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Coachella and Stagecoach have wrapped for the 2025 festival season. The annual music festivals take place back to back to back each April at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.

While the festivals take place on the same grounds, there are quite a few differences between the two besides the lineup. From the music, food, activations and more, here are the key variations that give each festival its identity.

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Here’s a glimpse of what Stagecoach 2025 Day One was like. Follow along for more updates throughout the weekend. Visit the link in our bio for more Stagecoach 2025 coverage. #stagecoach #stagecoach2025 #country #countrymusic #countrymusicfestival #coachellavalley #indio #indiocalifornia #empirepoloclub #diplo #carlypearce #mumfordandsons #lanadelrey #tigerlilygold #beis #brothersosborne #katehudson #zachbryan

♬ original sound – The SoCal Local

The Music

Coachella brings together a variety of music genres, giving festival-goers a taste of different styles and the opportunity to find new sounds. On top of that, each stage or tent has its own genre, style or vibe. On the Coachella main stage, you’re typically going to find the most mainstream music, which makes sense as it’s where the headliners perform each night. The outdoor theatre became a place to vibe and recharge as you listened to acts such as the LA Philharmonic, Clairo, Parcels and even Zedd to get some “Clarity.”

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JENNIE brings out surprise guest Kali Uchis during her performance at the Outdoor Theatre at Coachella 2025 #coachella #coachella2025 #jennie #kaliuchis

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Stagecoach has traditionally been a festival with solely country music on the lineup. However recently it’s been trying to embrace  the times by having artists like Backstreet Boys, Lana Del Rey and Mumford & Sons featured to bring in more people. While it’s debatable if the core crowd of Stagecoach attendees are onboard with this shift, the festival has sold out the last two years, indicating that the general public is embracing the change.

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Benson Boone surprise the crowd at the Coachella Main Stage by bringing out Queen guitarist Brian May to perform Bohemian Rhapsody. #coachella #coachella2025 #brianmay #queen #bensonboone #bohemianrhapsody

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Because of this shift we also saw some artists perform three weekends back to back at the Empire Polo Club grounds. This included Shaboozey and T-Pain, who performed on the main stage at Coachella and the Palomino tent at Stagecoach.

The Booze

Stagecoach has historically sold more alcohol in its first day than Coachella does during both weekends combined. This is on-brand for Stagecoach as country music has quite a few songs and lyrics dedicated to drinking a cold one, so its not surprising to see beer as the drink of choice for festival goers. Headliner Luke Combs kept up with his tradition of punting a red solo cup of beer into the audience.

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Coachella coverage all weekend long at the link in our bio. #coachella #coachellaweekend2 #speakeasy #coachellahiddenbars

♬ Countless – Official Sound Studio

The New Bar also returned to both festivals this year, providing mocktails and nonalcoholic beverages options to festival goers. New this year, the New Bar was moved from the Indio Central Market space it was at in 2024 for Coachella to be closer to the Beer Barn, and closer to where it was for Stagecoach last year.

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Here’s where to find the Stagecoach Speakeasies #stagecoach #stagecoach2025 #speakeasy #speakeasies #stagecoachspeakeasy

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Both weekends also have a few speakeasies hidden on the grounds for attendees to find and enjoy a refreshing beverage. New this year, during weekend two of Coachella, Ed Sheeran — a last minute addition to the lineup — put together his own speakeasy labled “the old phone” where attendees entered through a green phone booth. Some lucky fans even got to see the singer perform in the speakeasy in addition to his set on the Mojave stage.

@the.socal.local

Word on the street is that they set this all up on Monday – a weekend two exclusive. More Coachella coverage at the link in our bio. #coachellaweekend2 #coachella #edsheeran

♬ Ed Sheeran-style good pops – CodaWaterMusic

The Layout of the Festivals

If you were to overlay the maps of each festival over each other, you might feel like half of the Coachella festival grounds is missing at Stagecoach. There’s no Do Lab, the Sahara tent is closed off, the Indio Central Market food hall becomes the stage and backstage area for the Mane Stage and the Outdoor Theatre becomes the VIP area for watching the show.

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Trixie Mattel took the Do LaB stage to DJ at Coachella 2025 #coachella #coachella2025 #trixiemattel #thedolab @Do LaB @trixiemattel @VINCINT

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There was confusion in the crowd about whether or not Lady Gaga’s headliner set at Coachella was over or if she would do an encore performance. Fans waited for 5 minutes before she returned to the stage to perform “Bad Romance” #coachella #coachella2025 #ladygaga #badromance

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Speaking of main stages, the Coachella main stage where the headliners perform faces south twoward the Spectra Tower, whereas the Stagecoach Mane Stage rotates to face west, toward Diplo’s Honky Tonk.

