Massive crowds, unending traffic jams and triple-digit heat: None of that matters if you’re a die-hard Lady Gaga fan at Coachella.
Lady Gaga will look to delight the Coachella festival crowds again Saturday, after a lively first weekend performance and a rather eventful week in the desert.
Gates open at 11 a.m. at the Empire Polo Grounds, 81800 Avenue 51, where tens of thousands of campers will look to pick themselves up and recover from the Friday festivities for a full day of performances including Gaga, Bon Iver, Future, DJ Snake and more.
Some forecasters said temperatures will soar to 101 Saturday, and then record crowds of up to 125,000 people will mostly try to head back to the Los Angeles area Sunday afternoon and evening and Monday morning. That means Interstate 10 around Indio and past Palm Springs could see some very slow traffic for hours. And surface streets in the area around the festival will likely be slow moving as well.
After only being announced as a performer less than two months ago to replace the pregnant Beyonce, Gaga delivered a set replete with the extravagance, costume changes and setpieces that she’s known for. She also introduced a new song, “The Cure,” about halfway through her hour-and-a-half set.
The six-time Grammy award winner’s appearance in the desert may actually have been convenient, despite her last minute addition to the festival.
Gaga was already set to be in the Coachella Valley to film next year’s remake of “A Star is Born,” starring the singer and Bradley Cooper, part of which was filmed at the Empire Polo Grounds.
Saturday’s bill also includes DJ Snake, whose first weekend performance included a guest appearance by R & B singer Lauryn Hill, who sang a few hits from her former group The Fugees while sharing the stage.
High-profile guest stars are common at Coachella, which also saw Drake appear with rapper Future last Saturday. The duo’s performance included “Jumpman,” one of their many collaborations.
The usual Coachella traffic was expected to hit eastbound Interstate 10 between Beaumont and Indio, according to Caltrans, which urged drivers to also look out for heavy traffic Sunday afternoon through Monday night. Drivers were also advised to map out alternate routes just in case, including state Route 62 and state Route 74.
In addition, the northbound 15 Freeway at Duncan Canyon in Fontana was closed down starting at 11 p.m. Friday and will remain so until 6 a.m. Monday, possibly forcing drivers to take alternate routes nearby and exacerbating traffic in the area.
Locally, Indio police will be handling numerous traffic closures surrounding the venue.
Road closures will be at:
— Avenue 49, between Hjorth and Monroe streets;
— Avenue 50, between Madison and Jackson streets;
— Hjorth Street, between Avenue 49 and Avenue 50; and
— Madison Street, between Avenue 49 and Avenue 52.
In addition, no pedestrians or pedestrian festival access will be allowed on Monroe Street between Avenue 49 and Avenue 52 or Madison Street between Avenue 50 and Avenue 52.
Pedestrians can enter the polo grounds at the corner of Avenue 49 and Monroe Street and the corner of Avenue 52 and Madison Street.
An estimated 110,000 people attended the festival each day through the first weekend, according to police, though up to 125,000 are allowed through the gates, thanks to the Indio City Council’s unanimous decision to expand the festival’s attendance cap from 99,000 to 125,000. This year’s event is expected to be the best-attended Coachella festival in history.
The big crowds this weekend will have to contend with a hot spell set to hit the region.
Saturday is expected to be the hottest day of the entire festival, with a high near 99 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
Concert-goers are advised to stay hydrated — and to watch their phones.
New York resident Reinaldo De Jesus Henao was arrested last Friday after being tailed by several festival-goers who noticed their phones were missing and utilized the “Find My Phone” app, which provides users with the GPS location of their device, to locate Henao.
Henao was allegedly found with a backpack containing more than 100 cellphones, which have since been returned to their rightful owners or turned over to the lost and found area of the concert site.
A second man from New York also was arrested during the first festival weekend, allegedly with about 10 stolen cellphones.
Anyone who loses items during the festival was advised to search for their lost possessions on https://www.coachella.com/guidebook/lostandfound/.Overall, Indio police said there have been fewer arrests at this point in the festival than last year even though attendance is up. Last weekend, 125 people were arrested over the three- day period.
This Friday, no major arrests or incidents were reported.