Coachella turns mainstream, selects AC/DC, Jack White and Drake as festival headliners

Coachella turns mainstream, selects AC/DC, Jack White and Drake as festival headliners

Coachella announces 2015 lineup, which proves that the event is starting to stray away from its independent and underground roots.

Ever since its inception in 1999, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has been known for presenting lineups of rising underground and independent artists, as well as former hitmakers gearing up to make a comeback. The lineup for the 2015 Coachella festival was officially announced on Tuesday, and with AC/DC, Jack White and Drake selected as this year’s headliners, it appears its promoters are beginning to lean towards making the event considerably more mainstream.

The Coachella Festival has been held at the Empire Polo Grounds in the desert city of Indio over two consecutive weekends every April since 1999. Music fans were initially drawn to the event because it put their favorite, lesser-known underground acts under the lights, but now the event’s desert setting is becoming increasingly resort-like and mainstream acts are starting to take over its lineup. Coachella once used to rebel against acts like AC/DC, a veteran rock ban which has no ties to experimental or independent music, but promoter Goldenvoice is confident that they are deserving of being the festival’s opening headliner. Goldenvoice inked a long-term deal with Indio that will run through 2030 early last year, and immediately proved their trustworthiness by bringing in a record-breaking $78.3 million in last year’s festival, according to data published by Billboard Boxscore. Coachella 2014 featured mainstream hitmaker Pharrell Williams and pop artist Lorde, but a number of attendees flocked to the event to see indie rockers Arcade Fire and the reunions of OutKast and Replacements.

While fans of traditional Coachella may be split over the decision to have AC/DC, blues rocker Jack White and rapper Drake as the headliners for this year’s festival, there will still be plenty of underground and independent acts for them to enjoy during the weekends of April 10-12 and April 17-19. Chicago rapper Vic Mensa, rock band Parquet Courts and dance star MØ will all be highlighted, and the lineup also includes popular acts like Steely Dan, Alabama Shakes, Tame Impala, Ride, Florence & the Machine, David Guetta, Belle & Sebastian, the Weeknd, Squarepusher, Alt-J, FKA Twigs, Flying Lotus, and Porter Robinson.

The majority of tickets for this year’s Coachella were sold in a presale last May, but the remaining tickets will go on sale Wednesday at noon on the official Coachella website. A three-day pass starts at $375, but general admission wristbands are reportedly sold out.

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