The first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival hit Indio on Friday, bringing plenty of attendees and activity to the Southern California desert city. This year the buzz was all about the hotly anticipated Outkast reunion, a new slate of art and food offerings—including a $1,000-plus dining package—and how Goldenvoice's fest now feels like more of a luxury retreat than an edgy music gathering.
Off the festival grounds, the landscape was packed with brands hosting pool parties and late-night bashes, spreading from Indio's neighboring Thermal to Palm Springs about 25 miles away. Marketers placed more emphasis on social media engagement, printing hashtags on everything from tattoos to coconuts, while decor alluded to the free-spirited looks sported by the crowd, with teepees and floral headbands popping up at various events.
From H&M's debut as a late-night event host and Corvette's racetrack to Forever 21's suspended DJ booth, here's a look at the biggest parties from Coachella this year.
At Forever 21's "Party in the Sky" on Saturday evening in Palm Springs, two enormous cranes hoisted the brightly colored DJ booth, in a shipping container, into the air for a dramatic effect—especially in the swaying winds of the day. A truss above was marked with the event host's name in pink.
New sponsors Nylon, Olay Fresh Effects, and Guess presented the fifth annual Neon Carnival on Saturday, a buzzy and celeb-packed draw despite the addition of H&M’s party on the calendar. Once again, rides and carnival games filled the late-night bash.
The event, produced by Brent Bolthouse at an airport near the festival grounds, included an enormous dance floor and music by DJ Ruckus and his cousin, actress-musician Zoe Kravitz, as well as DJ Politik.
Logos from the new slate of sponsors appeared on everything from rides to games: The crowd experienced old-school carnival bumper cars from Olay Fresh Effects, as well as rode the Zipper and Rampage from Guess and the Nylon and Olay Fresh Effects Ferris wheel—the party's signature feature.
STK chef Robert Liberato created items for the party including kale chips, soft pretzels, neon popcorn, and short rib sliders. STK also hosted a kissing booth, where guests gave lips stickers in place of actual kisses. Red Bull and Aquahydrate provided beverages.
Competing for attention with the Neon Carnival was H&M, which took over a venue near the festival grounds for its “H&M Loves Music at Coachella" event. The retailer used its Saturday-night affair to reveal that Alexander Wang would be its next design partner. The surprise announcement was made with LED lights and lasers projecting the "Alexander Wang x H&M" collaboration logo.
Following the announcement, celebrities and more than 700 guests stayed for performances by Major Lazer, as well as Jesse Marco, Just Blaze, and Iggy Azalea.
H&M used neon signage to direct guests and string lights to illuminate the late-night bash that stretched into the morning hours.
McDonald’s and Chevrolet’s Corvette Stingray teamed up this year for an event at the Bootsy Bellows Estate in Rancho Mirage. A massive throng of eager guests were shuttled from a nearby church parking lot to the location, a sprawling party produced by the Brett Hyman-led NVE. On site were Coachella-appropriate activations and activities such as a floral headband-making station. Narrative Group handled PR and conceptualized the program with many partners.
The event featured the "Corvette Stingray Performance Experience” that allowed guests to take a ride with a professional driver to demonstrate the vehicle's ability to go from zero to 120 miles per hour. Thanks to a partnership with the city of Rancho Mirage, organizers were able to create the course on a closed road.
For daring guests, the event offered a 25-foot free-fall stunt jump from a platform into a giant branded inflatable cushion below.
A bright yellow Corvette Stingray parked near McDonald's signature golden arches served as an eye-catching backdrop for photos at the joint event.
The party featured an unusual sight: tray-passed catering from McDonald’s. The fast-food giant’s massive mobile food semitruck was parked on site for eats as well.
Among the many fashion-minded brands on the scene was Lacoste, which managed to retain its cachet from previous years. The French clothing company brought back its weekend-long Desert Pool Party at a private estate in Thermal, which this year was produced by Made With Elastic and included celebrity guest DJs and sporty activations related to its Life Is a Beautiful Sport campaign. Misters gave guests a chance to take a break from the heat.
The Lacoste crocodile showed up on a mini putting green as well as tons of other unexpected places at the party.
One station offered logo- and brand-centric temporary tattoos, as well as ones that bore one of the party's two official hashtags, #LiveBeautifully and #DesertPoolParty.
Guests could shop for festival fashions at a custom-built pop-up shop.
