Coachella 2012 Concert / Arts Festival / Music Festival / DJ Event Apr 13 through Apr 22, 2012

A massive music festival that takes over the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival attracts major names across a wide range of musical genres, as well as major crowds that more than double Indio’s normal population of 75,000 residents.

Typically held over the second and third weekends in April, Coachella – as it is more commonly called – first debuted in 2001 with a lineup that included Beck, The Chemical Brothers, Tool, Morrissey, and Rage Against the Machine. Not so shabby for an inaugural event.

Since then, Coachella performers have come to represent a veritable who’s who in rock, indie, hip-hop, electronic music, and more, and performers at Coachella have included everyone from Kanye West and 50 Cent to Mumford & Sons and Arcade Fire.

Music isn’t all that’s on offer during Coachella, which has also become known for its massive art installations a la Burning Man, with everything from temporary structures highlighting the latest in sustainable architecture to towering sculptures to interactive mechanized displays that are almost as stunning as all the bands.

Several stages at Coachella are temporarily constructed across the grounds, each with live music that plays throughout the duration of the four-day event. The main stages at Coachella include the Coachella Stage, Outdoor Theatre, Gobi Tent, Mojave Tent, and the Sahara Tent, so it’s doubtful anyone will have much trouble finding the Coachella performer they most want to see.

First-time attendees should keep in mind that Indio – located about 25 miles east of Palm Springs – can be very hot in April, with temperatures well over 100 degrees the norm, so staying hydrated is even more important than grabbing tickets before they sell out.

Tickets to Coachella are capped at around 80,000 visitors per day, and have sold out in less than a week in recent years. Coachella tickets are normally around $400–$450 for a one weekend pass, valid for general admission. A handful of VIP tickets are also available each weekend, which entitle pass holders access to a VIP area adjacent the main stage that offers shaded areas, picnic tables, couches, extra restrooms, private food and beverage vendors, and a full cash bar, among other perks. VIP tickets to Coachella are around $800/weekend.

Car and tent camping at Coachella is also available at a campground adjacent the polo field. Nearly 20,000 people filled the campground at Coachella in recent years, which offers both tent and car camping options, and features on-site facilities like a general store, showers, mobile phone charging stations, and an internet cafe with free Wi-Fi. Camping at Coachella is around $85/space per night.

There are also tons of impromptu parties to be found a short drive away in Palm Springs, where fans charged up by the day’s music let loose at giant desert mansions, hotels, bars, and clubs all over town…probably much to the city’s senior-aged citizens’ chagrin.