way to go.

Coachella is for Instagram influencers. It's a photo op, it's not an event for anyone else. Normal people have no interest in it at all.

Pooping in a porta-potty while holding your breath, getting shitfaced on luke warm vodka, seeing your fave band and passning out in a tent. That's a festival.

Aren't we just tired of influencers, trends, and turning everything into a cool thing for business reasons and everything is flavourless

for me, Beyoncé simultaneously brought back the magic of Coachella and killed it in one breath. I hadn’t cared about it for a while until she came on and then I went back to not caring right after her. she can’t be topped in my eyes

I think what made Coachella not as interesting for a lot of people was because they were expecting more from the music festival? Idk, if you're not going to a music festival for the music then I don't see the point in the average person spending so exorbitantly for 2 weekends.

Mina, your content never disappoints

Kpop Stans are literally treating Coachella like Grammys. I just hope Superbowl doesn't turn into a mess like Coachella.

The glorification of Coachella was always off putting to me. Also I feel I subconsciously was really bitter about the imagery being sold to me “a skinny white woman’s paradise to be free to love, enjoy music, and drink and culturally appropriate”. It never felt like a space I wanted to be in. Even now it still isn’t a place I desire to be even with the minor changes in image.

as the “emo kid” at school, I used to laugh at all the Coachella bs, I mean I still do. but then I remember that I went to Warped Tour where I was surround by a bunch of pedophiles, so I’m rlly not any better lol

Coachella has become a hot bed of elitism… the opposite of everything the original creators envisioned

I remember thinking in the late 2000s/2010s how the Vanessa Hudgens era had completely ruined the festival- making it all about celebrities being seen and wearing dumb outfits. Today its just influencers doing the exact same thing. The festival isn't getting worse, it's our society getting worse.

I feel like coachella is my idea of personal hell honestly. When I was a teen I wanted to go so badly I would look at flights online as if I could save my pocket money up to fly to the other side of the world. Now you couldn't pay me to go. It's literally in the middle of the desert, there's so many people there, they're all photo ready somehow in 1000 degree heat, my self esteem couldn't handle it. Not to mention all the product placement and branding. To me it just seems like a huge exclusive celebrity party. Also I'm of the opinion that what most people can realistically expect of the event is going to be way below expectations. We're inundated with content of pretty girls in picturesque air bnbs, doing their hair and make up, ubering to the events, getting freebies, going to parties. I've been to festivals in the UK where I've camped and the reality of the situation is a tent in a busy field, no electric, shared toilets, no showers, hiking back and forth, dragging all your stuff with you. Anything above basic necessity comes at a premium and I have no reason to believe that Coachella would be any different in this sense, just with dryer weather.

I do really miss the hipster/indie vibes the music festival used to have. It got big in 2012 because of Tumblr, honestly, when celebrities started going and everyone would reblog their looks. Before then, it was just a place for all us hipsters could go and feel a sense of community. I'm from a small town, my music taste was really "weird" according to the people around me, but all my favorite bands went to Coachella. It's just not that anymore though... Not to mention the indie-rock/grunge sound just isn't as big as it used to be, which sucks, but the spirit of Coachella has been lost. It used to be a way to relive Woodstock, it was all about the music, and now it's not. I have no desire to go anymore, but I do feel sad that I missed out on what Coachella used to be. Their lineups were 10/10.

I’ve created a new rule for myself: if influencers and people who are “there to be seen” are present, the event becomes instantly uncool to me and I have no desire to go. Coachella is much the same.

Beyoncé really set the bar, and what she did was smart, she showed all the typically rich white girls black culture to their face after they paid a hefty price and all the non goers who obviously don’t have the means got to watch home for free. I wasn’t ever really checking for Coachella like that until she performed, and after she performed no one has really mimicked that success or level of performance.

I cannot comprehend that someone can attend Coachella 4 times and not see a single performance.

