Coachella

Coachella

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Coachella Announces "Every One" Initiative To Fight Harassment And Assault

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The two-weekend desert festival will take extra measures this year to "develop a festival culture that is safe and inclusive for everyone"
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jan 4, 2019 - 11:18 am

With news of the stacked 2019 Coachella lineup and re-upped partnership with YouTube still fresh, the iconic desert music festival has announced new measures to fight against harassment and assault. Named "Every One," the initiative outlines plans to ensure all festivalgoers feel safe and comfortable while they attend, including safety ambassadors throughout the grounds, trained counselors on-site, all-gender restrooms, ADA accessibility, and a zero tolerance policy on assault and harassment.

"We are pushing ourselves and our guests to do better and to be better," says the Coachella website. "We are taking deliberate steps to develop a festival culture that is safe and inclusive for everyone. Persons of any gender identity or expression, sex, sexual orientation, race, religion, age or ability are welcome at Coachella."

The new initiative operates in harmony with the current Code of Conduct, which does not mention harassment or assault explicitly. Last April, Teen Vogue reported "rampant" sexual harassment at Coachella 2018, saying, "Of the 54 young women who spoke to Teen Vogue for this piece during the weekend-long event, all of them had a story of sexual assault or harassment that occurred this year at Coachella." This alarming report was magnified by how similar and pervasive the accounts were, with one young woman estimating she'd been touched inappropriately 40 times over the three day weekend festival.

The festival's new measures promise to address the issue and take real action toward creating a safer environment.

"Coachella will NOT tolerate any form of assault or harassment," the Coachella website continues, "Be it sexual, physical or verbal. Anyone found to be in violation of this policy is subject to immediate removal from the festival site and law enforcement may be notified. The offender’s Festival Wristband may be revoked and no refund will be issued."

Coachella 2019 will take place April 12–14 and 19–21 in Indio, Calif. Tickets go on sale today, Jan. 4, via the festival's website.

Coachella 2019 Lineup Revealed With Extended YouTube Live-Stream Partnership

Paul Tollett

Paul Tollett 

Photo: Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

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Coachella Co-Founder Paul Tollett Talks Kanye, Safety, Legacy & More

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Now in its 20th year, the desert festival has boomed into one of music's most significant annual events. Here's how its leader copes with its challenges and keeps Coachella growing
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jan 14, 2019 - 12:10 pm

Music festivals are king in 2019. But it wasn't always that way.

When Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival debuted in 1999, just months after the disastrous Woodstock '99, the reviews were good but the ticket sales were not. Through determination, imagination, curation, and hard work, Coachella survived and thrived, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, with last year's #Beychella as empirical evidence of its cutting-edge, culture-creating platform power. Even Goldenvoice president and Coachella co-founder Paul Tollett couldn't see his brainchild turning into the mega-event it's become two decades later.

Paul Tollett

Paul Tollett at site of Coachella in 2004
Photo: Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

 

"The hope was that it would be annual," Tollett told the Los Angeles Times in a rare and extensive interview. We never thought about two weekends. Never thought about a country version. Never thought about a Desert Trip. Those are all things that happened along the way."

But expansion to musical and cultural ubiquity hasn't come without its challenges. Tollett admits he "lost a lot of money in 2008," due to the last-minute addition of Prince to the bill and Stagecoach, Goldenvoice's country festival held at the same site in Indio, Calif. And despite the deafening buzz of Beyonce's headlining performance last year, Teen Vogue reported rampant sexual harassment at the festival, with all 54 of the young women they interviewed at the festival describing sexual assault or harassment they experienced. Tollett addressed the issue directly and firmly in the interview.

"It spurred a lot of discussion internally, said Tollett. "We have security, of course, and all the normal things that you have at public assemblage events. But in addition to that, we want to have something specific to this. Lots of things can go wrong where crowds are. This is one more thing coming to light now more than ever, since the #MeToo era."

Tollett and his team took action, creating the brand-new Every One program to fight assault and harassment.

