Coachella 2022: Peek Inside the Festival's Buzziest Parties & Brand Activations

Absolut, the official vodka of Coachella for 10 years running, stayed on trend by blending the virtual and IRL worlds for its Coachella activation this year. The brand created Absolut.Land, which comprised both an eye-catching, festival-based activation and an innovative virtual edition in the metaverse.

Accessible to fans around the world, the colorful virtual world (pictured) featured unique experiences centered around Absolut’s products and passion points. Fans could explore the space with avatars while enjoying an anti-gravity dance floor and virtual mosh pit, a museum gallery showcasing Absolut artwork, a garden where they could discover collectives, a selfie room, a Pride tunnel paying homage to Absolut’s support of the LGBTQ community, a rainbow-themed dance party and much more.

The metaverse experience was created by United Entertainment Group and Young Hero. Banquet Labs assisted with metaverse strategy, and Parcel Party served as lead developer.

On-site at the festival, meanwhile, was an eye-catching bar-based activation that mirrored the central bar in the metaverse component, allowing both IRL and virtual attendees to interact.

For the in-person activation, MKG served as lead creative agency while Pink Sparrow handled fabrication. Atwater handled graphics, Stories Illuminated handled lighting design and AV and Dazian handled pipe and drape.

Spotify hosted two experiences at Zenaya Estate over the weekend: an album release for Swedish House Mafia on Friday night, and a daytime retreat on Saturday. "We’re so thankful to Goldenvoice and Zenyara that we were able to create a never-been done before experience,” said Sarah Waldman, Spotify’s head of experiential marketing, who notes that the teams worked overnight to transition between the two events. Waldman described Saturday’s "Desert Kickback" event as “resort chic” and “beach-inspired," with DJ performances from SG Lewis, Channel Tres and Kitty Ca$h.

“Light wood grain textures and florals were added throughout, and our bar transformed into a wellness bar offering fresh juices and branded coconut water,” added Waldman. “To help combat the heat, we had a refresh station filled with sunscreen, portable chargers and eucalyptus water-soaked towels.”

The night before, Waldman says, the team “leaned into Swedish House Mafia’s vision of black and white themes. Through crisp branding and clean space transitions, the stage served as a focal point accented with lasers and smoke jets that kept the crowd dancing from 12 p.m.-4 a.m. Late-night bites were served from LA’s Irv's Burgers and Taco Bell trucks, while the hydration station and late-night-necessities attendants strolling the party completed the night.”

The American Express Lounge on festival grounds gave card members a space to relax and recharge with various wellness activities—including a crystal bar, tarot card and astrology readings from Smudge Wellness, and acupressure ear seeding—along with hydration stations, snacks, charging stations and a cash bar. Momentum Worldwide produced the activation.

New this year was a partnership with Bravado: an artist pop-up shop, available within the lounge and also online, where card members got access to exclusive, limited-edition festival merchandise from performers like Billie Eilish and Conan Gray.

One of the weekend’s most anticipated and popular events is Brent Bolthouse’s Neon Carnival, presented by Levi’s and Tequila Don Julio and produced by Best Events, which hosted its 11th event on Saturday night. Returning to its permanent home located at the Desert International Horse Park, the 8,000-attendee event featured carnival-style games and amusement park rides, along with sets from world-renowned DJs and #1942Crew members Ruckus and Kayper, plus newcomer Mel DeBarge.

For the sixth year in a row, Tequila Don Julio took over the cocktail experience at Neon Carnival. The brand served thousands of craft cocktails from an Airstream speakeasy, and told the story of founder Don Julio González through an on-site experience called Tierra de Don Julio—created in partnership with NVE Experience Agency—which took inspiration from the Tequila Don Julio distillery.

The Tequila Don Julio logo popped up in several clever ways, including in a neon-lined floral display. There was also a bandana booth, where guest could grab a branded bandana to help beat the desert’s windy night.

Another Neon Carnival sponsor was DIRECTV, which drew attention during the event with five unique activations. VIP guests could start their evening by visiting DIRECTV’s Neon Oasis, a jungle-themed and branded lounge, before traveling to the carnival ground through DIRECTV’s futuristic Portal (pictured). Other experiences included a branded zipper ride and an additional VIP lounge. And throughout the night, the brand’s Geodome illuminated the sky with immersive projection mapping.

Smirnoff’s activation at Neon Carnival, meanwhile, was a 25-by-25-foot custom-fabricated space. Produced by NVE Experience Agency with fabrication partner Tractor Vision and photobooth partner Hypno, the activation focused on Smirnoff’s Neon Lemonades Seltzers and ICE products.

