Although the coronavirus epidemic has forced music fans to miss out on Coachella for the next several months, they can still get their festival fix with the upcoming documentary, Coachella: 20 Years In The Desert, premiering for streaming on YouTube next Friday, April 10 at 12pm PST — the exact time the festival would have opened. Today, YouTube Originals and Coachella released a special sneak peek of the film which you can watch above.
The sneak peek opens with a voiceover from Billie Eilish, who performed at the festival in 2019 and covers some of its most memorable moments, from being name-checked by President Barack Obama to the first appearance of hologram Tupac to Beyonce’s #Beychella takeover. The clip also features excerpts from interviews with Perry Farrell, Chali 2na, and even Moby, who performed at the first-ever festival in 1999 and admits that he didn’t believe that the idea could work.
Work it has, though. For the last 20 years, the festival has been the premiere destination for artists on the rise to prove they’ve made it and for legendary icons to prove they’ve still got it. The festival has become a household name, a punchline, an ambition, and a launching pad for some of music’s biggest stars. While this year’s fest has been postponed to autumn, the documentary will likely only increase its notoriety while we look forward to seeing Travis Scott, Rage Against The Machine, and Frank Ocean finally hit the stage in October.
Watch the sneak peek of the Coachella: 20 Years In The Desert documentary above.
Coachella: 20 Years In The Desert premieres 4/10 on YouTube.