"We are committed to messaging, on-site support, trainings, and increased visibility and awareness for the campaign," Tollett said. "We’re challenging staff and attendees to be an integral part of this culture shift. Through these steps, we believe that we can co-create a festival culture that encourages active consent, inclusivity and community responsibility."

The new initiative was announced the same day, Jan. 3, as the lineup for 2019, let by headliners  Childish Gambino, Tame Impala and Ariana Grande, and an extended live-stream partnership with YouTube. Not long before the announcement, Kanye West very publically bowed out of what would have been his third appearance at Coachella.

"When we were going through the stage ideas, he had some other ideas. He's played Coachella, and he knows it very well. Both times were great, and so different. The last one was pure art. He has some great [production] ideas, but we just weren't able to pull them off right now," said Tollett. "Up until Jan. 1, we were making a poster with Kanye on it. We started realizing we're probably going to have an impasse production-wise."

Coachella 2019 will take place over two weekend, April 12–14 and 19–21. Tickets are sold out, but passes may become available. You can sign up for the waitlist via the festival website.

2019 Music Festival Preview: Noise Pop, Ultra & More

Blackpink

BLACKPINK

Photo: VCG/Getty Images

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Meet BLACKPINK: The Latest, Greatest K-Pop Phenomenon

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Inside the all-female quartet's pristine pop/hip-hop hybrid sound, stunning viral visuals, and impending global takeover of the music world
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jan 11, 2019 - 4:32 pm

As Korean pop rounds the bend from its smash crossover breakout year in 2018, led by international phenoms BTS, into a sky's-the-limit 2019, the American mainstream is getting to know a few more names around the household.

Enter BLACKPINK: With an enviable fan army known as "Blinks" and nearly 600 million (!) views on their eye candy-coated video for "DDU-DU DDU-DU," the pop quartet are anything but underground. Their international star only continued to rise when Coachella announced its 2019 lineup earlier this week, with BLACKPINK being the first all-female K-pop act to play the Southern California desert fest.

But their Coachella milestone and devout online infantry are only the beginning of BLACKPINK's western takeover. On Jan. 9, YG Entertainment, the group's company, announced that BLACKPINK’s In Your Area 2019 world tour will hit North America, Europe and Australia after several already planned tour dates throughout Asia. While the new dates and venues are yet to be revealed, the international scope of their momentum is undeniable. At this point you're either in-the-know or asking: who are BLACKPINK?

BLACKPINK have been making ridiculously catchy music since 2016

As a group, Jennie, Rosé, Jisoo and Lisa came from diverse international backgrounds, with Jennie, Rosé both spending time in New Zealand, Lisa hailing from Thailand and Jisoo as the only member who has not lived extensively outside of Korea. Collectively, they arrived into K-pop's consciousness back in 2016 with their SQUARE ONE, SQURE TWO and "As If It's Your Last" offerings, which introduced their hybrid of sugary K-pop with danceable Latin trap and hyped up hip-hop, a concoction referred to by some as "K-trap."

But what sets BLACKPINK apart is production quality on all fronts, as theirs is a look and sound striving for perfection.

Consider "Stay," from 2016's SQUARE TWO three-song sophomore EP, a pensive yet peppy ballad that could be dropped seamlessly into virtually any major U.S. brand ad campaign. And as K-pop is traditionally a very visual-heavy genre, the song's video reflects this cross-continental appeal, with its imagery of blighted corporate America complete with a poignant Easter-egg Talking Heads' "Heaven" lyric lettered on the broken down backdrop's theatre marquee, all under a track that's equal parts longing and hopeful. Even in its mess of heartache and rubble, there's not a hair—or a note—out of place.

Exhibit B: the follow-up single, "As If It's Your Last," flaunts meticulously crafted sections with Lisa's stuttered-and-sliced (and all-English) rap sequences building into a soaring melodic pre-chorus before slamming into the hook. Each new musical idea is painted in its own unique temple, all arranged together in a common garden of song, making for a pleasing mix of variety and profluence. From the beginning, the creative powers behind BLACKPINK have struck this same delicate balance of intrigue and accessibility global pop music demands.

