Sawt Falasteen - Coachella music festival kicks off with pandemic back of mind

The mammoth event that takes place over two three-day weekends -- and this year features Billie Eilish, Harry Styles and the Weeknd with EDM stars Swedish House Mafia as headliners -- traditionally kicks off the year's summer concert circuit.

Coachella's 2020 edition was scrapped as the coronavirus pandemic came into full force, and two years of chaotic cancellations, rescheduled shows and lineup shakeups ensued.

As it returns after a three-year hiatus, Coachella is considered a bellwether for the multi-billion-dollar touring industry that's still on shaky ground after persistent pandemic setbacks.

After other large-scale festivals including Lollapalooza last year required proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 result, Coachella this winter announced it would not require any such mitigation measures, including masks or social distancing.

But it comes amid an uptick in coronavirus cases nationwide, mostly due to the highly transmissible Omicron subvariant, known as BA.2.

The festival is held mostly outside, welcoming some 125,000 revelers daily from all over the nation and abroad, many of whom camp and fill up hotels nearby.

There will be two testing sites on festival grounds. Jose Arballo -- a senior public information representative for the public health department of Riverside County, where Coachella takes place -- said there also would be bolstered testing facilities nearby.

- 'Everybody misses this' -

As temperatures climbed and festival-goers descended on the grounds for three days of partying, contracting coronavirus seemed back of mind.

"I'm super excited to be here," said one concert-goer identified as Saturn Risin9, who said they were ageless and had traveled from Los Angeles.

"I'm not scared, and I'm excited to be outside with people."

Major acts playing sets at Coachella include Megan Thee Stallion, Phoebe Bridgers, Doja Cat and Brazil's Anitta.

The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia collaboration was an 11th-hour addition after chaos agent Kanye West unceremoniously pulled out of his headliner spot.

Travis Scott also dropped out after a deadly concert stampede at his Astroworld show in Houston last year, while 2020's anticipated headliner Frank Ocean is set to return to the desert in 2023.

On deck are French rockers L'Imperatrice, superstar DJ Stromae, recent Grammy winner Arooj Aftab, Palestinian DJ Sama' Abdulhadi and South Africa's Black Coffee, who made Grammy history last week after winning a Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Album, the first African act to do so.

And in a last-minute surprise, Arcade Fire will play a set Friday evening.

Coachella is also a boon for the city of Indio, a desert municipality of just under 95,000 people whose slogan is "The City of Festivals."

Along with Coachella, Indio hosts major concerts including the folk and country event Stagecoach, and their return offers great economic benefit to the area.

According to Indio spokesperson Brooke Beare, the city receives roughly $3 million each year in direct revenue from the festivals, including ticket-sharing dollars and transient occupancy taxes from campers.

Beare told AFP the area "benefits greatly" in every sector, from hospitality to restaurants and gas stations.

Mason Fouad, owner of the liquor store Mirage in Palm Springs, where many Coachella attendees stay, told AFP that business at his shop was already up 30 percent.

"Liquor business blooms in any festival," Fouad said. "Everybody is expecting this Coachella will score a way higher record than all the other Coachellas, because everybody misses this."

W.Mansour--SF-PST