I'm so greatful for Coachella 2022 cause my ultimate kpop girlgroup "2ne1" reunited there as the last act for the 88rising stage. I'm just happy that many asian artist got to perform this year.

My only Coachella-related regret is not getting to see Beyonce headline it live in 2018.

Imagine going to Coachella and not watching any of the acts. THATS INSANE! If I were an influencer and I’d go both weekends, one weekend prioritize work, one weekend prioritize enjoying the festival.

I feel like Coachella was always anticipated like the Met gala looks every year in the 2010s but since the pandemic started in 2020 it lost its old appeal as a spectacle for us to watch.

It's sad Coachella Valley had all those cases. It's a small community with few medical resources already for locals... I also wish people would stop thinking we are post-COVID. Where I am, cases and deaths are higher than any day during lockdown...

Coachella has been a joke for a LOOONG time. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful a venue exists where I got to see the likes of Bauhaus, Radiohead, Daft Punk & Gorillaz, but the attendees have always been obnoxious trash. It's like "rave culture" for baby weekend warriors. Everyone thinks they're somehow unique, when it's just a sea of the same boring people doing the same tired things that have been done better by prior generations.

The stories about the influencers trying to get into celebrity festival parties' , and the nature of their exclusivity weirdly reminds me of how during the Regency era, people, particularly with new money would vie to get into exclusive gentlemen's clubs, how they'd make attempts to rub elbows with the old money crowd, and even the whole nature of wearing one outfit and then never again reminds me of how women were expected to have a new dress for every occasion of the day/every day during the season. Funny how some things haven't changed.

When i started seeing content about Coachella a few weeks ago i was kind of confused because in my mind, Coachella was very tied to the 2010s, like the boho fashion, the celebrity culture and the cultural appropriation. I didn't think these things would transition well into 2022 standarts, so i would'nt have thought that Coachella would be such a big deal again after the panemic (grated i'm not american and the whole cult around Coachella was always kind of weird to me)

as a brit, at festivals (even if they bring out a shit singer) we scream, sing and surf. everyone’s drunk and we stay in tents, hot yet cold and rain going through our tents. even though it’s so uncomfortable it’s the experience. it’s sad that the coachella crowds are so dead and people only go for the “aesthetic”

as a high school student in the area, it is extremely worrying to see my young classmates mingling with inebriated adults (who leave after) + hard substances. coachella is overcrowded with people and drugs. it also reveals the socioeconomic student hierarchy in our schools. looking at the folks who attend, coachella is a long ways away from its indie rock origins. i would say most attendees are there for hype or bragging rights. it is ridiculously easy to spot who is here for coachella, lol. local businesses typically look forward to this time of year. not so much this year for businesses still wary of covid-19... we have a high percentage of elderly people, along with anti-vaxxers. :,)

on the topic of fashion trends, i would love to hear your thoughts on the subversive basics trend! and as someone who crochets garments as a hobby, crochet seems like another rising/ returning trend in fashion that’s definitely worth a look into. on the instagram crochet community, there’s been rather rampant accusations of plagiarism floating around 1) amongst small creators and 2) of big companies (shein & cider as the usual perps) stealing from small pattern designers. + it would also be interesting to hear your thoughts on monetising a hobby

The clothes were so boring, some were okay but 90% of the outfits were predictable and kind of boring.

the nice thing about the 2010s coachella fashion was that it was fun and expressive while still being comfortable enough to actually enjoy a concert, not just take a picture and leave

