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After months of public handwringing over slow ticket sales, the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival opens Friday (April 12) near Palm Springs with an anticipated attendance of nearly 200,000 fans over two weekends, sources tell Billboard, selling approximately 80% of the 250,000 tickets available for purchase this year.
How the shortfall will impact the festival’s bottom line is unclear, but the sources close to the festival say the dip in sales, down 14%-17% over last year, is not as bad as many had predicted. The first weekend of the festival has historically sold out of tickets in a few hours, but this year, it took nearly a month for tickets to the first weekend to sell out.
Coachella remains the most-attended and highest-grossing annual festival in North America, beating out Austin City Limits — which is also spread out over two weekends with an attendance capped at 75,000 people per weekend — and Electric Daisy Carnival at the Las Vegas Speedway, which saw attendance max out at more than 130,000 in 2022.
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Coachella is also the largest media platform in the festival space, drawing in a massive viewership thanks to its partnership with YouTube and the hundreds of media credentials it assigns to major news outlets who provide nonstop coverage. In January, Gwen Stefani’s manager Irving Azoff told Billboard that one of the reasons No Doubt decided to stage their 2024 reunion performance at Coachella was due to the attention the festival attracted globally.
But Coachella’s size and cachet doesn’t make it immune to the challenges facing much of the festival industry. A number of popular festivals set for the second quarter of 2024 — New Orleans’ JazzFest, which runs from April 25 to May 5, along with L.A.’s Beach Life festival in early May and Daytona Beach’s famed Welcome to Rockville festival May 9-12 — have not sold out of tickets, for example. Other popular events later in the year, like Governors Ball in New York (June 7-9), Electric Forest (June 20-23) and Lollapalooza (Aug 1-4), which used to sell out days after going on sale, haven’t sold out either.
There’s little agreement on why sales have slowed. Ticket brokers used to buy up thousands of tickets to flip for profit on sites like StubHub, but sales volume for events like Coachella or Lollapalooza have dropped significantly in recent years as the markup potential has dwindled away.
Booking agents from major agencies representing A-list talent have begun arguing that festivals need to create more lucrative financial incentives to attract better headliners, while many independent agents link the decline to price increases that have made tickets unaffordable.
Ticket prices for Coachella increased $50 from 2022, when three-day GA passes cost $449, to $499 in 2024, an increase of about 11%. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, three-day GA passes were priced at $429.
Booking agent JJ Cassiere, co-founder of independent booking agency 33rd and West, says festival fans are more sensitive to price increases than they have been in the past, especially younger fans who are seeing their spending power eaten away by inflation.
“I’m very concerned about the fans who are finding themselves priced out of the market,” Cassiere tells Billboard, noting that even a $20 price increase can be a make-or-break hike for some fans.
Other agents blame the dip in sales on headliner talent, arguing that the 2024 festival headliner pool — which, for Coachella, includes Lana Del Rey, Tyler the Creator, Doja Cat and No Doubt — doesn’t generate the same enthusiasm that touring artists like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé did in 2023.
The festival’s lineup is a sign “that Coachella and nearly all other festival bookers had limited options when it came to talent,” says one booking agent who has worked with the festival for over a decade and asked to speak anonymously for this article. “The number of artists wanting to tour around festivals this year is very small.”
For much of the 2010s, festivals were able to pay headlining artists as much as 50% more than artists would make headlining their own arena tours — after all, festivals often charged more for tickets, drew much larger crowds and covered much of an artist’s production costs. That began to change in 2016 and 2017, explains agent Jared Arfa with IAG, as ticketing companies like Ticketmaster and AEG AXS began focusing on the amount of money that scalpers were making selling tickets at large markups. To help close the gap and capture that revenue for artists, Arfa says, Ticketmaster and others began using programs like dynamic pricing and platinum to strategically increase the price of higher-demand tickets — such as front-row seats — and significantly increase how much artists were making at their own concerts.
The result has been a huge increase in price, with the top 10 tours of 2023 earning an average of $5.7 million per show compared to 2017, when the top 10 tours were averaging $3.6 million per show — a 58% increase in only six years.
“The issue for every festival now is that dynamic pricing is so good and prevalent that any artist big enough to headline a festival is more motivated to just headline their own shows,” one agent tells Billboard, noting that a headlining slot at Coachella in 2024 is less of a financial decision and more about artists “who are on their way up and need to make a statement.”
“In the future,” the agent continues, “festivals need to adjust to accommodate this changing reality, by either paying headliners more or booking stronger undercards — but that’s not easy.”
