This past weekend after all the “Coachillers” had left the green fields of The Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif. dried up and dead, us country fans headed out to have some fun in the dirt.
Stagecoach may get some criticism from those who do not appreciate country music, but all I have to say is at least people actually still go to Stagecoach because they love music, not to take an Instagram photo in a flower headband with the caption “outfit day 2.”
If you’re curious about what went down at Stagecoach, here are the top five things you most definitely missed!
5. Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis were there
Stagecoach doesn’t have celebrity sightings quite like Coachella, but Ashton Kutcher has been going to the event for years. This weekend he brought along fiancĂ© Mila Kunis and they were often spotted going back and forth between all three stages. Who would have thought they were country music fans?
4. Ultimate Flip Cup
We’re all familiar with the game flip cup. Our camp decided to start something slightly more intense. We started with two tables. The idea was once everyone at your table had successfully flipped their cup, you had to carry your table to the end of the next one. This created a never-ending game of flip cup where campers started grabbing their own tables and just joining in. At the longest point, our game was 16 tables long. It was so epic the LA Times shot photos of it and the police shut it down. What can I say, us country folk know how to have a good time!
3. Brantley Gilbert came and hung out in the campgrounds
On Friday night, Brantley Gilbert came into the camp next to ours and had a few beers. Country artists are known to mingle with the “simple folk” at events like Stagecoach. Luke Bryan is notorious for wandering around the campgrounds during the day.
2. Lynyrd Skynyrd absolutely crushed it
Lynyrd Skynyrd was added to the lineup extremely last minute, after Loretta Lynne dropped out. They didn’t perform on the main stage, but should have. Fans ran to the Palomino Stage to see their favorite hits like “Tuesday’s Gone” and “Simple Man.” The crowd overflowed out of the tented area, and no one cared who was performing on the main stage. Lynyrd Skynyrd shocked the crowd when they dropped confetti on us during “Sweet Home Alabama.” The blend of all ages in the crowd made it apparent that their music is timeless and will be enjoyed by generations to come. Truly an epic performance from them.
1. The best performances at the Mane Stage
Jason Aldean had one of his greatest nights. The crowd went insane when he came on and we jumped around, drinks in hand, to hits like “Hicktown” and “My Kinda Party.” Hunter Hayes had one of the largest crowd sing-a-longs known to music festival history, as the majority of the audience knew every word to every song. Florida Georgia Line came out swigging on a bottle of Fireball Whiskey and made the crowd go wild during “Get Your Shine On” when they asked everyone to take out a cellphone or lighter, everyone obliged happily.