The Stagecoach Festival was briefly evacuated Saturday night after high winds forced organizers to halt performances and clear the festival grounds.
An “emergency evacuation” message appeared on screens across the site, instructing attendees to “move quickly and calmly to the nearest exit,” while alerts sent via the festival’s official app directed festivalgoers to leave the area and move vehicles outside the venue.
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The disruption affected multiple stages at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. At the time of the evacuation, the Mane Stage — the festival’s main stage — was between sets, while activity elsewhere was paused as crowds began exiting.
High winds had been building throughout the day, with gusts intensifying into the evening. A wind advisory was in effect for the area, with conditions worsening following earlier performances on the Mane Stage.
Billboard’s Jessica Nicholson, who was on-site, described the situation unfolding at the Palomino Stage, where a performance by Gavin Adcock was interrupted.
“I was at the Palomino Stage when they stopped Gavin Adcock’s show,” Nicholson reported. “The screens on either side of the Palomino stage lit up red and had a message that said ‘Stage Area Closed, please keep away from this area,’ then it later said to evacuate the area.”
Video from attendees showed thousands of festivalgoers moving toward exits, though the atmosphere remained largely calm as crowds filtered out of the venue.
Stagecoach later confirmed via social media that the festival would resume shortly, writing that it was “working to open doors and prep the site for your safety,” before reopening the gates later in the evening.
The shutdown lasted roughly 30 minutes before the festival resumed operations.
Stagecoach, one of the largest country music festivals in the United States, is held annually at the same site as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and regularly draws tens of thousands of attendees.
