The StageCoach Craze

Aliyah Cohen, Journalist|May 23, 2022

The Stagecoach Festival (Stagecoach for short) returned to Indio, California, after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19. Many Corona del Mar students made the three-hour commute to the desert to attend the popular three-day festival. Stagecoach is the country music equivalent to Coachella, a music festival held the week before. The music performed outdoors at Stagecoach ranges from mainstream to underground country to bluegrass. Similar to Coachella, Stagecoach reveals a fresh lineup of artists every year. This year the festival was headlined by country music stars Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Combs.
Junior Jillian Schlom attended Stagecoach this year with a group of friends. She stated, “Stagecoach is probably one of the best weekends in the desert. It’s just starting to get warm, and basically, all of Newport is down there. You can lay by the pool all day, then listen to your favorite country singers with your best friends at night.” Jillian had been to the festival in a prior year and said, “I’ve been once before the pandemic, and it was super fun, but this time there were way more people. It definitely was more of a three-day festival feeling this year, and I can’t wait for next year.”

One of the other reasons Stagecoach is so appealing is because of the opportunity to dress up in cowboy boots and hats. Senior Brooke Dauderman went to Stagecoach with a group of her close friends this year and brought her cowboy hat and boots. She loves country music and said, “when Carrie Underwood brought out Axel Rose, it was the best moment of my life!!” She also mentioned, “I enjoyed the honky tonk and dancing with all my friends.”

No music festival is complete without good food. This year attendees enjoyed an array of food, naturally including fried chicken and barbecue. Additionally, world rebound chef and host of Food Network’s “Diners, Drive‑Ins, and Dives,” Guy Fieri brought back his “Backyard Cooking Demos series” at his Stagecoach Smokehouse.

Be sure not to miss Stagecoach next year; it will be held on the weekend of April 28, 2023, with lineups to be announced next year.