I attended Coachella twice during beychella and Arichella I loved it and wanted to go so bad both years that I manifested my own free tickets twice. This year I truly had no desire to go for many reasons. the set list was so underwhelming. I love harry but he is not established enough to be a headliner especially when Doja was not a headliner. I believe headliners should have at the least 3-4 albums Under their belt. Not only was the set list underwhelming but it was repetitive. Billy eilish was a second runner up headliner during arichella and The Weeknd was a headliner for beychella and so many other artists were also already on previous set list and for me that’s a big no no for coachella. The setlist planned for 2020 would have been amazing so this year fell shy of what we could have had. This year there was also mass amounts of theft and pick pocketing and I mean full groups of 15 getting there shit stolen simultaneously . as far as Covid goes Coachella has always been a place to wear masks because of the sand and dust but because mask mandates just recently stopped people are so eager to not wear them that they forgot the fact that masks are a regular part of festival culture and now boom you mix Covid with the already shitty Coachella dust flu and you are fucked up. I grew up with my dad going to Coachella so it was such A big deal for me to want to go when I got older. He use to always play us video from his trips as well as the Coachella dvd that my sister a toddler became so infatuated by that she learned how to use a DVD player just so she could play the dvd and dance.

Can we normalize people in their late 20’s and early 30’s (or really anyone of any age) going to music festivals? At 28 I finally have the funds for tickets/flights/hotels and enough PTO to go to music festivals. I hate it when people act like I’m too old to want to go see my favorite artists at a big show. Music is for everyone!

thank you so much for talking about the ecological impact the festival has on the Coachella Valley and even the topic of the Salton Sea!!! As a cv native, it is so good to hear and see someone use their platform to talk about these problems that are not discussed enough inside and especially outside of the coachella valley

Coachella is a SCAM! Don't get me wrong I loved seeing my favorite artist butttt, you aren't shit if you don't have higher tier wristbands! They couldn't care less about you if you had a GA band! Which is crazy considering how much money they make of GA! I feel like the festival caters more to the rich and famous. I think they rely too much on their clout and influence. I literally spent HOURS trying to get someone to help me with my busted car handle that THEY broke! They kept giving me the runaround hoping I'd eventually get tired of it and go enjoy the festival instead! I will literally never go back unless I have money to blow or I get in for free. Guys coachella is NOT worth it.

Coachella has become the influencers MET gala lol

it was so bland and ugly this year i can’t

I think most celebs wore casual outfits cos that's the normal for a music festival, usually. Most influencers don't go on red carpets and don't get to share their more impressive outfits and that's why they wear it there. Xx

The only performers i was interested in this year were 2ne1 since it was a historic moment that they reunited and Aespa bcs i love them

okay but why is no one talking about how mina absolutely nailed 2010s problematic "boho chic" with the hilarious rugrats reference

The amount of research you did is just unbelievable. thank you for this informative content. WOW

This reminded me of how I feel about Reading & Leeds Fest in the UK. It’s going a similar way to Coachella. They also spent the last few years or it increasing attendee size but keeping the grounds the same size. Music went from rock/punk/alternative to pop being prioritised by the end of the 2010s

The editing of this video was super fun and I really enjoyed all the movement and sound effects

The amount of research you put into every one of your video is astounding. Here for a million!!! Yes Mina !!!

Coachella has basically become a personality trait for iNfLuEnCErS

The Boho Chic 2010’s look (imo) was definitely not better. The regular attendees looked a lot cooler and more fashionable than the celebs this year.

I love that on your videos you do research and always put us in context on the things you're talking, and have insights about it. I find out interesting things that maybe I wouldn't research myself.

It's (un)wild how this is the history of most long-lasting festivals. Indie anti-pop roots, often with youth political angst as well, straight into panderville and body glitter.

Hi Mina! I’m a new subscriber and let me just I’m so impressed by your content. As someone who has become more interested in fashion history and the sustainability movement, your channel has given me so much knowledge to look at life in a different perspective, but for the better. Keep up the awesome content and can’t wait for what you have to post next!

My friend went on a two week holiday to the USA this year and that included going to Coachella. When I asked her what the highlight of the trip was when she got back, she listed a few things but Coachella wasn't one of them. She goes to a lot of music festivals so I feel like it might not have lived up to her expectations based on previous experience. The hype is so real that I can imagine it might not be all it's cracked up to be.