Vivifying their voices and mastering their moves on "DDU-DU DDU-DU"

The group's evolution toward perfect pop onomatopoeia is on full display in their breakout 2018 single, "DDU-DU DDU-DU," which features buoyant beats and an irresistible hook. Audiences clearly love it too; its music video is nearing 600 million views on YouTube, and the song became the highest-charting song by an all-female K-pop group on the Billboard Hot 100, entering the chart at No. 55 back in June. Unsurprisingly, the song hiked all the way up to No. 1 on South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia, while hitting No. 2 in New Zealand and No. 7 in Japan.

"DDU-DU DDU-DU" also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart and on its Emerging Artist chart, becoming the first all-female K-pop act to accomplish the feat.

BLACKPINK's American takeover hits full throttle

As the rest of the world began to take notice, Interscope Records and Universal Music Group took action, signing the group in October of 2018 to represent them outside of Asia. If a major label deal isn't a signpost to success in a country the group has not yet even performed in, what is?

On Nov. 23, 2018, BLACKPINK dropped a nine-song collection of singles constituting their full-length debut, BLACKPINK IN YOUR AREA, named after the group's tagline with the aforementioned banger "DDU-DU DDU-DU" as the lead single.

BLACKPINK also bolstered their rolodex in 2018, collaborating with GRAMMY-nominated British songstress Dua Lipa for "Kiss And Make Up" from the complete edition of her self-titled debut, further deepening their cross-over campaign to an international audience. Like their male counterparts BTS, BLACKPINK maintain the highest pop production of both their music and their videos, giving them seemingly limitless potential for audience accumulation.

BLACKPINK have already won a ton of awards

Furthermore, if BLACKPINK's domestic success at home is any indication, the group's global future is blindingly bright. In the past two years they've won 23 awards and been nominated for a whopping 90 (and counting), including several Goan Chart Music Awards, Melon Music Awards and Mnet Asian Music Awards, all major music awards shows in South Korea. Their first Mnet honor came back in 2016 for Best of Next Artist (Female), proving the critics were on board since day one.

Even better news for the group, the American audiences they are primed to overtake have shown strong streaming habits for hip-hop, a perfect fit for BLACKPINK's leaning into rap to counterbalance their pop appeal. Now, with an ever-growing fan army, a litany of awards under their belts and enough buzz to light up the night sky in pink neon, 2019 appears to be BLACKPINK's to take.

K-Pop Titans BLACKPINK Will Visit U.S. During World Tour
 

Coachella

Coachella

Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images

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Coachella 2019 Lineup Revealed With Extended YouTube Live-Stream Partnership

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Whether you're traveling to the desert or tuning in from your device, take a look at the stacked roster of artists primed to make this year's fest memorable
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jan 3, 2019 - 10:26 am

Anticipation for the Coachella lineup seems to grow each year. Today, the wait is over, as the festival has revealed its long list of performers for the two weekend event April 12–14 and 19–21. The headliners alone are cause for celebration, with Childish Gambino, Tame Impala and Ariana Grande earning top-line billing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights respectively.

With over 160 artists, the lineup—arranged in Coachella's now-iconic colorful desert sky show poster—is heavy on buzz artists, inlcuding 2018 breakout superstars Billie Eilish, Bad Bunny, Ella Mai, and Best New Artist GRAMMY nominee H.E.R. The bill also features a host of once-in-a-generation artists hitting full stride such as Janelle Monáe, Kacey Musgraves, and Solange.

But the list is as deep as it is lofty, with something for everyone scattered across the lineup's lower lines. For instance, experimental funk/pop outfit U.S. Girls, indie/electro R&B artist Blood Orange and dance duo Sofi Tukker all promise to ensure the dessert is as varied as it is hot.

Back to the headliners: Childish Gambino, Friday's main event, is nominated five times over for the upcoming 61st GRAMMY Awards. Known for their entrancing live shows, Tame Impala returns to the Coachella stage for the first time since 2015 and the first time ever as a headliner. On Sunday, Grande will close the weekend with the next blast of her meteoric rise over the past year. Grande also marks the third consecutive solo female artist headline at Coachella following in the footsteps of Beyoncé and Lady Gaga.

