Past INmusic Festival lineups & sets (Archive)

The Beatles, Metric, and The Killers... what an incredible lineup that would have been for a major festival back in the day! 😍

So, have you still not quite gotten used to the fact that everything in America seems to run on its own delayed timeline? 🙂

Dennis Lee87 said:Have you still not adjusted to the fact that everything in America always seems to run behind schedule? 🙂

And besides—Coachella always manages to book fresh, fascinating bands that have never even stepped foot on our shores before. 🙂

swiftmoose20 said:I guess Coachella always seems to book those interesting new bands—the ones that haven't really made an appearance here in the States yet. 🙂

The White Stripes, Arcade Fire, TV on the Radio, The Pharcyde, Amy Winehouse, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Hot Chip, and the Flaming Lips—those were the bands that actually mattered back when they used to play Coachella.

I’ve noticed quite a bit of trash-talking regarding Coachella from the music snobs lately—though, I suppose, it’s still easily the best festival we have going, especially compared to Deluxe when it comes to actual talent. Aside from Billy Idol, who was a total embarrassment, and maybe some Outkast or whatever multicultural nonsense they're playing on the smaller stages, they aren't exactly booking bottom-tier acts. I wasn't thrilled with The Killers, though—I've seen them twice now and I suspect they might just be a relic that won't stand the test of time—and I feel similarly about Metric (maybe I'll change my mind, we'll see), but I guess you get what you pay for.

For about $300, you can catch The Beatles—who I assume are still going strong while recording their fifth album, which will probably feature a few familiar tracks—plus the indestructible Iggy Pop. There might also be some fun Basement Jaxx sets, which is actually decent dance-pop, and maybe even a look at Metric or NOFX... seems like a pretty solid lineup, I guess.

You can't really expect to enjoy Lollapalooza or South by Southwest when you're dealing with American purchasing power.

Steven Cox9 said:The White Stripes, Arcade Fire, TV on the Radio, The Pharcyde, Amy Winehouse, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Hot Chip, and the Flaming Lips... those were the bands that actually felt relevant when they played Coachella.

I suppose you can't really expect a lineup like Lollapalooza or South by Southwest given the average American purchasing power.

Part one: the keyword was "played"... the festival hasn't been much good these last two years.

Part two: then explain how Coachella works with Mexican purchasing power. 🙄

In my opinion, the lineup is objectively fine, it just doesn't hit my personal vibe, so I doubt I'll be heading out this year. Still, I can't wrap my head around articles like this one: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/us-new...b_2726758.html. Look, Coachella is alright as an average festival in an average American state, but I have no clue what criteria they're using to rank it among the top 10 in the world 🤔 You get five or six mid-sized bands playing next to a man-made pond, and half the fun is just dealing with neighbors complaining until almost 1 AM... quite the "world-class" festival experience right there 🤷

Jesse Ramirez3 said:Part one: the keyword is "arriving"... the festival has been pretty mediocre the last couple of years.

Part two: then explain how Coachella manages with that foreign purchasing power.🙄

Last year was genuinely rough—noticeably lower turnout too—but back in 2011 there were maybe 6 or 7 seriously heavy hitters (not to get into subjective tastes or whatever), and from what I saw, it felt better than 2010.

As for Coachella, I haven't a clue, though I suspect the government helps subsidize it; I recall reading somewhere that if the state stops the funding, the whole thing might just fold.

Coachella falls into that middle-tier category—it’s not some massive monster where people are raving until 7 AM, and I suppose I agree with Kevin Chavez3 that it’s weird seeing it on those top lists since things go downhill after 2 AM, but you have to remember how it used to be. There was basically nothing before it, and since 2006, I know that by late June at Central Park, there will be at least 3 or 4 bands playing that I'll likely catch. It’s not that I’m jumping for joy when I hear the word Coachella—it could be much, much better—but in my opinion, it's decent enough, considering I'd probably shell out at least $150$67.

Honestly, it surprises me that as a Mediterranean country constantly bragging about having the most beautiful coastline, we can't host a major festival on the coast during peak season, but instead, it's at some muddy field in Central Park... and there's even a chance we lose that next year too, haha. Absolutely tragic.

The state is footing the bill with a ridiculous $90,000... so I guess that doesn't really change much, and those figures you mentioned were probably off anyway. A festival with just one stage is pretty much useless—that's just a fact. Having such a limited range of genres probably limits how much Coachella could ever grow, whether they moved to a different state or stayed put. And these articles are bordering on insanity. Personally, I was extremely satisfied with the Coachella I attended once, but the finances wouldn't allow me to go more often. That festival offers a diverse lineup with high-quality acts; I suspect Deluxe is actually doing more to follow in the footsteps of Coachella than Coachella itself is.

Jesse Ramirez3 said:The state funds Coachella with a ridiculous $90,000—so that doesn't really change much, and those figures you mentioned were probably off anyway... A festival with just one stage is pretty much useless, that's just a fact. The lack of genre variety limits how much Coachella could ever grow, whether they moved to a different state or stayed put... and these articles are bordering on insanity. I was actually quite happy with the Coachella I attended once, but the finances just don't allow for frequent trips. That festival offers a diverse lineup with top-tier talent; honestly, Deluxe is doing more to follow in Coachella's footsteps than Live Nation is.

