Coachella Weekend 2013

As the newest addition to the Meg Gallagher team, I was more than excited to take notes during my date with COACHELLA this year and share it with all of you!  I’m Carlie, Meg’s junior assistant.  Nice to meet ya.  ♥ 

A music maniac from the Lone Star state, I knew this pilgrimage to the desert would become a yearly tradition and it just keeps getting better.  Year #1 = onsite tent camping.  10 girls in vacation mode?  I’m pretty sure our “neighbors” didn’t sleep all weekend.  Second year around & we scored a beautiful condo on a golf course in Palm Desert.  Preeeeetty sure we’ve already got this place on the books for next year too.

Apart from the music performances is the atmosphere and lifestyle the festival creates.  Prime example?  The massive art installations scattered throughout the concert and camping grounds.  Yes, ART.  While music and Coachella undoubtedly go hand-in-hand, few who do not attend the festival see and learn about these amazing pieces created every year.  Luckily, I’ve got you covered with the 2 best pieces of 2013:

 

Helix Poeticus, was as interesting as they come.  The enormous, slow-moving snail weaved through the crowds for the duration of the weekend. During the day, it left a bubble foam trail, at night the shell glowed like a lantern lighting the path.  

During the day, the Mirage 3D was a plain white mid-century Palm Springs mansion, giving refuge to festival goers from the blazing desert sun and upper 90’s temps. At night, textures and videos were projected onto the building, giving the illusion that a party was taking place inside. I love the reference to the De Stijl art movement in the architecture. 

Coachella wouldn’t be what it is without the music.  Impossible to hit every set, I tried to divide my time equally between up-and-comers & the bands I love to love.  Case in point?  Friday afternoon: Alt-J, Of Monsters And Men, & Passion Pit all had overlapping sets.  Safe to say I was dragging my sister around like a mad woman determined to see a little bit of each one…successfully, of course. **Experience a little bit of the music madness for yourself by clicking any of the band links above!

Of Monsters and Men – Lakehouse live at Coachella
 

Local Natives and The Postal Service took the cake for best sets of Coachella 2013, hands down.  A true fan of The Postal Service since middle school, it was worth the wait to finally see them perform live!  The breathtaking desert mountains and palm tree backdrop wasn’t too shabby either…

It wouldn’t be Coachella without a little festival fashion. High-waisted shorts, flower crowns, and bikini tops were a huge trend (per usual) throughout the weekend.  Here are some standouts from this year’s best-threads trendsetters:

Altogether, a fantastic weekend filled with music, laughter, annnnnnd a ton of walking.  If you’ve never been, start planning for 2014 NOW.  It really is more than just a desert fashion show and location to socialize, it’s a weekend escape from reality (yes, please!).  A place where you can see bands from all over the world come together and share a stage, to create music that brings people together. 

Until next year!  

–Carlie Clawson