The stages and tents that do stick around also get renamed, so the Yuma tent becomes Diplo’s Honky Tonk, the Mojave tent turns into the Palomino stage and the Gobi tent becomes the Yellowstone activation as well as a food hall to buy snacks, drink and sit at a table to rest.

Notably, the Quasar stage and Red Bull Mirage didn’t stick around for Stagecoach and that area turns into the Compton Cowboys space. The 12 peaks area is no longer VIP for Stagecoach as it is for Coachella. Instead, the space becomes open to everyone to grab a bite to eat, watch the Mane Stage monitor from the Honkytonk Sky Bar and wander around to find the hidden tropical speakeasy.

New for 2025, the Rose Garden VIP area that’s typically only been part of Coachella was available for those with VIP wristabands at Stagecoach and was reimagined as the Rose Garden Saloon.

You’ll also notice as you walk around the Stagecoach festival ground, that there are tons of TV monitors stationed throughout to watch the Mane Stage performances. Not only does this help get a better visual of what’s happening from the GA area, but these screens are also in areas such as the Beer Barn, Honkeytonk Sky Bar and Palomino Plaza.

The Seating Arrangements

At Coachella fans are in the crowds at each stage. The grass is still fresh during weekend one so it’s not uncommon to see people sit on the ground further away from the stages to rest their feet and enjoy the music.

Stagecoach is a similar vibe to other country music festivals where attendees can bring in their own lawn chairs to sit in in designated areas to watch the shows. T-Mobile returned to sponsor the Mane Stage this year and with it had a Magenta Lounge area for T-Mobile customers to watch the performances from. Additionally, each day when gates open T-Mobile was gifting a select number of free lawn chairs to customers for them to use to watch the Mane Stage performances.

There also are assigned seats that attendees can buy, closer to the stage. The VIP area near the Mane Stage has bleachers for those with wristbands to sit in as well.

The Food

Each festival has plenty of food vendors stationed throughout the ground. You’ll see some overlap between the two weekends of classic festival and fair foods like funnel cakes, hot dogs and pizza. During Coachella you’re going to tend to see some more trendy, healthier options like acai bowls, sushi and vegan cuisine. During Stagecoach it’s all about the BBQ. BBQ brisket, BBQ grilled cheese, BBQ mac & cheese, BBQ quesadilla, you name it.

Unique to Coachella is the Indio Central Market that serves as a food hall, housing many Southern California eateries and providing a nice place to cool down and listen to a performance happening at the Outdoor Theatre.

A big crowd draw at Stagecoach is Guy Feriri’s Smokehouse, which is arguably a headliner performance in itself. People rush to the Smokehouse as if the rope drop for a new ride at Disneyland, trying to get up close to the action so they can get free samples of the food being made in front of them and get photos and autographs from the Stagecoach performers who come to partake in cooking demonstrations.

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Jelly Roll beats Shaboozey in BBQ baked potato cook off at Guy Fieri’s Smokehouse during Day Two of Stagecoach 2025 Visit the link in our bio for more Stagecoach coverage. : Andy Holzman, Contributing Photographer #jellyroll #shaboozey #guyfieri #stagecoach #stagecoach2025

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The Art

Coachella is a music and art festival so it makes sense that art installations are big — literally the size of them is pretty massive. The art itself has changed over the years from pieces to admire, to backdrops for social media posts. The other unique thing is many of the pieces have become functional as places to lounge during the day. For instance the Le Grand Bouquet by UCHRONIA, which was made to look like inflatable flower balloons, had bean bags at the bottom. The flowers also provided shade during the day.

ALSO SEE: 3 new art installations make their debut at Coachella 2025

The Spectra rainbow tower sticks around for all three weekends, providing air conditioning inside as attendees make their way up to the top and back down.

As for Stagecoach, you’ll see some art pieces, but they’re primarily Stagecoach signs themed around the festival that attendees line up to take a photo from.

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Take a look at one of the new art installations at Coachella 2025 #coachella #coachella2025

♬ Chill Vibes – Tollan Kim

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Here’s what the new Coachella 2025 art installations look like at night. Visit the link in our bio for more Coachella updates. #coachella #coachella2025

♬ Cozy Day (Lofi) – The Machinist Beats

The Merch

Artist merchandise is a big deal at Coachella, so much so that the headliners now have their own merchandise booths where they sell exclusive merchandise themed just for the festival. Other artists sell limited edition festival merch as well that can be purchased from the merchandise tents when you first enter the grounds. You’ll also tend to see festival-goers purchase merchandise to change into after the sun sets and it starts to cool once they realize their fashion forward outfit isn’t doing much to help them withstand the cold weather.

