April is going to be one helluva month in the Coachella Valley.
I came to this somewhat obvious conclusion after a marathon editing and compiling session, during which I perused tens of thousands of words of copy—much of which details how and why, exactly, April is going to be so amazing.
First up: music. Brian Blueskye has been hard at work over the last month-plus, doing interviews, gathering information and writing his butt off in preparation for our special print Music Issue. The result: four profiles on bands playing at Coachella; two profiles on Stagecoach bands; stories on other bands not to miss at both Coachella and Stagecoach; and a rundown of information on Coachella-related parties occurring before and during the festival. He also did two Lucky 13 interviews, as well as his normal monthly Blueskye Report. All of this music coverage, by the way, is fantastic; some of it is already online at CVIndependent.com, and the rest of it will appear within the next week or so.
If you’re a music-lover, and you see Brian around town during the month of April, you should really buy him a drink for keeping you so well-informed.
Next up: everything else that’s going on around the Coachella Valley—and there is a lot going on, much of which is detailed in a brand-new feature we’ve added to the Independent: monthly events listings from ArtsOasis, the creative-resource center that’s a project of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership. Head on over to ArtsOasis.org, and you can peruse a fantastic events calendar that contains all sorts of great information—or you can just look in our Arts & Culture section for a selection of these listings, which have been edited and compiled by the Independent staff. (Don’t see your event included in the ArtsOasis calendar? Head to the website and submit the information, dang it!)
And now, back to music: The Independent is proud to be sponsoring a great April event that benefits a fantastic cause. The Pre-Coachella Warehouse Party is taking place at Coachella Valley Brewing Co. in Thousand Palms from 3 to 8 p.m., Saturday, April 5. The party will feature two stages of DJ music, live art, yummy food and, of course, great beer. In fact, you’ll get four beers along with your $35 admission fee; click here to buy tickets. Proceeds from the event will go to EcoMedia Compass, a group that wants to save the Salton Sea by promoting awareness of the sea, the problems it is facing, and potential solutions. (Props to my friend Alex Harrington, aka All Night Shoes, for being one of the party’s organizers.)
Yep. April’s going to be a truly special month for the Coachella Valley. Let’s get it started, shall we?