Bailey Zimmerman performs on the Mane Stage on the third day of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Thousands of country music fans were greeted at Indio’s Empire Polo Club by triple-digit heat to attend the Stagecoach Country Music Festival, which is billed as “country music’s biggest party.”
Gary Colle of San Diego jumps his bike off a table ramp into the pool with friends to escape the triple-digit heat, while his wife, Nicole, right, records on her phone.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The three-day festival treads on the heels of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on the same grounds and ran this year from Friday through Sunday, featuring more than 60 artists including Luke Bryan, Kane Brown and Chris Stapleton.
The Compton Cowboys were returning for a second year as a special guest to share their story and experiences with festival goers. And Nelly was scheduled to make an appearance Saturday night.
Los Angeles Times staff photographer Allen J. Schaben has photographed Stagecoach since the second festival in 2008 and takes us around the cowboy-hat-studded landscape this weekend along with his son Evan.
Singer-songwriter Lainey Wilson performs on the Mane Stage on day three of Stagecoach.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Fans watch and sing along with singer-songwriter Lainey Wilson.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Warren Zeiders, clockwise from top; Turnpike Troubadours lead singer Evan Felker; and Sierra Farrell perform on day three of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Brooks & Dunn perform on the Mane Stage on day three of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn performs on the Mane Stage on day three of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Tyler Childers performs on the Palomino Stage on day three of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Bailey Zimmerman performs on the Mane Stage on the third day of Stagecoach 2023.
(Evan Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A fan watches Bailey Zimmerman perform.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Singer-songwriter Lainey Wilson is photographed backstage before performing on day three of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben/ Los Angeles Times)
Day 2 - Saturday, April 29, 2023
Amid triple-digit temperatures, festival goers dance and revel in a pool at the Stagecoach festival campgrounds. With his chest hair shaved in the shape of a bra, Berk Cakmak of Rancho Santa Margarita rides a one-wheel through the campground. Owen Strassner of Los Angeles drinks a cold one while relaxing in a small tub of water at the campground.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A country music fan strikes a surfer pose Saturday on a table as people play drinking games at the Stagecoach festival campgrounds.
(Evan Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Women ride an electric bike together through the campground Saturday at Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Gabby Barrett performs with her husband, guitarist Cade Foehner, on the Mane Stage during Day 2 of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A fan gets an elevated view to watch Gabby Barrett perform at the Mane Stage on Day 2 of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Gabby Barnett performs on the Mane Stage during Day 2 of Stagecoach 2023.
(Evan Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives perform at the Palomino Stage on Day 2 of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Old Dominion performs Saturday on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans dance in the crowd as Old Dominion performs on the Mane Stage on Day 2 of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Old Dominion performs on the Mane Stage during Day 2 of Stagecoach 2023.
(Evan Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Stagecoach headliner Kane Brown performs on the Mane Stage during Day 2 of the festival.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Stagecoach headliner Kane Brown performs on the Mane Stage during Day 2 of the festival.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A festival goer takes an evening walk through the colorful rainbow tower during at Stagecoach.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Day 1 - Friday, April 28, 2023
A large crowd cheers as first day headliner Luke Bryan performs on the Mane Stage.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Crowds arrive on the first day of the three-day Stagecoach Country Music Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio on Friday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times and Evan Schaben / For The Times)
ZZ Top performs on the Palomino Stage on the first day of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Breland performs on the Mane Stage on the first day of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Jon Pardi performs on the Mane Stage on the first day of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Ian Munsick performs on the Palomino Stage on the first day of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Clockwise from left: Daryl Clark places his hat over his heart as Jackson Dean performs, Jackson Dean on the Mane Stage (Evan Schaben / Los Angeles Times) and a woman in the crowd.
(Allen Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Elle King performs on the Mane Stage on the first day of Stagecoach 2023.
(Evan Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A festival goer escapes the heat in the air-conditioned rainbow tower.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Melissa Etheridge performs on the Palomino Stage on the first day of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Sammy Kershaw performs on the Palomino Stage on the first day of Stagecoach 2023.
(Evan Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Country music fans dance at the K-Frog & KSON Dance Party in the Dome at Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The sunset lights up the sky with an orange glow as fans watch Melissa Etheridge perform on the Palomino Stage on the first day of Stagecoach.
Los Angeles Times staff photographer Allen J. Schaben is an award-winning journalist capturing a wide range of images over the past 34 years. Before joining The Times, he honed his craft at the Detroit Free Press, Dallas Morning News, Wichita Eagle and Connecticut Post. Schaben earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1993.
