INDIO, CA (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Stagecoach garners positive national reviews. Headliners for day one include Alan Jackson and George Strait.
Coachella Fest drew more than 180,000 fans, but it was a scorcher and Stagecoach fans say they are were happy to have milder temperatures as well as watching some of the biggest names in country music.
Stagecoach publicists this week distributed reviews from media across the nation, including The Desert Sun, which it quoted as saying, "Stagecoach rode strong gusts of wind to a remarkable lift-off.”
Other media comments:
Billboard.com (5/8/07): “…the opportunity was there to experience much more than just chart-busting acts.”
CMT.COM (5/7/07): With more than 50 artists playing across four stages for two days, country music fans proved over the weekend that they do indeed know how to party.
Los Angeles Times (5/8/07): “I heard spine-tingling music, devoured by enthusiasts…fans of grass-roots country and its sister styles will treasure the memory of this first Stagecoach festival, where they got to hear so much fine music, with legroom to spare.”
New York Times (5/8/07) “Everywhere you looked this weekend, someone was singing along…The combination of mainstream and non-mainstream acts is part of what sets Stagecoach apart from more established country music festivals…”
The Tennessean (5/8/07): “Desert fest celebrates country — in all its forms…The result was the country music version of a smorgasbord buffet…for all the country you care to hear over two days in one of the most picturesque locations in North America.”
USA Today (5/8/07): “Organizers billed Stagecoach as ‘California’s Country Music Festival,’ and they define ‘country’ as a broader entity than is in favor on today's country radio.”
More than 55,000 people attended the two-day festival at the Empire Polo Club.
Some 2,200 RVs parked in a camp area next to the festival grounds and actually began the party Friday night with the screening of a movie and karaoke music in a cantina.
Ben Wener, of The Orange County Register, wrote “Everyone else here in Indio sure seemed to be in cowboy heaven all weekend. They partied when they pulled in Friday night. They partied all day Saturday, then partied that night with George Strait and Alan Jackson, then kept partying in their RVs. Then they woke up – the best time to begin partying – once again staked out spots all day at the Mane (might better be called Mainstream) Stage and partied on through sundown.”
“Brooks & Dunn's rollicking, Stones-lite country-rock gave them another wind – so they kept right on partying through Kenny Chesney's set.”
“Think of how few big country shows there are in a year – maybe six? Now think about what it costs to attend just one: roughly $100 per person, if you factor in parking, gas and food. And what do you get? At most a headliner, a first-rate B-list star and a newcomer.”
“At Stagecoach, for maybe $300 per person – if you factor in camping or a share in a hotel room, plus a minimum of food and water – you got four headliners who could fill arenas; two more radio fixtures (Sara Evans and Sugarland), a half-dozen newcomers and also-rans, from Jason Michael Carroll to Carolyn Dawn Johnson; at least two living legends (Willie Nelson and Earl Scruggs on Saturday); at least two more nearly as legendary (Emmylou Harris and Kris Kristofferson on Sunday); stories from Ramblin' Jack Elliott, bluegrass from Ricky Skaggs and genteel humor from Garrison Keillor.”
Wener said “Not that most Stagecoachers saw half of that. But you get my point: They got a bargain.”
