CMT Blog: Archive

The first time I Googled “Coachella Festival,” I was surprised to see we would be playing alongside Portishead. Only later did I realize we were playing the “Country Coachella,” better known as Stagecoach Festival in Indio, Calif. And to be honest, I was happier because it meant I would get to see The Judds. This may surprise some of you, but as a kid, my brother and I would listen to those records every weekend. Looking at the line-up, everything else was secondary — Earl Scruggs, Sam Bush, Riders in the Sky. Had any of them recorded “Grandpa”? Or “River Of Time”? I don’t think so…

As we rolled into the festival, we were expecting utter chaos — tens of thousands of whacked out, sunburned party-goers stumbling around the desert. Instead we found an incredibly well-run festival, packed with fun-loving, sun-screened music lovers. Two golf carts raced to our van to grab our gear, dropped it off at the stage, and then took us to the artist compound where we found our very own trailer stocked with drinks, meats and cheeses. Kym briefly complained about how he couldn’t fold the bread, but apart from that we were all happy.

We followed Riders in the Sky, dressed in full cowboy regalia. They were smooth and sublime as they sang of trails and ‘doggies.’ I guess we posed a good contrast, complete with accents that are far removed from the Old West. The gig went well (always nice when you’ve driven 32 hours to get there), and we met some nice people at the Borders Tent when we signed CDs. If the world does go completely digital, I do worry what we’ll be signing in 50 years time - hard drives? Actually, it’s not a bad idea….

Photo credit: Peter Meredith