Stagecoach, California’s big country music festival, announced its 2027 lineup on September 14, 2026. Riley Green and Zach Top headline the first two nights, and Garth Brooks closes the weekend. The festival runs Friday, April 23 to Sunday, April 25, 2027, at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, in the desert east of Los Angeles.
Seven months sounds like plenty of time, but the first planning decisions arrive with the ticket sale this week. This guide covers tickets, how to get in and out each day, where to base yourself, and what the desert asks of you in late April.
Who is playing Stagecoach 2027
Beyond the three headliners, the announced lineup includes Willie Nelson and Family, Kelly Clarkson, Journey, Brothers Osborne and Hardy, plus crossover names such as Pitbull, Matchbox Twenty, the Fray, Melissa Etheridge, Sean Paul, Flo Rida and David Lee Roth. There is also a Florida Georgia Line reunion set, the duo’s first performance since they reunited for a two-song set at CMA Fest in June 2026.
When tickets go on sale
Tickets go on sale on Friday, September 18, 2026, at 11 a.m. PT (2 p.m. ET) through the festival’s official website. Decide on your ticket type before the sale opens, because the choice shapes the rest of the trip: a general admission pass on its own, a pass bundled with a shuttle, or camping on site. Buy from the official site only. Resale listings that appear before the sale starts are not tickets.
Getting to Indio
The festival address is Empire Polo Club, 81-800 Avenue 51, Indio, CA 92201. Indio sits at the eastern end of the Coachella Valley, a drive of roughly two hours from Los Angeles along Interstate 10 when traffic is light. On a festival weekend, do not count on light traffic.
If you are flying, the festival’s own travel page lists three commercial airports: Palm Springs International, the closest; Ontario International; and Los Angeles International. Palm Springs saves you the long drive, while the two larger airports may give you more flight options. Landing at LAX or Ontario means renting a car, or arranging a transfer, for the trip across the desert.
Getting in and out each day
How you reach the gate matters more than how you reach Indio, because you will do it three days running. According to Stagecoach’s official getting-here page:
- Shuttles: round-trip shuttles link the festival with hotels and towns around the valley. They leave for the festival between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. each day, and return service ends 60 minutes after the music stops. Shuttles drop off and pick up closest to the festival entry.
- Parking: free day parking is first come, first served, in lots open from noon to 2 a.m. Cars left after 2 a.m. are towed, and there is no overnight or RV parking in the day lots. Preferred parking is sold separately.
- Rideshare: the rideshare zone is at Avenue 49 and Monroe Street, open from noon to 3 a.m. The festival warns that the longest waits come between midnight and 2:30 a.m.
That 2 a.m. towing rule is worth planning around. If there is any chance you will not be fit to drive after the last set, book a shuttle pass or budget for a long rideshare wait. Do not leave the car to collect in the morning.
Where to stay
There are three realistic options.
Camp at the festival. Stagecoach sells official camping, including tent, car and RV options, plus upgraded glamping-style accommodation. It removes the daily commute, but it means sleeping in the desert, so read the rules on shade, water and what you can bring before you buy.
Stay in Indio. Hotels closest to the polo grounds are the most convenient, which also makes them the first places everyone else looks.
Stay elsewhere in the valley. Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage and La Quinta all put you within reach, and the festival has offered hotel packages with properties across these communities. The further west you stay, the more you depend on the shuttle schedule or a rideshare, so check that your hotel is on a shuttle route before you book.
Whatever you choose, book something refundable now and adjust later. Stagecoach takes place on the same polo grounds as Coachella, usually the weekend after it, so the valley stays busy for most of April.
Plan for the heat
April is often described as pleasant in the Coachella Valley, and in the morning it is. But the afternoons are another matter. According to WeatherSpark’s climate averages for Indio, typical daily highs rise from about 84°F at the start of April to 91°F by the end of the month, and late-April lows sit around 62°F. A festival day in an open field can feel a lot hotter than those averages, and hotter years happen.
The basics are the same ones that apply at any desert event. Drink water before you feel thirsty, cover your head and shoulders, and use sunscreen more than once a day. Build some shade into your afternoon, and bring a layer for the night, when temperatures drop. Our guide to preparing for Burning Man goes deeper into what a desert festival demands, and most of it applies here on a smaller scale.
Make more of the trip
With festival shuttles not leaving until 1 p.m., your mornings are free, and the valley has more to offer than pool time. The Coachella Valley Preserve near Thousand Palms protects desert palm oases and badlands on the north side of the valley. Joshua Tree National Park is also within day-trip reach, and its southern entrance is off Interstate 10 east of Indio. In late April, go early, carry plenty of water, and be back before the heat of the day.
If you are planning a trip around a big ticketed event for the first time, our US Open travel guide works through the same questions of tickets, transport and where to stay, for a very different kind of weekend.
Quick checklist
- Be ready for the ticket sale on September 18, 2026, at 11 a.m. PT.
- Choose shuttle, parking, rideshare or camping before you buy.
- Book refundable accommodation and confirm it is on a shuttle route.
- Remember that cars left in the day lots after 2 a.m. are towed.
- Pack for hot afternoons and cooler nights.
