Timothy Karoff

1 week ago | sfgate.com | Timothy Karoff

Last Thursday, campers driving into Indio encountered a nasty surprise when they neared the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival’s campgrounds and found themselves locked in a mileslong churn of stop-and-go traffic. For several hours, attendees were stuck in their cars without access to bathrooms. Now Goldenvoice, the festival’s organizer, has an explanation. On Tuesday, La Quinta, a Coachella Valley city that borders the festival grounds, held a city council meeting.

1 week ago | sacbee.com | Timothy Karoff

A sea of fans swarms the Coachella main stage, fanning out in all directions. The sun is blisteringly hot, but they don't seem to care. They're singing along to "Don't Stop Believin'," buoyed by a commanding voice. The voice on stage that drew thousands to this stretch of patchy grass isn't Journey. In fact, it's someone who, for a spell, was blamed for the demise of pop music. It's 2025, and T-Pain is 40 years old.

1 week ago | sacbee.com | Timothy Karoff

A Coachella crowd mobbed one of the festival's techno acts before it reached the stage. That was by design. MEUTE, an 11-piece outfit from Germany, is a marching band that plays techno music. And in true marching band fashion, MEUTE stomped across Coachella's polo fields to its stage on Sunday afternoon, building ominous chords from trumpet blasts and pounding on marching drums mounted on their backs.

1 week ago | sfgate.com | Timothy Karoff |Paula Mejia

Charli XCX’s superfamous friends love her so muchAt his midnight set on Friday, the superstar producer dug into his bottomless bag of rap hits, bringing a revolving door of guest talent onto his stage: YG, Ella Mai, Big Sean, Tyga, Roddy Ricch and 2 Chainz, whose performance of “I’m Different” was a highlight. Right up until the end, Mustard pulled out all the stops.

1 week ago | sfgate.com | Timothy Karoff

Rapper Megan Thee Stallion’s Coachella set ended abruptly on Sunday when her microphone cut out between songs, with her dancers still on the mainstage. The artist, who was the day’s second highest-billed act, was nearing the end of a bawdy and charismatic performance, during which she brought out Queen Latifah, Victoria Monet and Ciara as special guests.