Coachella, which used to be a popular music festival, has increasingly become a platform for influencers to show off their extravagant experiences, often overshadowing the music and the culture it was originally meant to celebrate. With TikTok and Instagram flooded with images of over-the-top outfits and VIP access, many are growing tired of the festival’s shift from authentic music celebration to a spectacle of excess and self-promotion.
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Coachella’s shift from music to materialism because of influencers
Coachella has increasingly become a showcase for wealth and status, with influencers turning the festival into a display of luxury. Alix Earle, for example, posted a video of herself enjoying champagne on a private flight to the event, surrounded by friends. At the same time, TikTok star Charli D’Amelio posed in a lace top reportedly priced at $1,690.
These types of high-end, attention-grabbing moments are becoming more common, shifting the focus away from the music and creating an atmosphere more centred on exclusivity and materialism.
Moreover, outraged people blame the influencers for the insanely high prices at the music festival, right from the entry ticket, which costs $649 for the first weekend and the overpriced food with poor quality and taste, costing $100 a meal, as reported by The New York Post.
{{/usCountry}}Moreover, outraged people blame the influencers for the insanely high prices at the music festival, right from the entry ticket, which costs $649 for the first weekend and the overpriced food with poor quality and taste, costing $100 a meal, as reported by The New York Post.
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People are annoyed by influencer culture at Coachella
A user wrote on X, “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.”
A second user wrote, “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.”
A third user wrote, “Coachella just looks like a bunch of wannabe influencers camping and getting into debt just to try to seem cool online. I saw a woman with a baby. Child protective services should look into this." Another user wrote, “Coachella has been vapid influencer events for years. It’s garbage and doesn’t represent anything of substance or virtue that real festival culture holds. RIP to the souls lost at #nova”