The best part? You don't have to make the trek to Indio, Calif., to catch your favorite artist's set. Thanks to an expanded partnership with YouTube, Coachella will be live-streamed both weekends. This mark's YouTube's ninth year as the festival's exclusive live-streaming partner.

Tickets for Coachella go on sale Friday, Jan. 4 on the festival website, and YouTube subscribers will receive an access codes via email on Jan. 4 providing the opportunity to purchase tickets via a dedicated YouTube Music member cart. The countdown to Coachella 2019 has officially begun!

2019 Music Festival Preview: Noise Pop, Ultra & More

The Do LaB stage at Coachella 2019

The Do LaB stage at Coachella 2019

Photo: Aaron Glassman/courtesy of Do LaB

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Elderbook, Dance Spirit, KMLN & Justin Jay Discuss The Magic Of The Do LaB At Coachella

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"Their vibe there is all about family feelings, colorful, playful and most of all inclusive," KMLN said of the special festival space
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Apr 20, 2019 - 12:46 pm

It is undeniably difficult to keep track of every artist on the Coachella lineup or the seemingly endless surprises that take place over the two-weekend event, as the fest is absolutely packed with talent and special moments. The whole desert experience is extemely well-curated, and the production value is unparalleled, so Coachella's long-term partnership with the festival and event experts at Do LaB, who create a festival-within-a-festival experience with the Do Lab stage, makes perfect sense.

Every Coachella, the Do LaB brings their colorful, fun vibes—which can also be found at their annual springtime Lighting in a Bottle fest—with their own expertly curated desert oasis experience. Their stage offers an always-stacked electronic music focused lineup, along with surprise guests that are revealed last-minute via their Twitter account and text message alerts.

Do LaB loves bringing stellar, unexpected collabs (Pete Tong and Guy Gerber linked up for a surprise B2B set during Weekend 1 this year), as well as bringing back old friends playing the larger fest (Bob Moses and RÜFÜS DU SOL stopped by to close out Weekend 1 at the stage, and Sofi Tukker hopped on for a surprise DJ set last night.). If that's not enough to get you on the road to Indio, Calif,. right now, the bumping sound system under a colorful, geometric shade structure, and playful moments brought to you by squirt guns are also pretty compelling.

We asked British GRAMMY-nominated electronic singer/producer Elderbook, who played at the Do LaB Weekend 1, along with L.A.-based dreamy-house duo Dance Spirit, Berlin-based cosmic-house duo KMLN (pronounced chameleon) and L.A.-native house music and live band blending master Justin Jay, the three of whom will be bringing the vibes this weekend, for an insider/artist's perspective of what makes Do LaB so special.

If you're at the fest, you'll want to make sure and catch Justin Jay today, Saturday, at 5:15 p.m. at the Do LaB, as well as KMLN on Sunday at 3:30 p.m., followed by Dance Spirit at 4:45 p.m., all of whom will be bringing their joyful energy, great jams and sunny vibes.

The Do LaB at Coachella 2019

The Do LaB at Coachella 2019 | Photo: Gina Joy/courtesy of Do LaB

You'll be playing the Do LaB stage this weekend, what are you most looking forward to about it?

Dance Spirit: There is so much to look forward to—the vibe, the amazing sound system, the people who are up for a trippy dance, and by the looks of it, the weather. Not to mention being able to listen to dozens of other world class musicians with our friends. The thing we are looking forward to about this set is being able to showcase and share our latest and greatest productions. 

KMLN: Do LaB is comprised of some of our closest family for over 15 years, it was only a matter of time that we could collaborate on their shapeshifting stage that sits right in the middle of the Coachella grounds. We're most excited to see everyone, it's like a homecoming for us as we've spent most of the last few years touring elsewhere in the world. It's been amazing and we're so blessed to get to experience the world but sometimes you miss you closest friends, and at the Do LaB there's lots of them.

