The first time I ever attended Coachella was back in 4/20/2018. That first day of the festival also happens to be the day Avicii sadly died. I remember that day so vividly being filled with so many tributes and seeing his face be projected on the big screen at the Sahara tent. When I returned in 2022 this festival was the catalyst in opening my eyes to the love I have for music festivals which I wrote about on my previous blog post. This year during weekend 1 I spent watching from home with my friends doing Couch-Chella. We were in our chat pretending to be there and telling each other what certain stages we’d be at. It was honestly so much fun and when I visited San Diego to see my friend as we’re dancing at an after party I told her we don’t need Coachella we ARE Coachella. Somehow something in my gut told me I had to get back there someday, I just didn’t know when that would be.
As I watched the livestream from home and saw the energy coming out of Sammy Virji’s set on the last day I craved being in that crowd so much. My current favorite artist MPH was making his Coachella debut at the Dolab & so I manifested so hard to transport myself there. I sent out a simple tweet and asked around with no luck for a Sunday only tix for weekend 2. I had given up on the idea of even going that I decided to go to Los Angeles Saturday night for a techno afters with my friends. An hour into the night I get a text around 2am mind you this is already on Sunday saying “Jessy I have a wristband for you!” I looked over at my friend as I read her the text & said “I have to go!” I hurried home packed my bag and tried to sleep for a couple hours and left at 9am to make the 3 hour trek to the desert. I picked up my wristband at my friend’s house and got in my car and booked my hotel which ended up including free breakfast the next day. The nice thing about Coachella is that you can park your car and it’s free so I did just that and therefore was able to take myself there and back. I arrived just in time to find my friend Andrew and his friend group. All day he kept telling everyone that I was the reason he got into UKG which is true because I always share music with him. I even sent my favorite Canadian bestie Adam (jk Henry) videos from MPH’s set since we are huge fans. I’m also thankful that I was also able to dance with my friends Sophie, Sarah, Elijah, Tal, Chloe & Carly.
Everything from start to finish the entire day felt so seamless. I had absolutely no hurdles as if this day was meant to happen for me. I also remember being at the Sahara tent where I had my aha moment back in 2022 & couldn’t believe I was there. I also couldn’t believe how different life feels & how much I have grown and experienced since that last Coachella. I hate to admit that of all the times I had visited this festival, I never went to the Yuma. I finally changed that and even ended my night dancing under the disco shark with my friends. They also recently created a new stage Quasar which I was able to experience for myself for Alesso & Gorgon City and even met a new Twitter friend there. As perfect as everything seemed my one day experience this year also happened to fall on 4/20. I don’t know about you but I don’t believe in coincidences. I thought about Avicii and the legacy that he’s left behind. Music truly does cure the soul. It also dawned on me that the year Beyoncé played I chose to see Post Malone close out the Sahara. Guess who was closing out the MainStage on that Sunday I attended, none other than Post Malone. I felt like I was closing a chapter and I can walk away feeling like I have experienced everything I needed to there. So thank you Coachella for all the memories through the years. I am forever indebted to you. I also forgot to mention the hat that I wore I bought in Tulum the year prior and when I bought it I said this would be perfect to wear for Coachella & so I did 🙂
Journey of Jessy 