Rachel Zoe and The Zoe Report hosted the sixth ZOEasis event on Saturday. The midday desert oasis drew artists, musicians and other talent for a design-forward gathering designed and produced by Event Eleven. Highlights included the “Glimmer Bar” for touch-ups, a lounge area, an interactive photo studio, sustainability focused art installations and more. The event was presented by Express, Outshine, European Wax Center and Keys Soulcare.

Floral Crush created a lush floral tunnel primed for photo ops, while Whalefilm handled fabrication, Pro Systems handled audio and Bright Event Rentals handled rentals.

After first popping up during Art Basel in Miami, NYLON House made its Coachella debut last Friday. The event, which took place at the Buena Vista estate in Palm Springs, featured an after-hours dance party with a special DJ set from Peggy Gou, plus immersive activations from MCM, e.l.f. Cosmetics, Soulboost and Unmuddled. Bustle Digital Group and NYLON also created a special print edition of the magazine that was celebrated at the event.

The neon-lined gathering was designed and produced by Event Eleven, while Whalefilm handled fabrication and Pro Systems handled lighting and audio.

Staging came from Accurate Staging, while rentals came from Bright Event Rentals.

HBO Max made its Coachella debut with The Flight Attendant Preflight Lounge, which took place at the Ace Hotel over the weekend. The invite-only experience offered wellness treatments along with an inside look at season two of the hit show. The lounge had cute airport-themed decor from producers MKG, with fun touches included a mini “people-mover” photo op. The event drew influencers like Olivia Culpo and Nick Viall, ultimately reaching a total of 11.5 million followers on Instagram.

For Pandora Jewelry, experiential agency New Moon hosted the Pandora Oasis. Drawing inspiration from cinematic nostalgia and rock-’n’-roll, and tapping Charli XCX as a guest creative director, New Moon built a dreamy escape from the chaos of Coachella. The Pandora Oasis was intended to be a space for creative exploration and relaxation, filled with summer vibes and an all-female lineup of musical performances.

The activation included hands-on product experiences and an on-site ear piercing station, as well as a garage jam space with live instruments for guests to play music and hold impromptu karaoke sessions. The jam space, in particular, became a weekend favorite, with artists like Boys World dropping in for impromptu performances. Open from Friday to Sunday, the Oasis ended the weekend with a performance by SHYGIRL, followed by a headlining performance by Charli XCX herself.

HP once again hosted its Antarctic Dome—a 360-degree audiovisual experience housed inside a geodesic projection dome—at Coachella. This year, the brand launched its first NFT in the space. Designed to celebrate digital artistry, the short immersive film, called Regen, was scored by ODESZA and created by nine digital artists using HP PCs with powerful graphics and processing performance.

An HP-branded lounge also gave festival attendees a space to relax and recharge with comfortable seating, free WiFi and demos of HP products.

On-site at the YouTube Artist Lounge, YouTube’s head of fashion and beauty, Derek Blasberg, captured Shorts content and engaged in exclusive, one-on-one interviews with artists and creators to talk Coachella fashion, beauty trends and more.

Six creators—Benoftheweek, Kaiti Yoo, Kirsten Titus, Larray, Lauren Giraldo and Quenlin Blackwell—“lived” at the YouTube Shorts Compound, where they captured their festival experience on their respective YouTube channels. MAS handled production for YouTube's spaces.

Creative agency BMF collaborated with Parlux fragrances to introduce Billie Eilish’s fragrance, Eilish, at SoHo Desert House. A massive recreation of the fragrance bottle, created by EFX, was on site to greet guests.

Attendees could embark on a fragrance discovery journey as diffusers pumped the Eilish scent into the lakeside setting. There was also a photo opportunity at a curated activation swing.

Rolling Stone teamed up with Meta to host an immersive, weekend-long experience at ARRIVE Palm Springs. The Rolling Stone x Meta Creator House celebrated music, creators, fashion, technology and more, and culminated with the Rolling Stone Live: Palm Springs pool party.

The daytime pool party featured eye-catching sponsor activations from partners including Lucky Brand, Abra, Resorts World Las Vegas, CIROC Vodka, Matua Wine and more, along with performances from Grace McKagan, BLXST and Carwash, James Hype and Gryffin, among others.

For its Coachella activation on festival grounds, Ray-Ban Stories—the brand’s new limited-edition collection of smart glasses, created in collaboration with Meta—teamed up with design studio VTProDesign to create the Coachella Sensorium Experience. Built inside an unassuming white slat-wall structure, the activation invited guests to put on a pair of Ray-Ban Stories and immerse themselves in a multi-sensory experience meant to make them feel like celebrities—complete with bright camera flashes, a stage, a giant ball pit and LED hula hoops.