Activities included air tennis and mini golf. Drinks from Evian and boozy sweets from Patrón provided much-needed relief against the desert heat; L.A. food trucks supplied the party's nibbles.
The brand promoted its new campaign platform Life Is a Beautiful Sport with various on-site activations and amenities, including a D.I.Y. shoe-decorating station hosted by blog P.S. I Made This.
Lacoste also put its stamp on coconuts, which were freshly opened on the spot and served with straws.
As night fell, Azealia Banks performed unreleased tracks from her album for the crowd from the pink-lit elevated performance booth. The retailer made the most of its unusual suspended elements by using the hashtag #Cranechella for the party.
Teepee tents have become a key motif at Coachella events, and Forever 21's bash used them to anchor seating groups. Furniture and decor, spray painted with bright accents and marked with hashtags and logos, were made from raw wooden pallets.
The Ace Hotel hosted its annual Desert Gold weekend-long event program, with Marc by Marc Jacobs as the new title sponsor. Caravents produced the activation, where color-blocked flags at the hotel's front entry mimicked the design of the brand's eyewear.
A wall of sunglasses, available as gifts to celebrities and infuencers or at a discount to other guests, also got a color-blocked treatment to match the look of the product.
The DFM and Hello Stranger presented the Saguaro Desert Weekender with a roster of partners and performances throughout the weekend. DJ and live sets came from acts like FKA Twigs, Bonobo, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, and DJ Harvey. Marking the entrance to the event was the Reyka Vodka Ice House, a space with with a frozen bar, faux snow, and Cold Snap Cosmo cocktails served in cups made of ice with a pair of Icelandic wool mittens. The programming will return for Coachella's second weekend.
At the "Opening Ceremony x Teva" event during the first day, the floor was branded with signage and logos.
Wooden crates served as the basis for decor and product displays.
With production by YourBash, the Guess Hotel took over the Viceroy Palm Springs, rebranding its entry. The weekend-long activation was in addition to the brand's sponsorship of Saturday night's Neon Carnival.
Guess merchandise filled a space outfitted with retro speakers and calfskin rugs.
Working with the Viceroy's Hollywood decor, YourBash added branded accents like throw pillows and framed photographs.
Details hosted its “Details at Midnight” party at a private residence on Friday with Lexus as first-time sponsor. Food included gluten-free options from the Melt Truck, as well as Cool Haus Patrón-infused ice cream sandwiches and Patrón cake pop shots.
The BMF Music Lounge took over Palm Springs's Ingleside Inn for a poolside party and suite. Sponsor Tide encouraged selfies by decking out a mirror with floral appliques and including the hashtag #TidePlus in the frame.
A hedge step-and-repeat wall at the Music Lounge held the framed logos of participating brands like Tide, BMF, Olay, Coors Light, Herbal Essences, and Hennessy.
Filter, one of the few brands with plans to return for the festival's second weekend, hosted its 12th annual Filter Yacht Club party for attendees that arrived early on Thursday. The kickoff was packed with performances.
At the Filter party, high-energy performances came from ASTR and MDNR, and there were DJ sets by Stones Throw artists Mayer Hawthorne, Peanut Butter Wolf, and Dam Funk.
The Influential Network, a social media firm that owns one of the largest Twitter and Instagram networks in the world, launched a new event series, dubbed the Influential House. The concept brought together major social media influencers to spend the weekend as residents at a La Quinta estate, where pool parties took place daily. Organizers say the event generated more than a billion social media impressions. Events by Fabulous produced the three-day program, which had a swim-up bar sponsored by VeeV and Monster Energy, music from DJ Cobra and DJ Spider, and social media competitions for prizes from sponsors such as OtterBox and Boomphones. Broadcast media partner Entertainment Tonight launched an event-wide search at the house for a resident influencer to take over its social media accounts as a guest correspondent. The activation at Coachella is part of an ongoing series that will coincide with the biggest festivals and events; Electric Daisy Carnival is up next.
In a nod to one of the festival's common sights, Kari Feinstein's team—with the help of artist Shannon Crawford—built its own teepee using reclaimed wood and a freestanding base. "Most of the talent that comes though is drawn to the tent because it makes for a cool pic and selfies, almost more than than the typical photo booth," Feinstein said. "We had several celebs sit in there with their friends for 10 to 15 minutes looking to capture the perfect selfie."
The new Symmetry Series phone case from OtterBox was available at the lounge and guests could share their snaps (with their phones clearly pictured in the mirror) using the appropriate hashtags at a dedicated "selfie station."
