Coachella: Major world music and arts festival to postpone

Organizers of the Coachella Music and Arts Festival are in talks to postpone the festival amid the growing coronavirus outbreak in the US, Rolling Stone reports, citing multiple sources.

The annual festival was originally scheduled to take place over two back-to-back weekends — April 10th, 11th, and 12th, followed by April 17th, 18th, and 19th — at Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, about two hours outside of Los Angeles. A newly reunited Rage Against the Machine was set to headline alongside Travis Scott and Frank Ocean. Coachella and its sister festival Stagecoach together bring in some $1.4 billion in profits each year, and an estimated 250,000 people attend the former each year.

Several artist managers have been in talks with Goldenvoice for the last week discussing postponement of the festival, a source familiar with the situation told Rolling Stone Monday night, adding that the cancelation of SXSW and the recent outbreak of cases in California’s Riverside County “really changed everyone’s tune.” Another source said Coachella “confirmed” postponement with their agency on Monday night, but did not provide further details. A third source close to the situation said the talks are ongoing and not finalized yet.