You can’t slam the breaks on Coachella just because COVID’s going around. That appears to be the attitude of the country’s premier music festival organizers, who have announced this year’s Coachella lineup, pandemic or no pandemic. Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Kanye West (“Ye” if we’re getting technical) will headline this year’s festival in a lineup that also includes the likes of Megan Thee Stallion, Phoebe Bridgers, Lil Baby, Daniel Caesar, Doja Cat, Maggie Rogers, Big Sean, Carly Rae Jepsen and Disclosure.
So will people go? Most likely. Last year, Lollapalooza went on as planned in the heart of downtown Chicago, and the COVID transmission linked to the festival was relatively small, likely thanks to strict vaccination requirements and the event’s outdoor location. Coachella will have the same factors working in its favor, though it will likely also face the more contagious Omicron variant — not to mention any other variants COVID might dream up by April.