A British woman has shared the reality of going to Coachella as a “normal person” that is wildly different from what the celebrities and influencers make it out to be. The iconic music event is back for another year as thousands of fans flock to the Californian desert.
Split across two weekends in April, some of the world’s biggest names in music take to the famous stages. This year the likes of Lady Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone, Charli XCX, Missy Elliott and Megan Thee Stallion are on the bill.
For many Brits used to muddy fields and rainy weather, the allure of a sun soaked festival in the Californian sun is strong. However, one woman has shared the harsh reality of what she faced when heading over to the United States for the festival.
Unlike posts shared by countless celebrities and influencers of pristine outfits and picture-perfect moments, TikTok user Maddie at @ophisudios has revealed things are clearly omitted from their social media pages.
She headed to the event back in 2022 and was met by things that caught her off guard. Maddie admitted it was “‘definitely a bucket list moment” and labelled it “surreal and amazing”.
Yet she insisted: “We had a great time but it is absolutely not as glamorous as all of these influencers, make it out to be. Unless you’re a VIP, the experience is pretty humbling.”
Maddie revealed there are things you wouldn’t know about unless you trek into the desert to find out for yourself including cold nights, a massive hike and plenty of dust.
She shared a snap of herself on day one of the festival rocking a white mini dress and cowboy boots. “This is what I wore on day, one cowboy boots, cute outfit, loved her,” Maddie said.
“And because I’d seen a lot of other people going in like, uncomfortable outfits. I thought, ‘yeah, I’ll be fine’. Little did I know that as soon as you get to the festival, you have to walk for about an hour through the desert, just to get into Coachella.”
The TikTok user explained people around her were even wearing masks as the desert kicked up sand and dirt as thousands made their way to the event. She wasn’t prepared and so didn’t bring any face coverings, which ended up as a big mistake.
Maddie was left “blowing my nose and spitting up black stuff for like a week afterwards.” She stayed off site in an AirBnB, which was just a 10 minute drive to the drop off site. Yet it took “way over an hour” due to the sheer amount of traffic.
She admitted getting into the festival was “one of the biggest obstacles” and left her with 16 blisters on her feet. Maddie’s injury to her feet left her needing to buy Crocs for the rest of the festival, which ended up covered in dirt.
The social media user urged: “So don’t believe the influencers when you see them in these perfect outfits. Just know by the end of the day they are going to be covered in dust and dirt.”
She added: “Not to mention, by the end of the day it does get absolutely freezing so I ended up getting a blanket and taking that with me just for the evening.”
Unfortunately for Maddie, she had an “even worse” experience when trying to leave the festival after each day of performances. She branded it a “horrendous ordeal” when the last act finishes at midnight as “thousands and thousands” of people with general admission tickets leave the site.
Maddie had no signal to call a taxi, and her pre booked one never turned up as so many people were also trying to get into the cabs. She ended up “crying her eyes out” and finally managed to get into a taxi but it took “hours” to get back due to the traffic.
The horrific night made Maddie and her friend make the decision to drive to the festival for the remaining days, which she said was much easier. Despite the ups and downs of her experience, she insisted she would go again but “save up” for a VIP ticket or camp at the site.
Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
