Guest written by Sara Bacon
April has arrived, which means the Coachella Valley, CA, is preparing itself for the onslaught of festival attendees planning to descend upon it for three weekends in a row. Kicking off with back-to-back Coachella weekends means Instagram feeds being filled with pics of hip, stylish friends rocking out. But to country music fans it’s time to dust off our cowboy boots because Stagecoach is coming. This is the weekend where hot dogs and margaritas are main sources of sustenance and Southern (California) cowgirls have three days straight of strutting with cutoffs and cowboy boots.
Photo courtesy of Stagecoach
Spanning over Friday April 27th through Sunday April 29th, this year brings a solid lineup of country stars, ranging from the current artists gracing the “hot country” playlists, to some of country’s reigning kings and queens. Friday night’s headliners will kick off the weekend with Kelsea Ballerini, Jake Owen, and Florida Georgia Line, bringing the party vibe with them that everyone loves to be a part of before the sun and too many beers have begun to destroy their bodies.
Saturday night we’ll see Brothers Osborne, Kacey Musgraves and Keith Urban take to the stage as the headliners, a perfect blend of soulful, sassy, and poppy country to round out the night. It will be Keith’s first time back to Stagecoach in 8 years, and he’ll undoubtedly be playing songs from his yet-to-be-released album Graffiti U which already boasts several hits. His tour for that album kicks off in June of this year, meaning Stagecoach attendees will likely be given a preview of what his shows to come will look like.
Sunday is for the baby boomers and everyone who’s too hungover to stay up late and party, but still wants a good show. Brett Young and Lee Brice will open for the big star of the weekend: Garth Brooks, who will also be joined on stage by legend Trisha Yearwood. They’re smart to keep these two last, knowing they’ll keep a big crowd of people around this way.
Of course, these are just the headliners. Stagecoach never disappoints with tons of acts from small to big-time names alike, and always plants a few Easter eggs such as classics Kenny Rogers, Dwight Yoakam and Tanya Tucker this year. As always, holding out hope for some surprise guest appearances means making guesses with friends on who’s missing from the lineup that would make a possible Stagecoach visit and perform with one of their fellow artists. Though this typically proves unlikely and will probably never beat Snoop Dogg coming out on stage with Sam Hunt a few years back.
If you’re not sold on country music yet, you might want to consider letting Stagecoach be your ticket to the magical world of feel-good music under the stars with some of the happiest people you’ll ever meet. I can promise you a good time 😉 Tickets are still available and can be purchased here. See you in the desert!