Yee Haw! It's Stagecoach Time: What Local Residents Should Know

INDIO, CA — It's that time of year again. The time when the desert music festival season comes to a close with a boot-stompin' bang. So grab your cowboy hats and cut-offs, and saddle on in for a great time at the Stagecoach County Music Festival.

The three-day show starts Friday, but area residents will start to notice the influx of large recreational vehicles head into town on Thursday as they set up camp.

Gates open at noon for Friday's 18 acts, topped off by Florida Georgia Line on the "Mane" stage. The Nashville-based duo previously performed at Stagecoach in 2013 and 2014, but this year marks their first headlining spot at the festival.

Keith Urban, who headlined in 2010 will be back on the Mane Stage Saturday night, while Garth Brooks closes out the festival on Sunday.

Festival passes were still available as of Thursday afternoon, according to the Stagecoach website. General Admission passes are $349 but are scheduled to increase Friday to $399.

Though passes for the reserved seating sections and "corral standing pit" are sold out, Stagecoach offers a "Fan to Fan Exchange" via Lyte where you can purchase passes that are guaranteed to work.

Children 10 and younger don't need a ticket to enter the festival.

Extra Fun, Entertainment

In addition to the big name acts, the festival will feature six up-and- coming performers each day on the brand new Sirius XM Spotlight Stage.

New additions to the festival also include TV's Guy Fieri bringing his culinary expertise to the desert at the Stagecoach Smokehouse, a 40,000 square-foot barbecue area featuring pit bosses from restaurants across the country.

The new Bazaar will feature 35 vendors, including Nikki Lane's Stage Stop Marketplace, bringing the singer's fashion line out for festivalgoers. Lane also made Stagecoach appearances in 2015 and 2017.

Of course, there will be the returning favorites, such as the Budweiser Clydesdales, the Half-Pint Hootenanny for the kids, and the Honkytonk Dance Hall with dance lessons from esteemed instructors.

Traffic Issues

As with the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, which occupied the polo grounds during the previous two weekends, traffic was expected to be heavy Friday morning on westbound Interstate 10 and on Indio's surface streets surrounding the venue.

• Jefferson Street, from Interstate 10 to Avenue 52
• Washington Street, from Interstate 10 to Avenue 52
• Monroe Street, from Interstate 10 to Avenue 52
• Highway 111 at Jefferson Street
• Highway 111 at Monroe Street
• eastbound Interstate 10 exit at Jefferson Street
• eastbound Interstate 10 exit at Monroe Street
• eastbound Interstate 10 exit at Washington Street

Road closures include:

• Avenue 49, between Hjorth Street and Monroe Street
• Avenue 50, between Madison Street and Jackson Street
• Hjorth Street, between Avenue 49 and Avenue 50
• Madison Street, between Avenue 49 and Avenue 52

Those looking to avoid driving altogether can be dropped off by ride- sharing services and taxis at the southwest corner of Avenue 49 and Monroe Street or dropped off and picked up by friends and family at the northeast corner of Avenue 52 and Madison Street.

Heavy traffic delays are also expected on eastbound Interstate 10 between Banning and Indio starting Thursday.

To help make traffic smoother within the city, a yearlong road project widening Highway 111 in Indio has been suspended until the festival season wraps up April 30.

— Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone / City News Service contributed to this article