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Over the next few days, thousands of festival goers will descend on a valley in the Californian desert to attend the sold-out second weekend of Coachella 2026.

The festival is one of the biggest of its kind, with the star power of its global headliners rivalled only by its a-list attendees. But the Coachella of the past was a very different festival, one born out of a protest led by Pearl Jam, and an artist boycott against Ticketmaster.  

Today we’ll explore how Coachella started, and what’s happened between then and now.

Hosts: Emma Gillespie and Lucy Tassell
Producer: Rosa Bowden

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