The Coachella music festival is held in Southern California, attracting nearly 650,000 attendees across two weekends in April. Ticket prices start at $649 for general admission and can cost up to $1,400 for VIP passes, not including the additional cost of transportation, hotels, camping and parking. This year more than 60 percent of the attendees used a payment plan for their tickets and festival expenses.
Senator Bernie Sanders made a surprise appearance during weekend one of the Coachella Music Festival as part of his Oligarchy Tour. The Fighting Oligarchy Tour, sometimes referred to as the Where We Go from Here tour, is a sequence of political rallies led by Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC).
An oligarchy is a system of government in which a small group of individuals yields power without public participation. Senator Sanders states that most of the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour events are held in congressional districts represented by Republicans in order to encourage the young voters to take on oligarchs and corporate interests that have prominent influence in the U.S. The Vermont senator aims to amplify the voices of working class Americans through these rallies and is calling for an end to corporate control over American democracy.
The tour kicked off in Omaha, Nebraska on Feb. 21, where Rep. AOC and Sen. Bernie Sanders rallied against unprecedented wealth and income inequality, which they described as a growing threat to democracy.
On Sat April 12, Sanders took the stage to introduce indie pop artist Clairo at the Coachella music festival, but not before delivering a political message to the young voters of America. He urged young voters to fight for economic, social and racial justice, stating that “the future of what happens to America is dependent upon your generation.” Sanders invited young voters to stand up to oligarchy stating that the U.S. economy “is working very well for the billionaire class, but not for working families.” He urged the concert attendees to help build an economy that works for everyone and to stand up to insurance companies because “healthcare is a human right.”
He emphasized the urgency of climate change and encouraged young voters to advocate for the planet. Sanders explained that he attended Clairo’s set because she is an artist who “has used her prominence to fight for women’s rights,” including those of women in Gaza, “where thousands of women and children are being killed.”
His speech was met with mixed reviews. Many took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to praise Sanders for pushing the boundaries of contemporary politics. Some argued that music festivals should not be political. Others criticized Sanders for his economic stance asking if Sanders knows the average cost for a Coachella ticket.