@the.socal.local

Here’s the exclusive merch headliners Lady Gaga, Green Day and Post Malone are selling at Coachella 2025. #coachella #coachella2025 #ladygaga #greenday #postmalone #travisscott

♬ Cozy Day (Lofi) – The Machinist Beats

Artist merch can also be purchased at Stagecoach, but it isn’t as prevalent as Coachella. The main merchandise tent had a long line as soon as gates opened, and became a popular spot in the evening when festival-goers were looking for any layers they could find to keep them warm.

@the.socal.local

Here’s where you can find shorter merch lines for Stagecoach 2025 #stagecoach #stagecoach2025

♬ original sound – The SoCal Local

The Fashion

On the topic of clothing, festival fashion is big at Coachella. While the early days of the festival saw the crowds in comfortable band tees and sensible walking shoes, that went out the window for many in the 2010s with the rise of Instagram and influencer culture. Coachella became less about going to Coachella and more about showing people you were at Coachella, and a part of that is showing your outfit online.

@the.socal.local

Heres a look at what festival goers were wearing during Coachella 2025 weekend one. See the full gallery at the link in our bio. : Watchara Phomicinda, Contributing Photographer & Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG #coachella #coachella2025 #coachellaoutfit #coachellaoutfits #festivalfashion #coachellafashion #coachella2025outfit #whattoweartocoachella

♬ Vlog Hip-Hop Urban – Vladislav Kurnikov

This year it seemed like the intense festival fashion had started to scale back as more people leaned toward cute clothes that were still comfortable enough to dance the night away in. Just like last year, cowboy culture was a Coachella fashion trend, and with that we also started to see more interest in Stagecoach festival fashion.

From bedazzled boots and cowboy hats, to sparkly fringe dresses it was as if Taylor Swift’s early concert looks were making a comeback, and just in time for the predicted re-release of her debut album this year. Stagecoach fashion also saw a lot of red, white and blue ensembles were American flag overalls seeming to be the outfit of choice for many men attending. You could also start to piece together who was attending for the classic country sound versus who was new to the festival because of Lana Del Rey, the Backstreet Boys and other artists who were dipping their toes in country music.

The Camping

Coachella camping was a mess for both weekends, but for different reasons. Weekend one’s camping situation gained mainstream media attention before the festival even began. Cars were lined up for hours, people couldn’t get water or go to use the bathroom, and Goldenvoice went to the La Quinta City Council to apologize for what had happened and do better for weekend two. Luckily, it was a much smoother operation getting campers in the following weekend as organizers started letting people in earlier and had more check-in points for security to do car checks. The downside for those attending weekend two camping, was that the wind was much more intense, and belongings were flying all over the festival grounds, even leading to some cars that were parked on-site to get damaged and scratched up as gear flew up into the air and landed on their vehicles.

RELATED: Goldenvoice apologizes for traffic disaster and maps out changes for weekend 2 of Coachella 2025

As for the camping experience, one could argue that it’s a festival in itself. Not only do they have their own DJs performing on the campgrounds the day before Coachella kicks off, they also have plenty of activities, food booths and more for attendees to stay busy when their not at the festival grounds.

@the.socal.local

The camps at Coachella have evolved to setups that go beyond just simple tents. But for different campers, that means very different things. Here’s how some people are camping at Coachella. Read our full story and see pictures at the link in our bio. : Dorothy Elder, SCNG : Richard Guzman, SCNG #coachella #coachellaweekend2 #camping #coachellacamping #grwm #funny #camp

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Rather than pitching up a tent, at Stagecoach it’s all about RV camping. Traffic is known to be rough getting in, taking hours to check every RV to make sure it’s up to festival safety. However, once the RVs are in, the party begins. As you walk around the RV park, you’ll see groups playing cornhole, drinking games and more classics pre Stagecoach activites.

The Weather

Typically weekend one of Coachella is warm weather during the day, then it gets cold at night. It also gets progressively warmer during weekend two and is even hotter by the time Stagecoach rolls around.

This year however saw the opposite take place. Weekend one was the hottest of the month, with temperatures reaching past 100 degrees at the height of the day. Typically at the end of the night during weekend one you’ll see groups of friends gathered in emergency foil blankets to keep warm, and the crowd full of newly purchased Coachella sweatshirts.

Weekend two of Coachella and Stagecoach experienced cooler temperatures this year, and some pretty intense wind which only made it feel colder. The wind also led to some camping canopies getting tossed in the air during weekend two of Coachella, and cowboy hats flying off of attendees heads during Stagecoach.

The Crowd

Many people note that influencer culture has taken over weekend one of Coachella, and that weekend two is for the “normies,” aka the everyday people who go for the music. Because of this there’s often a different vibe as well. More people are on their phones, posting online, rather than dancing at the festival. Stagecoach is similar to weekend two where you often seeing groups of friends dance with each other during mane stage performances, taking in the music.

