Coachella Fined $20,000 After Travis Scott’s Set Runs Over
The City of Indio has issued a $20,000 fine to Goldenvoice, the organizer behind the iconic Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, after Travis Scott’s performance during Weekend 1 ran past the city’s enforced curfew.
According to the longstanding 2013 city permit that governs the festival’s operations, all performances must end by 1:00 AM on Fridays and Saturdays, and by midnight on Sundays. For every breach of this regulation, Goldenvoice is fined $20,000, with an additional $1,000 levied for each minute that a performance extends beyond the sixth minute past curfew.
The incident occurred on Saturday, April 12, when Travis Scott—headlining both Saturdays of the festival—took the stage late and ended his set around 1:03 AM. While the second Saturday’s performance managed to conclude on time, the first weekend’s minor delay was enough to trigger the penalty.
Interestingly, a source speaking to TMZ cited an earlier issue involving Green Day’s set running 15 minutes behind due to a fireworks mishap, which reportedly caused a tree to catch fire. This delay allegedly pushed Scott’s start time back by approximately five minutes.
Despite this hiccup, the City of Indio confirmed that this was the only curfew violation across all three weekends of Goldenvoice’s spring festival lineup, which includes both Coachella and the Stagecoach country music festival. That makes 2024 a notably tame year for infractions—especially compared to previous editions.
Last year, Coachella Weekend 1 saw a staggering $117,000 in fines after headline acts like Bad Bunny, Frank Ocean, and Calvin Harris exceeded their set times. Weekend 2 added another $51,000 to that total, with performances by Bad Bunny, Skrillex, Fred Again, and Four Tet running long. And even in 2024, Lana Del Rey‘s set during Weekend 2 earned the festival a $28,000 penalty after going 13 minutes over.
These recurring violations highlight the ongoing tension between the high-energy, unpredictable nature of live music events and the strict curfews enforced by local municipalities. While the fines are a drop in the bucket for an operation of Coachella’s scale, they serve as a reminder of the delicate logistics involved in staging one of the world’s most influential music festivals.
For now, Travis Scott’s brief overage stands as Coachella 2024’s lone curfew blip—one that underscores the challenges of timing in a festival that celebrates spontaneity and star power.
