Indio Mayor Teases Desert Trip-Like Concert In October

City of Indio – Glenn Miller

Indio Mayor Glenn Miller revealed in a recent interview that Goldenvoice is considering putting on a major event in October similar to the company’s famous Desert Trip. Miller spoke with KESQ News Channel 3 on June 12 about the cancellation of Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival and Stagecoach: California’s Country Music Festival and the potential weekend concert.

Any mention of Desert Trip is sure to raise eyebrows as the lone 2016 edition of that festival at Empire Polo Club grossed $160 million over two weekends, marking the highest-grossing event in the history of Pollstar. The original Desert Trip was headlined by The Who, Roger Waters, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Neil Young and Bob Dylan.

“It’s possible,” Miller said in the interview. “We’re working with Goldenvoice now to see what we can do about hopefully having another concert in October, [a bit] like a Desert Trip, hopefully either a two-day or two-weekend concert to help with the economy not only for the city of Indio, but for the whole Coachella Valley and the state of California. The funding that it brings in is amazing to a lot of our businesses who could use a good shot in the arm and at the same time it gives a lot of our businesses some hope. We have a great relationship with Goldenvoice and the Empire Polo Club and I believe we will be able to pull this off.”

Miller said in the interview that Coachella’s cancellation is expected to cost the City of Indio $4 million and that the move was not entirely unexpected, as he is in regular contact with Goldenvoice president/CEO Paul Tollett, but the decision was largely out of their hands since other figures like the County Supervisor, public health officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser and Governor Gavin Newsome had a big say in whether the event could go forward.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images – Desert Trip
An inflatable pig floats over the crowd at Roger Waters

Coachella leaves a massive footprint in the local economy, as a 2017 economic impact study by Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau found that visitors to the Greater Palm Springs area surrounding the site of Coachella was greatly impacted by tourism, as 22% of local jobs were sustained by tourism and the industry generated $1 billion in tax revenue and $5.5 billion in visitor spending, with a total of $7 billion in total business sales in 2017.

Pollstar’s Leadoff last week explored the implications of Coachella’s cancellation on the live industry as it and Stagecoach are “tentpole” events that many acts plan their year around and that also cast huge shadows with radius clauses.