The show must go on for the Coachella Valley Music Festival. Even though the ash cloud from the Iceland volcano eruption caused a few acts to cancel (due to cancelled flights from Europe), day one of the Southern California art and music event began today. The three-day mega concert is sold out and runs from 11 AM to 1 AM Friday and Saturday, and 11 AM to midnight on Sunday. Festival passes, valid for all three days, were $269.
Even though Indio, California is quite far from Iceland, some of the scheduled acts for the Coachella Valley Music Festival were making their way to the desert from Europe. Since the ash cloud from the Iceland volcano eruption has drifted over Northern Europe, a massive number of airports have closed and cancelled their flights. The ash can cause jet engines to fail and the residue in the sky makes proper plane navigation difficult. Some of the acts that were unable to make the event due to the volcano fallout were Los Campesinos!, Gary Numan, Bad Lieutenant, and the Cribs.
Single-day admission was not an option for the event's 11th year in 2010. Full-weekend passes were the only type of ticket. While the event sold out, some may have been discouraged to attend due to the heavier financial commitment of a three-day pass. But that doesn't mean that you have to miss out on the fun; music fans can enjoy aspects of Coachella from the comfort of their own homes through the live streaming performances on the event's official Web site.
Here are some of the eclectic acts on each day of the festival:
Friday
Jay-Z is the evening's headliner, but the first day of the festival is hardly hip-hop centric. Other performers include Echo & the Bunnymen, Imogen Heap, and She & Him. She & Him is the musical collaboration of actress Zooey Deschanel and Matt Ward.
Saturday
Day two's diverse performers include DEVO, Camera Obscura, MGMT, Rx Bandits, and Faith No more. The British band Muse is set to headline. Luckily, they surpassed VolcanoGate and made it to the festival to satisfy the musical cravings of Southern California hipsters and indie-rockers.
Sunday
Not-to-miss YouTube videos from Sunday include Florence & the Machine, Yo La Tengo, Thom Yorke, Spoon, and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Gorillaz are the headliners. Although some DJ sets featuring dance music are best experienced in person, you can count on a number of Internet resources to showcase the highlights of the Coachella Valley Music Festival.
