It’s that time of year!
Yes, Coachella has returned in its full glory and has already packed some epic punches with some performances – Lady Gaga, Benson Boone, along with Brian May, Charlie XCX, with surprise stars Lorde and Billie Eilish, and Hanumankind to name a few!
However, there’s one department, one of the mostly wildly popular music festivals of the year is sucking at – it’s the F&B department.
As per this year’s Coachella attendees – what’s meant to be a dreamy desert getaway filled with music and celebrity sightings – has turned out to be a wallet-draining wake-up call.
Read on to know more.
Dollars down the drain!
One influencer on social media claimed that she spent over $100 on her meal consisting of tacos and lemonade on the first night of Coachella on Friday, known as “day zero” by seasoned attendees. Ruth Viveros, who has chronicled her experience in Coachella Valley since Friday, shared a glimpse into the food at the famous music festival.
In her TikTok video, where she documented her food experience in a post titled “Come have dinner with me at Coachella,” Viveros raved about the lemonade despite the $17 price tag for the mostly iced beverage. She admitted it was her second cup of the citrusy drink, totaling $34 spent that day.
Viveros revealed that she and her friend also ordered tacos — consisting of five tortilla shells filled with steak, onions and salsa — and a plate of nachos. The entire spread of two orders of tacos, nachos, and two cups of lemonade cost Viveros $102.
Viveros made it a point to express her dissatisfaction despite spending over $100 and admitted that she was not thrilled with the quality of the nachos, saying, “They’re not good, not good at all,” she said. “The tortillas are like freezing cold.”
Some other TikTok users shared a similar opinion about the music festival fare, calling out the pricing for the food.
While one comment read, “These prices are diabolical,” another stated, “Coachella seems like a miserable money trap that everyone falls for.”
One user wrote, “It’s literally the worst festival ever. Omg,” another fumed, “The fact that GENERAL ADMISSION is $600 and you still have to pay that much for mid food is making me irrationally angry.”
Other revelers fumed over the pricy concession items after paying a premium to access the festival grounds and parking fees.
In a Reddit thread devoted to the event, one commenter didn’t hold back, writing, “Expensive. Most items start at $15-20. ‘Meals’ are like $20-30.” Another user chimed in, estimating prices were “Basically 2.5x the price you can grab it outside the festival.”
Several guests offered more specific breakdowns: $11 for a single slice of pepperoni pizza, $20 for chicken tenders with fries, and $30 for a chicken slider combo, a far cry from the deals you might find just beyond the festival gates.
The cost of Coachella:
Coachella is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley. It’s known for featuring a diverse lineup of musical artists, including rock, pop, indie, hip-hop, and electronic dance music, along with art installations and sculptures. Coachella is a major event, attracting thousands of music lovers and trendsetters from around the world.
This year, after April 11-13, Coachella is set to take place on April 18-20. The cost to attend Coachella varies by weekend. General admission tickets which allow attendees to access the venue for all three days on opening weekend cost $649 and $599 for its second weekend.
A Reddit user shared the high prices for a variety of alcoholic drinks inside one of the festival’s VIP tents. The menu, shared to the Coachella subreddit, displayed a $23 charge for a Red Bull Vodka, $17 for hard liquors including Absolut Vodka, Jameson Irish Whiskey and Malibu Rum. A White Claw Hard Seltzer would set back a customer $16 while beer was worth $15. Sodas were priced at $7, and as a recent tradition for Coachella, water was being served for $2.
BUT, high food prices aren’t the only problem revelers have experienced at Coachella this year.
On the festival’s first day, thousands were caught in “literal hell” when cars traveling to the area turned into a large parking lot, creating 12 hours of traffic while suffering in near-record heat blazed down on them.
One person even posted on Reddit, “This is the worst organization I have ever seen at a festival and this is Coachella for god sakes [sic].”
Last year, a festival-goer went viral after she spent $64 on cucumber water and two breakfast burritos. TikTok user Jackie Tanti said, “Capitalism is crazy and I am part of the problem!”
However, Coachella’s official website paints an entirely different and more appetizing picture, stating: “Our food program features new and exciting restaurants from Coast to Coast, as well as your favorite staples, offering a wide variety of cuisine that pleases any festival-goer.”
However, for many on the ground, reality is far from the advertised enticement; as social media users were quick to weigh in, with commenters saying, “Coachella seems like a miserable money trap that everyone falls for.”