Other highlights of the activation included a reactive tunnel, an immersive lightroom photo op, an after-party lounge and a Coachella-inspired soundtrack. VTProDesign oversaw the design and production.

Cannabis brand Jeeter created an eye-catching drone show as part of its presenting sponsor activation at Tao Group Hospitality’s Tao Desert Nights events. The show was created at Jeeter’s music studio at the Jeter House in Beverly Hills, with a storyboard written by Emir Guru and images designed by the Jeeter graphics team. In addition to conceptualizing the design and look of the drone show, Jeeter co-founder David Solano wrote 80% of the music used as part of the show, folding in an exclusive music drop by Dr. Drop and Luniz.

Wine brand Kim Crawford hosted the “Camp Kim” wine lounge at the festival this year. The pretty-in-pink pop-up gave attendees a space to take a break and cool down, while also getting touch-ups at a dry shampoo bar, or grabbing some nail art or fun festival accessories like feather eyelashes and body stickers.

Guests could also enjoy refreshing glasses of Kim Crawford’s Sauvignon Blanc, Frose or other drinks.

BMW continued its buzzy #RoadtoCoachella campaign, which kicked off in 2017. The road trip activation, which this year highlighted artist Doja Cat, invited influential creators to drive to the desert in BMW’s all-electric iX and i4 models that were wrapped in custom artwork inspired by Doja Cat’s Planet Her album. To create the artwork, Doja Cat teamed up with photographer David LaChapelle and creative director Brett Alan Nelson; the campaign also featured original content with exclusive behind-the-scenes looks at Doja Cat's Coachella rehearsals.

Creatives like skateboarder Nyjah Huston, actor and author Riccardo Simonetti, and fashion designer Tremaine Emory were some of the influencers tapped for the trip; the group was also invited to stay at a hotel with custom branding, framed images of Road to Coachella legacy artists, gift bags for each guest, a pool takeover, exclusive check-in with branded room keys, and large custom neon signage and decor throughout the hotel. BMW also teamed up with Outstanding in the Field to host the creators at a serene outdoor dinner in Palm Springs. Mirrored Media manages and organizes the annual BMW Road to Coachella partnership with Goldenvoice and AEG, and develops and manages the Doja Cat partnership, event activations, fleet and all on-site experiential.

Healthy hydration company Liquid I.V. made its festival-season debut with the Liquid I.V. House of Hydration, which took place on Saturday. The colorful activation billed itself as a “cotton candy paradise in the desert” and featured exclusive performances from artists like Jack Harlow, Saweetie and DJ MAAD. The color scheme tied into the brand’s new limited-edition Hydration Multiplier flavor: cotton candy.

There was also a fun cotton candy-inspired photo op on site. Liquid I.V. also hosted a branded bumper car installation at Neon Carnival and will host the “Hydration Saloon” at the Stagecoach Festival from April 29-May 1.

Remezcla, one of the largest entertainment brands in Latin culture, hosted late-night events at the Palm Springs Air Museum on Friday and Saturday. The 20,000-square-foot gathering included dance floors, DJ sets, immersive activations, complimentary beverages and other VIP experiences. Overall, the event hosted over 1,500 attendees and more than 12 DJ and artist performances. Tecate was on site serving its new Tecate ALTA Mexican beer, while presentation sponsor Pandora partnered with Remezcla to create an online radio station called Sonic Bloom, which featured a custom mix of rising Latin artists and genres.

Attendees were also offered access to two life-sized fiberglass sculptures—"METEORO" and "FANTASIA"—from Mexican artist Milkman. Milkman, who first debuted his sculptures at Art Basel Miami in December, is known for his creative collaboration with artists like J. Balvin, Diplo, Dillon Francis and C Tangana.

Onda Tequila Seltzer served guests at the REVOLVE Festival from a circular bar in the brand’s signature Pantone “Onda Orange” color. The eye-catching space featured staffers dressed as lifeguards—with female staffers dressed in custom Monday Swimwear—along with large coolers crafted to look like oversized Onda cans. Attendees could grab complimentary tequila seltzers to enjoy during the festival.

88rising—a global music and media company representing Asian talent—hosted the weekend-long Cloud Mansion event for festivalgoers, VIPs and artists. Sponsors included Honda, which built the “Honda Chill Hall.” The futuristic space gave guests a place to relax and cool off while getting a first look at the all-new 2023 Honda HR-V, which was integrated into a light show choreographed to a mix of dance and chill-hop music curated by 88rising Radio.