This weekend kicked off the tenth west coast festival coachella in Indio, California. Taking place over three days from April 17-19 2009, Coachella attracted a huge star-studded turn out both on and off the stage at the Coachella Music Festival 2009.
Performances from over 100 top artists took place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday included Paul McCartney, The Cure, M.I.A, Joss Stone, Public Enemy, Silversun Pickups, M. Ward, Leonard Cohen, Jenny Lewis, Lykke Li, Okkervil River, My Bloody Valentine, The Gaslight Anthem, Noah and the Whale, Genghis Tron, Crystal Castles and The Ting Tings. Nearly 65,000 people came out over the three days and many are saying is fast becoming the musical equivalent of Cannes Film Festival.
In the mix was plenty of celebrities as well inlcuding Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhall, DJ AM, David Hasselhoff, Tara Reid, Kirsten Dunst, Kate Bosworth, Paris Hilton, Nicky Hilton, Brittany Snow, Dita Von Teese, Zach Braff, Kristin Cavallari , scott speedman, Chloe Sevigny, Kimberly Stewart. David Katzenberg, David Hasselhoff, Joss Stone, Audrina Patridge and Tara Reid.
The New York Times reports that the festival was a financial success despite our slumping economy, good news for the upcoming summer festivals, of which Coachella is the first biggie of the year. Proving once again that music, heat and celebrity sightings can still exist in these harsh economic times.