Coachella racks up $117,000 in fines due to curfews during weekend one

While the annual trek to the California desert for the Coachella Festival is a massive spotlight for the music industry, as well as the artists and influencers who help make the event so unique and exciting, it is also an important source of revenue and tourism for the city of Indio and the surrounding towns in the area.  Event promoter Goldenvoice is contracted to continue the event in the city of Indio through 2050, but they have some strict rules that need to be followed.

With weekend one of Coachella 2023 wrapped up, fans both on-site and around the globe were privy to plenty of exciting performances from the likes of Bad Bunny, Gorillaz, a reunited Blink-182, Calvin Harris, Porter Robinson, and many more.  What the weekend also featured was all three nights extending past the events curfew, a stipulation that has also been a part of the events contract with the city.  The current agreement sets the curfew at 1 AM on Friday and Saturday nights and then midnight on Sunday, marks that were missed by 25 minutes, 22 minutes, and 25 minutes again across weekend one.  These transgressions call for $20,000 for the first 5 minutes past curfew, with another $1,000 added every minute beyond that.

So far, Coachella has owed $117,000 in fines that will go toward Indio’s General Fund, which helps provide money for city operating costs, public works, and police and fire departments.  The seriousness of the curfew came to the crowd’s attention on Sunday, as Frank Ocean, after arriving an hour late to the stage, suddenly announced, “Guys I’m being told it’s curfew, so that’s the end of the show.”  With another weekend of music still to go, we’ll see if event organizers hold performers to a stricter schedule or continue to contribute to the city’s General Fund.

Image Credit: Dom Carver via Pixabay