Justin Jay: Throughout my times here at Coachella, even as the stage has evolved, the Do LaB has always been one of my favorite parts of Coachella. And my senior year of college, I played the Do LaB and, dude, I had friends on stage with water guns and, a chunk of high school friends here and chunk of college friends here, and it just felt like I was surrounded by homies. I'm just excited to be back in that environment, and the artists they curate; it's just a great experience.

You played at the Do LaB stage last weekend, what was your favorite part about it?

Elderbrook: Coachella was amazing. It's something I think every artist wants to play and I feel lucky to have been able to myself. My favorite part about it was testing out some new material that I've wanted to do for ages. I think it went down okay! 

What would you like to share with the Weekend 2 crew about your set?

Dance Spirit: We always craft and play original music and material and we've been jamming out in the studio writing new grooves and moods that we think will be appropriate for the festival.

KMLN: Regarding the vibe to expect, well, it's a daytime set [on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.] so we'll be bringing our brightest, most playful and adventurous chameleon colors. 

How would you describe the vibe and energy at the Do LaB stage?

D.S.: We've not only played the Do Lab stage before, but also their Lightning in a Bottle and Woogie Weekend as well. They have always strived for a top quality production, and most importantly, their attention to the sound. It is booming and comfortable and a producer/engineer, it is a real joy to be able to play on [their sound system]. 

The mood is always fun and always on. It's is a shaded structure and when it gets hot enough they water down the crowd with giant squirt gun hoses. Overall, it's super vibey and fun. Their reputation brings in the right kind of heads, but also attracts new ones as well. I think they did a great job curating the stage this year, and we are honored to be asked back.

KMLN: Their vibe there is all about family feelings, colorful, playful and most of all inclusive. [We] really enjoy the variety they offer with their lineups each year. And the water guns. 

Elderbrook: The energy of the crowd was great. It was the first day of Coachella 2019 so everyone was full of energy. I love playing festivals but this was a new level!

J.J.: It's just a great, great time, you know? Water guns, bubbles, friends…And [you meet new people and] you're like, "Ah, we can be friends too." That's cool.

You've played Lightning in a Bottle before too; do you feel like the Do Lab stage is like a mini version of that within the larger Coachella vibe?

D.S.: That is a great question.  I would have to say that LiB is its own unique festival considering the fact that it is a varied curation of many genres over three or four stages. We have always played the Woogie stage at LiB and it is always a switched on dance party—so I would say that the Do LaB stage has more of the Woogie/Favela Bar vibe. The LiB festival goes further into musical territory in my opinion.

As far as context at Coachella, I would assume that the Do LaB experience is for people who are excited for the lineup or others who are looking for something new. An enticing dance floor is always more experiential and is more welcoming of participation than a pop music/band area. You [can] go to listen to a band, but at Do LaB you go to feel it and let it move you. In the end, we will let the Instagram influencers decide [laughs].

KMLN: It's true, we've played LiB five years as KMLN and we're pretty sure we've had the honor to play every one of their stages. This seemed like a good year to take a break from that and join the little LiB that is the Do LaB stage at Coachella. The main difference is at Coachella you're missing all the beautiful art, workshops, games and the adventures you can have finding strange little nooks of delightful surprises that makes LiB so special. 

Elderbrook: Yes, definitely! The whole experience of the stage and the art behind it definitely reminds me of LiB. 

What does it mean to you to be a part of Do Lab's curated Coachella experience?

D.S.: [It's] an opportunity that we are grateful for and it has motivated an intense amount of creativity in a short amount of time. Needless to say, we are excited, and dare we say one more time, excited to play on that sound system!

KMLN: It's so exciting and an honor to be playing on the same grounds as so many legends of music history. We love Do LaB so much and wanna grow old with them

Elderbrook: It means so much. Like I said, playing Coachella is so many musicians dream and to be part of it just felt amazing. Hopefully I’ll one day return!

RÜFÜS DU SOL Are Ready To Go "Underwater" At Coachella