While headliners are important, Peter Shapiro with Brooklyn Bowl and Day Glo Ventures says spending more on talent isn’t always a viable long-term solution and notes that the best investments festival producers can make are in their festival community and overall experience.
“People attend festivals because they enjoy an outdoor experience with other fans in a setting that feels comfortable,” Shapiro says. “That won’t change and the more organizers can invest in improving that experience, the more it will pay off in the years ahead.”
More than 100 artists and tens of thousands of music fans will flock to Coachella Valley this weekend, but there’s one person who definitely won’t be there: Machine Gun Kelly.
Just hours ahead of the 2024 festival’s kick-off on Friday (April 12), the rapper-rocker claimed on X that he he’s never been to Coachella because “they banned me in 2012 for whatever reason.”
The “My Ex’s Best Friend” singer, who is dad to 14-year-old Casie, added, “I was looking forward to finally going this year but my daughter’s volleyball tournament ended up on the same days so y’all will have to lmk how it is, she comes first.”
The post comes more than a decade after MGK, born Colson Baker, tweeted, “Coachella is a huge joke,” one week after 2012’s festival wrapped. “Its corporate as f— and they only accept the accepted but fake like they dont,” he added at the time. “Sad that music is so trendy now.”
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Billboard has reached out to Coachella for comment.
This year, Baker will miss out on a lineup led by headliners Lana Del Rey, Doja Cat and Tyler, The Creator. The two-weekend event will also feature a No Doubt reunion as well as performances from Peso Pluma, Lil Uzi Vert, Justice, Bizarrap, Sabrina Carpenter, Blur, Ice Spice, Sublime, Bleachers, Grimes, Jon Batiste, J Balvin, Jhené Aiko, Lil Yachty, DJ Snake and more.
The Cleveland-bred artist is fresh off the release of his 10-track joint EP with Trippie Redd, Genre: Sadboy. The set recently debuted at No. 30 on the Billboard 200.
See MGK’s tweets about Coachella — past and present — below.
never been to a coachella, they banned me in 2012 for whatever reason, i was looking forward to finally going this year but my daughters volleyball tournament ended up on the same days so yall will have to lmk how it is, she comes first ✌🏼— mgk (@machinegunkelly) April 12, 2024
Coachella is a huge joke. Its corporate as fuck and they only accept the accepted but fake like they dont. Sad that music is so trendy now— mgk (@machinegunkelly) April 29, 2012
Organizers of the Texas Eclipse Festival have released a lengthy statement addressing various aspects of the event that came under online scrutiny after the final two days of the festival in Burnet, Texas, were canceled earlier this week.
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On Monday (April 8), attendees were notified that the remainder of Texas Eclipse Festival had been canceled due to severe weather hours before the eclipse, with Texas governor Greg Abbott directing the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to activate state emergency response resources ahead of a storm system that moved across the state that afternoon.
In the wake of the cancellation, the event was subject to sharp online criticism and rumors, leading to the statement that addressed myriad facets, including the decision-making process around the cancellation, attendance numbers and safety protocols.
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In terms of the decision to cancel, organizers outline a day-by-day timeline of the meetings that took place, saying that the final decision was ultimately made in conjunction with the festival team, local agencies, law enforcement and a weather expert. “The choice to cancel was unanimous.” reads the statement, “and driven by the level of risk of the forecasted weather and severity of the associated outcomes.”
“We did not cancel for insurance money,” the statement highlighted. “We made a hard decision to put safety first and avoid a far worse situation. Texas Eclipse festival will take a significant financial loss.”
In regard to rumors about the event being oversold, the statement says that “the show was not oversold / over capacity. Burnet County approved our permit with capacity at 40,000 people. We were well under that number.”
The statement goes on to say that “rumors of multiple deaths circulating on social media are inaccurate. One person passed away at the hospital after being transported from the festival.” The statement did not provide further details on the death, with respect to “the family’s privacy as well as following HIPAA guidelines.”
In regard to partial refunds for the canceled days, organizer say they are “are working diligently with our ticket provider to provide more information. We are committed to resolving this quickly and will update everyone very soon. A significant number of guests purchased using a payment plan which complicates the process.
Texas Eclipse was organized by a newly formed alliance of independent promoters including longtime EDM promoter James Estopinal and his recently rebranded concert outfit Disco Presents; technologist, entrepreneur and Texas Eclipse festival founder and “head of alignment” Mitch Morales; and California-based festival organizer, curator and producer Gwen Gruesen from Symbiosis Gathering.
