Rob Carr/Getty Images; Timothy Norris/Getty Images
The buzz around this year’s Stagecoach Festival, kicking off Friday in Indio, California, is among the loudest in the country music fest’s 16-year history. Tickets sold out in less than a month after going on sale last September — hitting that mark months before sister festival Coachella — and giving Stagecoach its biggest sales ever. Credit that to the current country music boom and to a stellar lineup put together by Stacy Vee, VP of festival talent for Goldenvoice, the promoter behind Coachella and Stagecoach.
“You can definitely feel all the eyes are on us right now,” Vee says. “Everything I do starts with a motto that I have written on all my materials: ‘Stagecoach is a place where everyone feels welcome.’ We are focused on creating the country culture of tomorrow. So, when I’m thinking about the lineup I want, it all to come back to that.”
Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, and Morgan Wallen are this year’s headliners, but the Stagecoach 2024 undercard is chock full of eclectic names that offer a snapshot of where the genre is at this moment. Breakout stars like Charley Crockett, Wyatt Flores, Stephen Wilson Jr., Hailey Whitters, Lola Kirke, Tanner Adell, and Katie Pruitt, are interspersed with legacy acts like Clint Black and Dwight Yoakam and country-adjacent bands like the Beach Boys (Mike Love’s iteration of the group teamed up with LoCash on a country single last year) and Nickelback (the most country of hard-rock bands, who recently partnered with Hardy for CMT Crossroads).
Ahead of this weekend’s hoedown in the desert, we asked Vee for the five artists — excluding headliners — that fans just can’t miss at Stagecoach 2024.
Post Malone (Saturday, 8:15 p.m., Mane Stage)
“It’s a dream come true to have Post on the lineup. It’s something that I had worked on for many years, but it was just right place, right time,” Vee says. “I could sense he belonged in country music and he belonged, especially, at Stagecoach. So many of the artists playing are so fired up to be on a lineup with him.”
Willie Nelson & Family (Saturday, 6:35 p.m., Mane Stage)
Willie is playing during sunset on the Mane stage. He’s always previously played on the Palomino stage, but I moved him to the main stage because he’s bigger than he’s ever been. If you look at the lineup, it’s intentionally curated with so many Texas artists that day,” says Vee, citing Lambert, Post Malone, Willie Nelson, Leon Bridges, Charley Crockett, and Asleep at the Wheel. “With so many of these artists knowing each other and being friends, I set the stage for a lot of collaborations and artists hopping on stage with each other.”
The Beach Boys (Sunday, 7:20 p.m., Palomino Stage)
“The Beach Boys is going to be something really special because Stagecoach loves their singalongs. And John Stamos has confirmed that he’s going to be popping out, so I think that’s going to be really cool — especially the whole California of it all.”
Carin León (Friday, 6 p.m., Palomino Stage)
“Carin sells out arenas and is just an incredible original Mexican artist who is stepping into the country space. He’s been writing and working with a lot of country artists lately, and I know how much this set means to him. I would love people to check him out if they’re not familiar.”
Nickelback (Friday, 11:10 p.m., Palomino Stage)
“Usually, the late-night sets at the Palomino are rappers or EDM. So, I kind of took a chance here with Nickelback, and it was just ginormously overwhelmingly positive. People are so excited about Nickelback and it’s going to be really fun. Please don’t miss the late-night sets.”
