Review | 2020 Stagecoach lineup is the strongest it’s been in years
Country music festival Stagecoach will host its annual event from April 24 to 26 in Indio, California. The headliners for this year include Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood and Eric Church.
When April rolls around and you walk through campus, you are bound to hear murmurs of that “life changing” festival in the Indio desert. Yes, I am speaking of Coachella. Considered by many to be one of the most famous music festivals in the world, there’s no wonder why so many Chapman students flock to the Empire Polo Club when the time comes. But there is a smaller yet significant crowd who opt to trade flower crowns for cowboy hats at the very same venue only a weekend after Coachella closes.
Stagecoach is one of the United States’ premier country music festivals, drawing in an estimated crowds of 80,000 people during the 2019 festival. Recently the Stagecoach Festival released its 2020 lineup for the Friday through Sunday festivities. I’ll be honest in saying I have unfortunately never attended Stagecoach, but if there is one thing I know and love, it’s country music.
So while I can’t speak to the aura of the event itself, I can provide some insight into the lineup that was chosen or at least give an opinionated review. In terms of the headliners, the acts provide a nice variety. The headliner for Friday night, Thomas Rhett, is a solid performer with a repertoire of music that most any country music fan can find some enjoyment in. From his slower ballads like “Marry Me” to his more upbeat songs such as “Craving You”, there should be a nice array of music coming from Rhett’s set. He’s the kind of artist the whole family can go see and all members will walk away happy with the experience; I expect his Stagecoach performance to be no less, which is why Thomas Rhett is a great choice to headline opening night. Saturday brings us the female country powerhouse: Carrie Underwood. From classic anthems like “Before He Cheats” to her down-home, Americana bops like “All-American Girl,” Underwood is bound to have many songs that even the slightest of country music listeners would recognize.
Being the season 4 winner of American Idol in 2005, Underwood has a knack for outstanding live performances and will be sure to deliver when she hits the stage under the desert stars. Adding a strong female voice to the already male-dominated lineup, especially in a headliner slot, provides a changeup to the two male headliners on Friday and Sunday.
The last night of the festival will be closed out by country mainstay Eric Church. Known for his outlaw country persona and music that stretches from country blues to southern rock, Church will sure be able to add his own flare to the rotation of top-billed Stagecoach performers. Perhaps this is why, in my opinion, the 2020 Stagecoach lineup seems to be the strongest it’s been in years in terms of headliners; there is a nice variety to the different types of country music each singer offers. Thus, one would expect three totally different but equally awesome concert experiences.
Of course, Stagecoach is not all about headliners. The rest of the festival lineup provides some great potential. Continually rising country stars Dustin Lynch and Brett Young are solid slots for the second line on Friday, but the show stealers could go to “Old Town Road” singers Billy Ray Cyrus and Lil Nas X who are both individually slated to perform the opening night. However, with the juggernaut of a hit that was “Old Town Road,” one would expect the two to team up onstage for a live performance of the song.
Both Saturday and Sunday will give fans a nice balance of old and new. With veterans of country music like Alan Jackson performing on Sunday and new energy from acts such as Dan + Shay and Jon Pardi, the gathering of country music fans in the Indio, California, night is sure to be one filled with a perfect spectrum of the music’s genre. So while you may not think of yourself as country music’s number one fan, there is sure to be great entertainment and enjoyment for everyone at this year’s Stagecoach Festival. You may just need to check it out for yourself.
