If you’re at the point where you’re rolling your eyes at your social media feeds that have been inundated with Coachella posts for the past week — you’re not alone.
People are fed up with what the annual music festival has become, thanks to the out-of-touch influencers who have no remorse over flaunting their lavish festival experience on platforms like TikTok and Instagram for the world to see.
The popular music festival is held in Indio, California, every year. Unfortunately, in recent years, Coachella has become more of a who’s who—and—who ‘s—wearing—what type of event, compared to how it was 26 years ago, when it first originated.
The insanely high prices of tickets, which started at $649 for the first weekend and overpriced, inedible $100 meals, have people outraged — and they’re blaming it all on the rich and famous.
It’s hard to deny that Coachella has become a keeping up with the Joneses type of affair — with influencer Alix Earle posting a video of herself sipping champagne on a private flight to the festival with friends and TikTok dancer, Charli D’Amelio, posing for a photo in a lace top that reportedly cost $1,690.
“Influencer culture has really ruined events like Coachella, where the art and music have taken a back seat. I hope that doesn’t happen in the theme park industry, where a picture of you being there is more important than…well…*being* there,” an X user shared.
Another person similarly tweeted, “It’s a disgrace to see what Coachella has turned into. When I attended 13 years ago, it was a genuine platform for emerging indie artists, attracting true music lovers.”
“Now, it’s nothing more than a commercialized spectacle driven by large-scale programming. Absolute trash.”
While those with deep pockets have glamorized Coachella, many regular folks have taken to TikTok to show the real side of what it’s like to attend the festival.
In one viral video, a content creator showed the ridiculously long line before 8 a.m. for a “super duper shower,” which is a college dorm-like bathroom that only has a shower door for privacy.
Opting to avoid that line, the girl instead took a “regular shower,” which has a curtain, instead of a door, since they were empty.
She went on to say that she had to wash her hair and, unfortunately, forgot a towel.
Nothing about this scene looks enticing.
One of the comments basically summed up what many of us on the East Coast are feeling after watching this type of content: “No video of Coachella has ever made me want to go to Coachella.”