Night two of Stagecoach 2026 hit a major snag when organizers abruptly evacuated the entire Empire Polo Club grounds in Indio, California, due to dangerous wind conditions. At 7:46 p.m. on Saturday, a message went out through the festival app: “Due to severe weather, please exit the event site and move to your vehicles or protected areas outside of the event site for safety.”
The timing could not have been worse. Marshmello was mid-set inside the Honkytonk tent, and tens of thousands of fans waiting in front of the T-Mobile Mane Stage for Journey to take the stage were instead greeted by flashing “EMERGENCY EVACUATION” signs. Officials reported gusts reaching between 50 and 65 mph in the Coachella Valley that evening.
Roughly an hour and a half after the initial evacuation notice, Stagecoach posted a brief message on social media: “We’re back in the saddle.” The festival reopened with a revised schedule, pushing Lainey Wilson‘s headline set to 10:30 p.m. and extending the night until 1 a.m. Journey and Riley Green did not perform.
The backlash online was swift. Many fans who had been placed onto shuttles or walked off the property said they could not make it back in time to catch Wilson’s headlining performance. Poor cell service in the desert meant others did not receive real-time updates and were left confused about whether the evacuation was weather-related or something more serious. “These crazy winds ain’t gonna stop us,” Wilson wrote on social media ahead of her set. For those who made it back, she kept her word.
