Coachella or Couchella???

Weekend one of Coachella 2026 wraps and the F.O.M.O this year was exceptionally high as my ‘Bieber Fever’ sickened me the moment I woke, Friday morning.

Online discourse reveals that long-time fans and average salary making individuals wish Coachella demonstrated its original mission of prioritizing artists and accessibility. Coachella’s roots resist commercialization yet they have become the enemy.

The broadcasted crowds of Coachella over the past few years do not seem intrigued or aware of the artist they are watching, however support Goldenvoice by purchasing the ridiculously priced tickets. For those who did not pay (social media influencers) were most likely sent by a name brand like Guess, Revolve or Rhode (EACH YEAR KEEP IN MIND) to promote yet another consumeristic product.

I may sound like a hater or jealous but I really want to share that the people who really want to go and will enjoy the music and the festival for its entirety are commonly left watching it at home on Youtube. The opportunities Coachella once gave to the working, middle class seem like a ‘maybe’ or ‘one day’ situation now.

In my opinion, if Coachella lowered their prices, even more people would attend and they would make even more money. But I am sure that’s not how it works lol. In general though, the price of Coachella tickets have skyrocketed beyond repair and for a festival you may not even be able to see everyone you want, it’s starting to become unappealing for many.

Ok but for real enough anti-capitalism talk, I want to document my ‘Couch-ella’ weekend one thoughts, here we go!

Slayyyter absolutely killed it and I hope she soon gets her flowers more than that crowd (at 3 p.m.) already showed her!!!

The xx and Disclosure were very nostalgic and played everything I wanted to hear.

Pink Pantheress’s stage presence is amazing and her outfit changes were so London. I love her aesthetic and her entire ‘Fancy some more’ remix album was pure genius and talent.

David Guetta performed in a way that felt like we were in the club when these songs just came out. The electricity from the past made the present moment emotional for me. 10/10.

The Strokes had me jumping up and down and my cheeks hurt so much from smiling!

Justin. Bieber. My younger self was in awe! Even though he could not play much of his old songs (which I know a lot of people were expecting and are taking it online saying he should not have agreed to be a headliner if he was “going to perform like that”) he still brought us back to the time we all discovered Justin Bieber. Youtube was such a formative website for Gen Z and the way Bieber took us to the times we sat at the family computer and watched Youtube videos made me feel nostalgic but also that time has passed and we are all growing up. He is in a different stage in his life and so are we.

I did not really stream day three but I did see a few clips of Iggy Pop, French Police, Kaskade and Major Lazer.

As a big electronic music fan, I do wish Coachella streamed the Do Lab and Yuma for us at home who also want to experience legendary DJs mixing infamous tracks.

In reality, Coachella is expensive and it’s really not financially feasible to take a weekend off from work at this time but I am writing on paper so it’s permanent and a promise to myself that I will make it to Coachella in the following years. Experiencing car camping and a desert music festival has to happen once for me.

But for now, instead of running from stage to stage, I will continue to sit comfortably on my coach and toggle between stages on Youtube.

XOXO,

☮️