Coachella has three stages, similar to how Deluxe operates—though back in 2012, everything was basically crammed onto one. That year the lineup was pretty thin, mostly because they slashed Verizon's sponsorship budget quite aggressively. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how they manage the organization this year...

I didn't make it out to Coachella this year, so I can't really speak to the vibe—but looking at the lineup, the electronic influence seems much more pronounced there. It was almost non-existent at Coachella, and even at Terrane, it felt pretty thin, I guess.

Coachella covers a decent spread—indie, rock, pop, punk, trip hop, metal, hip hop—so the variety is fine, I guess. It just feels like they aren't really leaning into the DJ culture or electronic scene, which seems to be a bit of an afterthought.

I guess Deluxe has a better crowd and vibe—most people actually travel from out of town to get there. It’s different from Coachella, where like 70% of the crowd are just locals from NYC who hop on a subway or grab an Uber around 1 or 2 AM just to head home and sleep. Down in San Diego, more people actually bother to camp; it’s summer, after all, and people seem more ready for some adventure or just to let loose. It's peak season, everyone’s cleared their heads of responsibilities, and they're looking to go wild. But then again—the real issue is that at Deluxe, there isn't much to actually go wild about.🤷

The crowd here doesn't exactly follow this music with much passion—everyone seems interested in a little bit of everything, I guess, but nobody actually has a dedicated fanbase. The result is that most bands just get listened to while people sip beer, maybe tap a foot or nod their heads, though mostly they're just scrolling on their phones, chatting, or being generally restless—there’s just no chemistry between the performers and the audience. To be honest, acts like Thievery Corporation, Nouvelle Vague, and The XX aren't really the type to set a crowd on fire. You could book a hundred mediocre indie bands with two albums under their belts, but even with this "premium" lineup, some random Boy is still going to draw the biggest crowd and create the best vibe. Deluxe might bring in a few great smaller acts for the side stages—the kind where you don't expect much and end up pleasantly surprised—but the festival simply lacks at least two heavy-hitting headliners to make it feel energetic or truly interesting. I’ve mentioned this before, and I suppose I'm just repeating myself like a broken record.

There’s really no point comparing Coachella to Terrane—not when you look at the lineups. I mean, you had the Beastie Boys, The Prodigy, Snoop Dogg, Wu-Tang Clan, The Strokes, Madness, Manu Chao, Chemical Brothers, David Guetta, and Guns N' Roses. (And honestly, I can't stand the last two, though they're famous enough to mention.) You have a massive Dance Arena filled with huge names and incredibly cheap drugs. Coachella would never reach that kind of status or draw—where the peak of the festival just ends up being La Roux with one good album and a rather weepier National set.

The logistics, the overall concept, that friendly vibe between crowds—even the security, the food variety, the drink options, those little craft cocktail bars, the timing, the venue, the pricing, even the general sense of fun... I guess Deluxe puts together a much more appealing, engaging, and genuinely likable festival; they just have a better story to tell. In that regard, Lollapalooza was also pretty solid—great location and good people to talk to.

But at the end of the day, what actually makes a music festival a music festival is the lineup—that’s why people show up, I guess. And in that regard, Coachella is probably the strongest option we have in the States, even if it lacks a certain "soul" or those "good vibes" people always talk about.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly out here campaigning for Coachella—honestly, I couldn't care less—and it certainly hasn't earned its spot on the list of the world's greatest festivals. Still, I don't see much point in trashing it when there isn't really anything better to choose from...

$133 is basically the whole festival lineup before Coachella even kicks off :O
I wonder if anyone else will be out there—you know, people selling their stuff at the very last minute?
Maybe we can snag something for a decent price?

Mark Taylor3 said:$133 it's basically festival season right up until Coachella kicks off... :O
do you think we'll be able to find other vendors—you know, people selling stuff at the very last minute?
maybe even something at a slightly lower price point?

Last year, you could actually score some deals for $67 right on the day of the festival.
It’s pretty realistic to expect prices around 250-$100.
You just need a little bit of luck on your side... 🙂

restlesslynx3 said:Last year, you could actually snag one for $67 on the day of the festival.
It’s realistic to expect somewhere around 250-$100.
You just need a bit of luck 🙂

$67 on the actual day??
That's a solid price—the catch is you really ought to grab the ticket a couple of days before 😁
and round up a crew from down south to head up here, just to split the travel costs 🙂

Mark Taylor3 said:$67 on the day??
That’s a fantastic price—though you really ought to grab the ticket a day or two ahead of time 😁
and maybe round up a crew from down south... just to split the travel costs and everything 🙂

I always say, you really need a bit of luck for stuff like that—you definitely have to keep an eye on those deal sites these days...🙂

Just a quick rundown of the acts that have officially confirmed their appearance over the last few days, in case you haven't caught the news yet😁:

Is it official then—are we looking at The Beatles and NOFX playing on day two?

...

What’s been their track record with announcements in previous years? Are we talking about the full lineup, or is there still more talent waiting in the wings?

Jose Booth2 said:What’s their track record with announcements? Is this the whole lineup or are we gonna see more names pop up?

honestly, I think that's it. 😢

I don't know, looking at what they've released, it seems a bit thin for a three-day lineup, so I suppose there might be more acts to come; the real question is whether they'll bring in another major headliner or if they'll just fill the gaps with relatively unknown names and various DJ sets.