It’s one of the most observed and coveted events of the year. The Met Gala of festivals. That’s right, open your phone, it’s Chella o’clock. For almost 26 years, the music and arts festival Coachella has been held annually in Indio, California. Thousands of attendees wait impatiently for the lineup and book flights out in advance. Seemingly, a music festival cannot possibly have that big of an impact, and yet for two weekends every year, social media is flooded with talk of no one “doing it” like 2016 Vanessa Hudgens.
This year, headliners included Lady Gaga, Green Day, and Post Malone. However, Coachella is all about the surplus of emerging and nicher artists performing, giving people the opportunity to get a close-up viewing due to the stage layout. Another major plus are the surprise guests that are always unprecedented. We are rarely shocked in today’s pop culture world (hello, White Lotus ending) as there’s always someone on TikTok connecting the dots for us before our brains can process the media. So Clairo being introduced by Senior Senator of Vermont, Bernie Sanders, was truly a special moment.
While it might just seem like a political figure using a well-liked artist as a chance to share a message to catch attendees off guard, I don’t think this was the case. Notably, he did introduce Run The Jewels for Coachella via video message nine years ago, but this time feels different. Sanders has run for president twice, with unfortunate results, and with the next presidential election not being for another 3 years, campaign reasoning would not make sense. Rather, a progressive politician coming all the way to a music festival in California to spread an urgent warning is just a sign of the times.
“Now you can turn away and you can ignore what goes on, but if you do that, you do it at your own peril,” The senator said before urging the crowd to fight for economic, social, and racial justice, also highlighting the environmental status of our world as well as women’s rights issues. Regrettably, I cannot say whether his messaging meant anything to those watching live. The demographic of a music festival, more often than not, largely includes left-leaning individuals. Ergo, they care about all of these issues already.
What I can say is that the shock factor of his appearance is hopefully terrifying to some. A warning of our mass self “peril” before listening to the soft-sung voice of Clairo addressing human connection would certainly be enough to get me, it was. Now more than ever, unity has some of the biggest importance in our world. “We’re going to sing and dance our way to victory against hatred and divisiveness.”
Senator Sanders may have spoken directly to the rich about problems rich people have imposed on our world (Coachella tickets cost upwards of $600), but Coachella reaches far more than those attending. Coachella is a mass phenomenon that gathers an increasing amount of press each year, so optimistically speaking, he made his point. Bernie Sanders may not have been a headliner, but it was certainly a Berniechella to be remembered. After all, they say art flourishes in times of adversity.
Words by Elisabeth Edwards
Graphic by Aubrey Lauer