Read the full statement below.
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Travis Kelce wants you to fight for your right to party and to help you do so, he’s hosting his second music festival in Kansas City.
The aptly-named Kelce Jam was founded by the Kansas City Chiefs tight end as a celebration every time the NFL star’s team wins the Super Bowl. This marks the second year the football player will be trading his cleats for hosting duties. The festival will be held on Saturday (May 18) at the Azura Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, KS, going from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. CT.
The lineup consists of a mix of some of the athlete’s favorite artists including Lil Wayne and Diplo. If you’re a fan of the Chiefs or want to catch a glimpse of Taylor Swift’s boyfriend in person you can officially buy Kelce Jam 2024 tickets online.
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Keep reading to learn more about the lineup for Kelce Jam and how to get tickets.
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Kelce Jam 2024 Lineup
Fans can expect to see Lil Wayne and Diplo headlining Kelce Jam as well as a mix of other artists including 2Chainz and DJ Irie. Along with live concerts, the event will feature local restaurant pop-ups and interactive activations for fans to take advantage of. Since Kelce is hosting the event, it’s also not uncommon for attendees to see the star make onstage appearances.
How to Get Tickets to Kelce Jam 2024?
Official tickets and VIP options went on general sale through Ticketmaster on Friday (April 5) with VIP packages quickly selling out. Tickets are still available on Ticketmaster with prices ranging from $50-$110.
Last year, the event completely sold out and featured viral moments including the Chiefs player spiking a replica of the Lombardi Trophy and joining Machine Gun Kelly on stage for a performance. If you want to score tickets and add the event to your list of festivals and tours, you won’t want to wait too long
If the desired spot or VIP package you want isn’t available, there are a range of cheap ticket sites offering resale options you can find below.
Where to Buy Tickets to Kelce Jam 2024
Vivid Seats has tickets to Kelce Jam available starting at $61 and include a Buyer Guarantee to keep your purchases protected. You can also choose your tickets based on price or seating area in the venue. You can also score $20 off purchases of $200+ when you use the code BB2024 at checkout.
Another affordable option is StubHub, which is offering tickets for as low $62. You can sort tickets based on price, seating section and recommended ones from the site. Each purchase comes with a FanProtect Guarantee that you can read more about here.
Seat Geek is another option for scoring cheap tickets to Kelce Jam with options starting at $85. The ticket resale site uses a ranking system on a scale of 1-10 to rate the deals. Tickets labeled 10 are the best deal and one-rated tickets are the worst. You can include fees when looking at ticket prices and even sign up to get notified if ticket sales drop in cost.
Looking to save more money? Use code BILLBOARD10 to save $10 off your ticket purchases of $250+ (offer valid on first purchases only) at SeatGeek.com.
Gametime is a great option for last-minute tickets offering options starting as low as $66. You can sort tickets based on how good of a deal it is, the price and section of the venue. Your purchase is also protected by the Gametime Guarantee that you can read more about here.
In excitement for Kelce Jam, the athlete took to Instagram on Tuesday (April 2) to announce the music festival.
“Kansas City are you ready to fight for your right to party!? Let’s kick off year two of – @KelceJam Presented by @jimbeamofficial – returning Saturday, May 18th with electric performances by some of my favorite artists @liltunechi, @diplo, @2chainz, and more! Prepare for legendary superstar artists, KC’s best BBQ, and tons of interactive experiences,” the Instagram caption says.
Coachella Weekend One is just around the corner, and the popular music and arts festival released its official schedule of set times on Tuesday (April 9). Lana Del Rey will be headlining the main stage on Friday night (April 12) at 11:20 p.m., with Peso Pluma taking the stage right before her at 9:05 p.m. […]
The Texas Eclipse Festival currently happening in Burnet, Texas, has advised attendees that they must evacuate the festival site Monday (April 8) due to forecasted severe weather.
Earlier in the day, the event announced, “We regret to inform you of the severe weather forecast, including risks of high winds, tornadic activity, large hail, and thunderstorms for later today, including during the eclipse, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
“Your safety is our top priority,” the announcement continues. “With the support and coordination of Burnet County officials, local safety agencies, and The National Weather Service, we’ve agreed to end the festival today in a calm orderly manner.”
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This cancellation announcement comes hours before the festival’s main event, the total eclipse the sun that will happen Monday at 1:27 p.m. local time. The festival’s announcement advises that attendees “may stay for the eclipse provided they pack and are prepared to depart after totality. This guidance may change based on weather.”
