Bernie Sanders, the 83-year-old Democratic Senator from Vermont, succeeded the likes of Rage Against the Machine and Roger Waters as the star political performer at Coachella, but the most incendiary political statement was made by a punk rocker in a cowboy hat. Keith Morris of Circle Jerks introduced his anthem of anarchy, “Wild in the Streets,” by saying without a trace of country humor, “We need an army of Luigis.”

Lady Gaga deserved best of fest honors for her goth-driven four-act rock opera, “House of Mayhem,” but a highlight of that headliner set was the country-tinged “Shallow,” from the movie she said changed her career, “A Star Is Born,” filmed partly at the 2017 Coachella.

Even Gustavo Dudamel, the outgoing music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, gave props to country when he showed his orchestra could relate to youths in a variety of genres, from rap to EDM, including Maren Morris singing “My Church” with a gospel choir.

Country’s Turn to Go Rock

Now it’s Stagecoach’s turn to showcase Coachella-type music on the withered polo fields. Its opening night lineup features Lana Del Rey — the opening night headliner at last year’s Coachella. Closing Stagecoach will be the ’90s boy band, Backstreet Boys.

Two rock acts will precede the Backstreet Boys on Sunday evening. Sammy Hagar, the former Van Halen vocalist who learned he couldn’t “Drive 55” between his family homes in Fontana and Palm Springs in the ’60s, and the Goo Goo Dolls, famed for its ‘90s hits “Name” and “Iris,” could be part of an eclectic lineup in the alternative Palomino tent.

Other bona fide rockers on the Stagecoach bill include ‘60s psychedelic pioneers Tommy James and the Shondells, playing Saturday night, and Creed, the Christian-leaning post-grunge band known for “With Arms Wide Open,” playing late Saturday in Diplo’s Honkytonk.

Sturgill Simpson played both Stagecoach and Coachella in 2015, becoming the first artist to get that double billing since Willie Nelson in 2007, largely on the strength of his rootsy 2014 LP, “Metamodern Sounds in Country Music.” But he let his rock-flag fly in 2016 on “A Sailor’s Guide To Earth,” featuring the horn-driven “Call To Arms” about a father telling his son to ignore the warmongers who “send their sons and daughters off to die for some oil.” His most recent album, “Passage Du Desir,” finds Simpson exploring a range of sounds, from traditional country to Allman Brothers-styled Southern rock, under the pseudonym Johnny Blue Skies.

Indio Native Going Country

Hometown gal Abi Carter, who won last year’s “American Idol” with her pop music skills, is now playing Stagecoach with contemporary originals and “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica.

Nikki Lane, making her fourth Stagecoach appearance, was an Americana Music Association-nominated emerging artist in 2015 and won the Outlaw Country Female category at the Ameripolitan Music Awards in 2017. Her last LP continued her evolution with desert rock legend Josh Homme producing her “Denim & Diamonds” LP, including the single, “First High.”

Of the Stagecoach headliners, only Luke Combs took a traditional journey to Nashville. Friday headliner Zach Bryan was discharged after eight years in the Navy in 2021 and debuted the next year at Stagecoach. Despite being listed in the smallest of fonts on the festival poster, a veteran rock publicist compared him to Neil Young and predicted he’d be country’s next big thing.

Saturday marquee-topper Jelly Roll started his career as a rapper before revealing himself as an evocative singer. His duet with Eminem, “Somebody Save Me,” has become a rap-country classic. His genre-blending originals, “Need a Favor” and “Liar,” have topped the country and mainstream rock charts. He sang a medley of Johnny Cash classics on NBC-TV’s recent “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert.”

Goldenvoice’s Dynamic Producing Duo

Obviously the Goldenvoice producers of Coachella and Stagecoach can blend a festival lineup the way Jellyroll can mix a setlist.

Both festivals were created by Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett. His former assistant, Stacy Vee, is now the company’s award-winning Stagecoach producer. Tollett says Vee has taken Stagecoach in directions he couldn’t have imagined while Vee says she learned by watching Tollett.

Coachella started as a niche festival, providing a showcase for indie artists that didn’t fit the formula of MTV and top 40 radio — specifically edgy forms of hip hop, EDM and alt rock. As Coachella’s popularity grew, those genres became more mainstream and Tollett sought to anticipate new musical trends by booking artists of more diverse genres and developing audiences with them. Today, Coachella includes substantial LGBTQ+ artists and performers from non-English-speaking countries around the world.

Stagecoach was born in 2007 with artists that similarly didn’t fit the Nashville mainstream, including Lucinda Williams, Earl Scruggs and Asleep at the Wheel. It, too, has grown more inclusive as the walls between Nashville and genre artists have crumbled. Vee brought in ‘60s and ’70s rockers, Motown legend Smokey Robinson, and rap and EDM artists.

And instead of trying to retain audiences by booking tried-and-true favorites every year, Goldenvoice and its corporate partners at AEG Presents created new festivals in which favorite Coachella alumni are the niche artists and their proteges are helping to expand their genres.

Just two weeks after Stagecoach, Goldenvoice will present Just Like Heaven in Pasadena for folks who loved Coachella in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Appearing on two stages on the lawns of the Brookside Golf Club near the Rose Bowl are such Coachella veterans as headliners Vampire Weekend and Rilo Kiley (doing a Coachella-type reunion), Empire of the Sun, Block Party, Courtney Barnett, Grouplove, Peter, Bjorn and John, and a reunited TV on the Radio.

Looking Ahead to More Festivals

A week after that at Brookside is Cruel World, featuring new wave, goth, and synth music with an alt and counterculture vibe. (The difference, says Chat GPT, is a counterculture aims to “challenge and change the mainstream.” Alt culture offers alternatives, but “not necessarily with the intent to overthrow or resist”). The headliners are past Coachella favorites New Order and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. They’ll appear with current Coachella artists The Go-Go’s, and fellow alumni Devo, OMD, Garbage and Death Cult, the original name of Coachella’s 2014 performers, The Cult.

Head in the Clouds follows May 31-June 1 at Brookside. Goldenvoice is producing this showcase of Asian talent and culture with 88Rising, which presented a package at Coachella in 2022 with Rich Brian and K-pop legends 2NE1, who are both performing at Brookside.

Cali Vibes, a fourth-year reggae and “California lifestyle” festival arrives June 7-8 at the Marina Green Park in Long Beach. Its headliners are rapper Kid Cudi and the eclectic Slightly Stoopid, who have both played Coachella.

Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, conceived and produced with Tyler, The Creator, is expected to return for its 11th year in November with its incubator of rap artists. Last year’s lineup included such Coachella stars as Erykah Badu, Mustard, Raye, the Marias, and Kaytranada.

Coachella didn’t sell out its two weekends this year, but its growth is exemplified by the expansion of Goldenvoice festivals in Southern California and beyond.

Bruce Fessier is a Coachella Valley Media Hall of Fame journalist who has covered every Coachella and Stagecoach festival. Contact him at jbfess@gmail.com and follow him at facebook.com/bruce.fessier and instagram.com/bfessier/

Bruce Fessier was the first inductee of the Coachella Valley Media Hall of Fame and is a journalist who has covered every Coachella. Contact him at jbfess@gmail.com and follow him at facebook.com/bruce.fessier and instagram.com/bfessier/