Madonna News

May 01

Crowd of 60,000 sets new festival attendance record

An expanded lineup, an enlarged dance tent and more headline acts than ever before has resulted in record attendance for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Festival officials reported 60,000 people attended Saturday's opening day at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, and at least that many are expected for today's finale featuring the Queen of Pop, Madonna, at 8:10 p.m.
That two-day total would eclipse the attendance record of 110,0000 set in 2004, the year Radiohead and The Cure were headliners.
In a reversal of a report from earlier this week, a spokesman for promoter Paul Tollett of the Goldenvoice company said tickets are still on sale at the Empire Polo Club gate.
The dance tent in which Madonna is performing, which Tollett says is actually a canopy, contains 50 percent more space than last year's tent. But the entire grounds were more crowded. The mid-size Mojave Tent overflowed with people trying to see such afternoon indie rock acts as Wolfmother and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. The crowds slowed pedestrian traffic almost the way alt-rock star Beck blocked it two years ago.
But Ashley Flores, 18, of Rancho Cucamonga, was one concert-goer who didn't seem to mind the increased attendance.
"It's fun," said Flores, who got her ticket early Saturday from a friend. "I like it."
Alt-rock, hip-hop and electronica artists played compelling music throughout the day, but Grammy Award-winning hip-hop star Kanye West got the party started before 6 p.m.
He kept the audience bonded to the main Coachella Stage ,which later featured Sigur Ros, Franz Ferdinand and Depeche Mode.Police reported 15 arrests and 11 hospitalizations, mostly heat related.
The Coachella resumes today with more than 45 new artists shortly after noon.
source : thedesertsun

Categories : General News

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