Totality refers to the moment during a total eclipse when the moon fully blocks out the sun. Burnet is on the eclipse’s path of totality, the line across the United States where this total eclipse will be visible.
Additionally, the festival announced that “all programming and performances for Monday and Tuesday are canceled,” and that attendees are to begin packing and preparing to leave the campgrounds. No additional guests will be allowed to enter the venue, with remaining in bound shuttle services canceled. Festival staff is coordinating shuttle services for early departure. Attendees were also advised they they’ll “receive an email with a partial refund policy soon, addressing details and timing.”
The festival’s lineup includes Tycho, Subtronics, String Cheese Incident, Disco Biscuits, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead along with dozens of others, including CloZee, Boogie T, LP Giobbi, Zeds Dead and Bob Moses.
As reported in Billboard, Texas Eclipse is organized by a newly formed alliance of independent promoters including longtime EDM promoter James Estopinal and his recently rebranded Texas concert outfit Disco Presents; technologist, entrepreneur and Texas Eclipse festival founder and “head of alignment” Mitch Morales; and California-based festival organizer, curator and producer Gwen Gruesen from Symbiosis Gathering.
Texas officials are expecting more than 1 million people to visit the state for a chance to experience a rare total solar eclipse in the state that will be visible from the Texas border town of Eagle Point to Texarkana.
Made In America won’t be taking place in 2024 after festival organizers announced the event’s cancellation for a second consecutive year. The festival released a statement to social media on Wednesday (April 3), simply saying that their executive production team is “reimagining a live music experience” and promising an “exciting return” in the future. “Since […]
Ask Travis Kelce about his favorite music, and his face will light up. The outer corners of his eyes crinkle with excitement, and he talks with overflowing glee through a wide, toothy smile.
It’s the same expression that the lovable Chiefs tight end might wear after scoring an unbelievable touchdown at Arrowhead Stadium, or while joking about being the Yoko Ono to girlfriend Taylor Swift‘s John Lennon alongside his brother, retired Eagles center Jason Kelce, on their joint podcast, New Heights. It’s definitely the same passion with which he’s known for discussing his love for Kansas City, for whom the Ohio native secured a second Super Bowl win in a row this February.
Now, in his latest love letter to the city he currently calls home, Travis is bringing back Kelce Jam — a self-curated music festival he launched last year in honor of the Chiefs taking home the 2023 Lombardi Trophy. Following the inaugural event’s lineup of Machine Gun Kelly, Rick Ross and Loud Luxury, this year’s offering will feature headliners Lil Wayne, Diplo and 2 Chainz, plus performances from Irie and E-V, as announced by the athlete Tuesday (April 2).
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“I’m super excited for it,” a charged-up Travis tells Billboard the same day, rocking a baseball cap emblazoned with “L.A.,” the initials of his whereabouts at the time of our Zoom call. “We got Jim Beam as the big sponsor, and they’re bringing so many cool new things to it, like a drone show. They’ll be out there giving out free barbecue — you know how much Kansas City loves their barbecue.”
Slated for the evening of Saturday, May 18, at Azura Amphitheater, the 2024 Kelce Jam is also backed by Medium Rare, this year’s partner, as well as an array of other brands like Takis, which will livestream the festival globally across Travis’ socials. Fans can already register online for an event pre-sale starting Friday (April 5), with Travis advertising plainly and confidently on Instagram, “All tickets will sell out.”
Much like last year, the festival will serve as one last celebration of the Chiefs’ incredible season before Travis and his teammates, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, start the process over again in training camp this summer. Unlike 2023, however, this year’s Kelce Jam comes in the wake of a community tragedy, with the Feb. 14 Super Bowl parade ending in a deadly shooting that killed one person and injured 22 others.
The gravity of this isn’t lost on Travis, but neither is the real importance of coming together in the face of tragedy (or, as he likes to put it, fighting for his right to party). Below, he catches up with Billboard about his favorite artists, Chiefs Kingdom, playing the role of festival curator and more ahead of 2024’s Kelce Jam:
This year’s Kelce Jam is billed as featuring some of your own personal favorite artists. What was the process of curating the lineup like?
When it came to this year’s lineup, I wanted to keep it fresh, keep it new and keep everybody coming back for something. We got Lil Wayne – Tunechi — who’s been one of my favorites since I was in high school. 2 Chainz as well, another one that’s been one of my favorites since high school. And then Diplo, who I’ve gotten to know, and I’ve gotten to appreciate his music so much. One of my favorites in the game as well.
