Coachella Plays on But Pays the Price
Coachella extends into the night with artist who were long awaited.
May 3, 2023
The city of Indio has fined the festival Coachella $117, 000 for curfew violations all three nights last weekend. For breaking curfew all 3 days for younger ticktockers and social media influencers, that may need too be in school the next day. On Sunday, popular artist Frank Ocean’s set went over curfew by almost 30 minutes. It was supposed to be wrapped by midnight pacific time. The “Channel Orange” singer’s performance started almost an hour later than scheduled. Friday and Saturday’s 1 a.m. curfew was also broken by more than 20 minutes, the music publication reported.
Goldenvoice is the organizer of the mega event and agreed to pay the city a $20,000 fine for going over curfew by five minutes and $1,000 for every minute afterward. That agreement has been in effect since 2013.The fines are part of an agreement between the city of Indio and Goldenvoice that took effect back in 2013. In that document, it outlines that going five minutes past curfew will result in a daily fine of $20,000. Every minute after that costs $1,000 per minute. The fines go towards Indio’s General Fund, which is used for operating costs, public works, and the police and fire departments.
Frank Ocean’s headlining set on Sunday began nearly an hour later than scheduled. But the fans were willing to wait as it had been 6 years since he last performed. Frank performed reworked versions of songs and a few covers. After the fact, it was heard Frank Ocean injured his ankle earlier in the week and was ordered by doctors to modify his stage production. Which lead to him not being able to perform for Coachella weekend 2.
A widely shared tweet from the musical festival news account Festive Owl reported that Ocean’s set was delayed because Ocean decided he no longer wanted to use an ice rink that had been constructed for the performance. The tweet continued that the rink had to be deconstructed and the stage set up again, leading to the hour delay. Neither Ocean or Goldenvoice appear to have publicly commented on the situation. Both BLACKPINK and Calvin Harris also started their Saturday sets several minutes late, although BLACKPINK’s ended on time.
This was not the first time Goldenvoice has been fined after Coachella stars played past curfew. In 2009, the promoter paid a $54,000 fine — the fine was $1,000 per minute back then — after Paul McCartney went 54 minutes over.
Although fans and those attending the festival could care less how long performers go over the time and curfew it should be a lesson learned for the famous Coachella event. Making sure it cant lead to any further problems in the future of the festival as that would be the worst case possible for many who make sure and save the date year after year, all for the famous Coachella.