LOS ANGELES — Stagecoach Music Festival promoter Goldenvoice has banned the Confederate flag and other “divisive symbols” from the desert festival this year in an effort to be more inclusive.
The marquee country-music festival, featuring headliners Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood and Luke Combs, quietly introduced the new rule on its website for the three-day event, which returned to the Indio, California, desert on Friday after a pandemic-induced hiatus. It’s unclear when the rule was posted, and representatives for Goldenvoice, the promoter behind Stagecoach and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.
“Stagecoach provides an inclusive environment and rejects divisive symbols. The Confederate flag and related imagery are prohibited on the festival grounds and in the Resort — this prohibition applies to people, clothing, and vehicles. Access will be denied to anyone who does not cooperate with this rule,” according to the code of conduct posted on the festival website.