It’s just so much fun being able to bring this to Kansas City, because of how much Kansas City shows out for me and the Chiefs every single game day. To be able to bring this to them, a music and food fest, something where we can all celebrate and have a great time — I’m just so blessed and so fortunate to be able to do this. It’s gonna be exciting.
This year’s Super Bowl parade in Kansas City obviously ended in a deeply upsetting way. (After gunfire broke out at the celebration, which Travis attended on a float with his teammates, he tweeted that he was “heartbroken.”) How has that experience affected your approach to putting on an event like this?
The parade was very sad on our hearts, and our hands are still out to everybody involved in terms of what went down. It’s not easy to deal with stuff like that as a community.
Security is going to be something that I take seriously, so that everybody feels safe when they’re there. But also, I think it is another chance to be able to celebrate. Last year I was fortunate to be able to do this for the first time after we won the [2023] Super Bowl. It was kind of like my last hoo-rah, the last time I was going to celebrate that Super Bowl. I think this is going to be the last hoo-rah for me this year, celebrating the [2024] Super Bowl with the city of Kansas City because of how much I appreciate and love them.
If you ever host a third Kelce Jam, which artists would be your dream headliners?
Woo! I got a list of about a hundred people that I absolutely – music is one of my favorite things. On top of that, live music is something I never pass up on. The Chainsmokers are my brothers, I love those guys. Marshmello is one of my brothers. T-Pain is one of my favorite performers of all time. I’ve gotten to love guys like Morgan Wallen.
The list just goes on, and the genres vary everywhere. I’m a real music lover. I’m just fortunate we got the guys that we have this year, and I think it’s going to be a blast.
Do you plan to make Kelce Jam its own annual festival independent of your football career? Or do you plan on keeping it as a post-Super Bowl event that’s special to Kansas City?
That’s been in talks, to see where [Kelce Jam] fits and where we could go with it. I know one thing, and it’s that I love celebrating with Kansas City. I don’t know what the future holds or how much more fun we could have with it outside of KC, but it’s interesting, and I guess we’ll have to see where it takes us.
Will your Chiefs teammates be in attendance? How about the Kelce family?
I’ve got my fingers crossed that I can have the whole shebang, have all my teammates, even my coaches – Andy Reid, come on down baby, have some fun with us. Anybody that shows up, I’m just ultimately appreciative of.
It’s such a unique opportunity for me to be able to host an event like this – on May 18! I don’t know if I plugged that [date] yet. [Laughs.] Hopefully I can get everybody to sign up for this one, knowing how much fun last year’s was.
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Global Citizen announced Monday (April 1) that its annual festival will return to Central Park in 2024, with the nonprofit planning to unveil this year’s lineup in the coming months.
The confirmation comes about six months after last year’s concert, which — due to heavy rain on the day of the event — caused severe damages to the New York City park’s Great Lawn. The Central Park Conservancy reported in September that a third of the property had been “fully destroyed” due to stage equipment and high foot traffic on the grass throughout the downpour, forcing the park to close the area for annual renovations six weeks earlier than scheduled.
The damages required restorations; however, the Global Citizen Board of Directors “paid for all repairs that were requested,” according to a new release, which noted that the Great Lawn is scheduled to reopen April 6.
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At press time, Central Park’s website displays a banner reading, “The Great Lawn is currently closed … the Conservancy is seeding, aerating, and sodding portions of the lawn to repair significant damage.”
This year’s Global Citizen Festival will take place on Saturday, Sept. 28. More details, including lineup billings, will be announced later this year. As in years past, attendance will be free, but entry must be earned by “taking action towards ending extreme poverty.”
Last year’s festival saw Jung Kook, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Anitta, Megan Thee Stallion and more headliners taking a stage made entirely out of repurposed and recycled materials. The 2023 iteration also featured an all-vegetarian menu served with fully compostable packaging and utensils and more eco-friendly initiatives.
“Since 2012, the Global Citizen Festival has called Central Park its home, thanks to the long-standing partnership with NYC Parks and the City of New York,” said Hugh Evans, Global Citizen co-founder and CEO, in a statement. “Annually, we have welcomed 60,000 global citizens to the Great Lawn, who have played a crucial role in our mission, and we look forward to coming back again on September 28 to drive more action and commitments towards ending extreme poverty.”
Coachella 2024 is coming in hot next week, and the list of parties happening around the festival continues growing. Today (April 1), marks the return of Desert Nights by Tao Hospitality Group, a festival adjacent fête hosted by Tao Group Hospitality and creative agency Corso Marketing Group in partnership with Patrón. Explore See latest videos, […]