Beasties, RHCP Do Coachella
The Beastie Boys and the Red Hot Chili Peppers will headline this year’s Coachella Festival, which will be held April 26th and 27th at the picturesque Empire Polo Field in Indio, California. For the Beasties, it will be their first West Coast appearance in four and a half years.
The festival, now in its fourth year, will have a decidedly fresh feel this year, as the lineup is loaded with Coachella virgins, including the White Stripes, Cat Power, the Donnas, Black Eyed Peas, Johnny Marr, Ben Folds, Joseph Arthur, N.E.R.D., Fischerspooner, Ladytron, the Soundtrack of Our Lives, Primal Scream, Deep Dish and Dirty Vegas. Performance artists the Blue Man Group will also be making their live concert debut.
Acts returning from previous years include Underworld, Ben Harper, Queens of the Stone Age, and Groove Armada (who will be playing live as opposed to DJing this time around).
As usual, dance music will play a major part in the festival. Underworld are slated to perform a two-hour set, while Masters at Work (the dance project featuring Little Louie Vega and Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez) will make their U.S. debut, and DJs from Roger Sanchez to Christopher Lawrence will also be spinning. Others representing the dance world include Nightmares on Wax, Thievery Corporation, Amon Tobin, Timo Maas, Darren Emerson and Richie Hawtin.
But it’s the Chili Peppers that hold a special meaning to the festival’s organizers. “We have promoted the Chili Peppers since the early days and they were the first band that gave us a shot at promoting an arena show,” says Goldenvoice president and Coachella organizer Paul Tollett. “We’ll always be thankful for that.”
Tickets are $75 per day and $140 for a two-day pass, and they go on sale Saturday, February 22nd, through Ticketmaster.