What I love about your videos is how you analyze topics considering so many different aspects and perspectives, thank you for creating such engaging content

so close to 1 million!! great work Mina!

I feel like I always had the same image of Coachella: it's for rich people, so never mind. I've learned a lot, thanks to your video!

As someone who has gone the last 5 consecutive years, this year definitely felt different. The logistics were off and it was 1000x more commercialized. People still go for the music - they’re just not posting about it. I can only imagine the commercialization getting worse in the future. Nevertheless, it’s still an event people will look forward to and will always be a staple event in pop culture.

I love the lighting, makeup, and backdrop in this one Mina 🤩

Mina, your mind never ceases to amaze me! You always post videos I had no idea I was even interested in. The way you tied fashion industry knowledge into this was SO cool. 11/10.

Beautifully made video of great value! Love your work Mina, you rock girl!

I don't like large events where drinking & rowdiness is expected. I don't feel safe around that kind of thing. I have been to concerts but there usually like maybe 500 to like 1000 people: my numbers are way off lol. Conventions are bigger but more manageable cause there is constant movement, open space and people are in panels learning stuff. I don't get how people can handle something like Cochella. Massive crowds, no real escape if something happens, drunk people in mass etc. Not to mention the pricing of everything if you don't live in the location.

I love how in- depth you went to do research and I absolutely loved your video. Also I love the way you do your makeup!

I love watching your videos and listening to how you're able to articulate/organize ideas that are somewhat complex. It would be awesome if you had a podcast! Could listen all day.

Coachella was definitely envy-inducing, even up here in Canada too! Great video, as always

I always get so happy when I see a new video, Mina

This was such a well-informed, thought-provoking video. One of my favorites yet!! Go Mina!!

i love all your videos and how you explain everything !!! the beginning with the history was so well done

Mina, would you ever feel comfortable doing a makeup tutorial? I’ve been watching you for a while now and every time you upload I get so excited to see your look :-)) I don’t see many other people doing their makeup like you!! It’s so beautiful 💖

I went to the coast of Salton Sea in 2017 after going to a desert superbloom, so just a bit before Coachella. We'd seen signs for Indio on our way- it really is very close by. The smell was visceral, and the roads were in condition of serious infrastructural neglect. The failure of the government, whether at the state level or federal level, to watch out for the people or the environment, was so jarring, especially in contrast to the Coachella glam images or Palm Springs wealth that's so often associated with that area. The Inland Empire, like Central Valley which provides us our food, is so overlooked in the myth of California.

i love mina's different take on a coachella video! every video i've seen about coachella is just roasting outfits but i love her new take on the history of the festival! good job mina!

YES BC WHEN I TELL U I WAS *WAITING* FOR THE MINA LE COMMENTARY ON COACHELLA 2022!!!!! I LOVE UR CONTENT SO MUCH I CLICK ON EVERY VIDEO U UPLOAD THE MOMENT IT SHOWS UP ON MY RECS, NO MATTER THE TOPIC, UR VIDEOS HAVE ACCOMPANIED ME THRU SO MANY MEALS, thank u so much for everything u do, u will be my fave video essayist forever & always xxxxx

I love watching your videos while crocheting! :)

I remember in early days of high school, it seemed like a celebrity music event. TBH Beychella was the only year people around me actually talked about it (although maybe that's because I live on the East Coast?) and maybe its just the fact that every outdoor music event I've been to has kinda sucked but I never even thought about wanting to go to Coachella. every year since then it seems like people are just catching on to what I already knew: music festivals mean standing around outside getting sweaty, being near a bunch of strangers who are probably drunk or high or both, paying ridiculous amounts of money for food and beverages, and investing a lot of money for a low return on fun

absolutely love the photography and background!! your videos just keep getting better and better Mina, i wish u much success 🌹🌹

the editing on this video is so good!!!