@the.socal.local

SPOILERS AHEAD: Can you guess who the crowd at the Mojave tent is watching? If you guessed Yo Gabba Gabba! You’re right! #yogabbagabba #coachella #coachella2025

♬ Jazz Bossa Nova – TOKYO Lonesome Blue

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The Redditors during their annual beer shotgun meetup at Coachella. Full story at the link in our bio! #coachellaweekend2 #coachella #reddit #redditor #festivalseason

♬ Sauti – Francis Mercier & Faul & Wad & African Children’s Choir

However this year it appeared more brands are starting to send influencers to Stagecoach, which could indicate another sign that the country music festival is blending more with the Coachella crowd.

You’re going to see a lot more celebrities, both on the stage and in the crowds, if you go weekend one of Coachella than you will during weekend two or Stagecoach for that matter.

At Stagecoach it’s more common to see families and children throughout the grounds, where as if you see young kids and babies at The festival’s got a younger crowd this year, and we’re calling it Babychella

ALSO SEE: Coachella has a younger crowd this year, and we’re calling it Babychella

Love and lust also seem to be in the air. Not only will you see couples slow dancing together, but you’ll see them sharing a smooch as well. We also spoke with female festival goers who attended both Coachella and Stagecoach and many noted they were getting approached and hit on by men more often at Stagecoach, which took away from their experience.

The Livestreams

Coachella’s official livestream is held on YouTube, where viewers partaking in “Couchchella,” the stay-at-home way to watch the sets, can switch between the different stages. On YouTube, there’s an ability to rewind and pause if you missed a set. This is also beneficial to those who go in person to Coachella to be able to watch back a performance they might have missed that day and they’re getting ready to go to bed, or doing their makeup the next day.

Coachella performers also seem to dedicate time in their set to play up their performance for the camera and online viewers, neglecting the people in front of them who paid to be there. The artists know that no matter the size of the crowd in front of them, there’s even more people watching the show online, which is why during weekend one especially they crank out the surprise guest appearances. Coachella artists also do it big with elaborate sets, especially on the main stage.

The Stagecoach livestream is hosted by Amazon Prime and can be streamed both on their site, app and through Twitch. There’s two channels that have hosts recapping the day and conducting interviews with artists as the switch between performances on the Mane Stage, Palomino and Diplo’s Honky Tonk. The channel is like watching live televison, so once the performance airs, that’s that.

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Luke Combs surprises the Mane Stage crowd by bringing out country music legend Garth Brooks to perform “Friends in Low Places” to close out Stagecoach 2025 Visit the link in our bio for more Stagecoach coverage. #stagecoach #stagecoach2025 #lukecombs #garthbrooks #friendsinlowplaces #countrymusic #musicfestival

♬ original sound – The SoCal Local

You don’t see the Stagecoach artists performing for the online audience as you do with Coachella because they’re focused on the die-hard country fans in front of them. It’s hard to say how many people tune in for the Coachella livestreams than do for Stagecoach, by the Mane Stage artists take advantage of the potential additional exposure by having their band name as the screen backdrop, helping both in person and online attendees know who’s playing if their passing by or tuning in.

At Stagecoach you’re also not going to see as many surprise guests, unless you’re watching Jelly Roll’s headlining performance who seemed to bring out another artist every other song. The artists that are brought out, tend to be less of the Coachella wow factor, and more of a star on the rise or an country legend like Garth Brooks.

The Length

While both festivals take place over three days, not only are Coachella’s two weekends long, but the performances go later. On Friday Lady Gaga’s Coachella performance was scheduled for 11:10 p.m. but Mustard had the latest scheduled start time of the whole weekend at 11:50 p.m. Travis Scott was scheduled to take the stage at 11:40 p.m., but during weekend one he didn’t come on until midnight.

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Travis Scott closes out day 2 of Coachella 2025, but his set started 20 minutes later than expected. #travisscott #coachella #coachella2025

♬ original sound – The SoCal Local

At Stagecoach on the other hand, the headliners take the stage at 9:30 p.m. each night, and if you want to stick around for late night in the Pallomino, that happens from 11:10-11:55 p.m. The final DJ set at Diplo’s Honky Tonk starts at 9 p.m. and ends before midnight.

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Diplo plays “Hoedown Throwdown” from Hannah Montana: The Movie for Stagecoach 2025 attendees at Diplo’s Honky Tonk. #stagecoach #stagecoach2025 #hoedownthrowdown #diplo #diploshonkytonk #hannahmontana #hannahmontanathemovie #mileycyrus

♬ original sound – The SoCal Local

@the.socal.local

SPOILERS AHEAD: Can you guess where this crowd of millennials is headed to at Stagecoach? If you guessed to see the Backstreet Boys at the Palomino stage, you’re right! #stagecoach #stagecoach2025 #millennial #millennialsoftiktok #millennials #backstreetboys

♬ original sound – The SoCal Local