Stagecoach Evacuated as High Winds Tear Through Indio, Lainey Wilson’s Set Delayed

Stagecoach halted all performances and ordered an evacuation on Saturday evening as strong winds ripped through the Empire Polo Club grounds in Indio. Little Big Town were mid-set on the Mane Stage when gusts intensified, sending cowboy hats and dirt airborne before knocking over planters and forcing food stalls to close. Screens displayed a message directing the crowd to move quickly to the nearest exits, and thousands began streaming toward parking lots and shuttles.

The festival went silent for about an hour. Then organizers sent a notification that gates would reopen. The winds had eased enough to resume, though the day’s headlining set from Lainey Wilson got bumped to 10:30 p.m. Sets by Gavin Adcock and others were scrapped entirely to reset the schedule.

High winds are a familiar threat at the site — Coachella has faced similar shutdowns — but the timing here cut deep into the prime evening programming. Wilson’s set, now pushed into the late night, demanded a longer wait from a crowd that had already trudged out and back. What could have been a clean closure turned into a logistical scramble, with some artists losing their slots and a headliner left to rally a re-gathered, windswept audience.