Chris Lake's Coachella campground dance party boosts morale of road-weary festgoers on Day Zero

Chris Lake isn’t 1 to plan.

Minutes earlier he’s acceptable to execute astatine Coachella’s campgrounds, the British DJ sat successful the beforehand spot of a Jeep Wagoneer, uploading euphony to respective USBs. He spent the time mulling implicit which absorption helium wanted to instrumentality this first-of-its-kind Coachella set. Before the festival gates officially unfastened connected Friday, Lake’s Thursday nighttime show marked the archetypal twelvemonth a instrumentalist played the campground for “Day Zero” festivities.

“If I spell up and it’s s—, past it’s my ain fault,” Lake joked. “I virtually don’t cognize what I’m walking into retired there. There are truthful galore antithetic ways it tin go. I similar to eyeball the assemblage and past determine what to do.”

People sporting festive hats groove arsenic Chris Lake kicks disconnected Coachella Weekend 1 connected the campgrounds.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Previously, “Day Zero” has ever been an other time for campers to get settled and get a caput commencement connected partying. But erstwhile Lake was announced to execute connected the caller Desert Sky stage, the festival’s pregame became a spot much official.

Under the circus-like tent, trains of fist-pumping fans began to congregate successful the circular space. Inflatable flamingos and waving flags whizzed by and clouds of marijuana fume thickened. Within the crowd, immoderate seized the accidental to debut their archetypal festival look — wearing trendy, crochet tops and headscarves. Others had taken a much casual, camping approach, dressed successful what seemed to beryllium pajamas. In the mediate of the camping hub (that consisted of a wide store and respective lounge spaces), determination were adjacent immoderate listeners, hairsbreadth bedewed from the communal showers and toiletries successful hand, who stopped by to perceive Lake’s blend of dense bass and popular music.

Beyond the dust, a palpable consciousness of excitement filled the air. Longtime Lake instrumentality James Guerrero was not shocked to spot the “Beggin’” DJ marque an quality astatine the festival.

“I’ve gone to the past 5 [Coachellas], and helium ever seems to amusement up. Whatever sounds Chris Lake wants to springiness me, I’ll accept. He’s a pioneer successful what helium does. He’s similar LeBron [James],” said Guerrero. “ It’s going to beryllium an perfectly phenomenal time.”

Campers and canopies are reflected successful the water arsenic they caput backmost to their car campsites.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Before getting into the campgrounds that morning, galore festival-goers were faced with prolonged hold times. While waiting for the DJ to commencement spinning, galore campers shared akin stories of waiting betwixt six and 8 full hours earlier getting into the grounds. Many of them had besides taken to societal media to explicit their complaints — commenting “We’ve been successful enactment to get successful for 8+ freaking hours, this is outrageous!!” and “This is the implicit WORST I’ve ever seen this enactment successful each my years of camping. This is unspeakable to person radical connected the streets for hours with nary entree to bathrooms. Extremely unsafe conditions,” connected Coachella’s Instagram.

Liz Hernandez, who has camped 8 times, arrived precocious Wednesday nighttime successful hopes of getting an optimal camping spot. In the past, she was capable to get into the campgrounds successful 3 oregon 4 hours, but this twelvemonth she had to hold implicit 12 hours to get into the area.

“We were truthful prepared to wait, but this clip astir it was excessive. I virtually told [my partner] successful the car, ‘Tomorrow, this won’t matter. We’re going to get successful determination and we’re going to hide astir it,’” said Hernandez. “And we did.”

It besides took Guerrero, who was coming from Orange County, astir six hours to get into the campsite. He shares a akin sentiment, “That doesn’t instrumentality distant from this. That’s successful the past. We’re astir to spot the G.O.A.T. and we’re surviving successful the contiguous now. It’s each right.”

With each bass driblet Lake offered to the crowd, helium was met with a oversea of synchronized manus movements. From the radical crowded astir the barricade to those successful the acold back, astir everyone raised their arms up and down to coincide with the fluctuating beat. Lake says helium was prepared for this level of enthusiasm from the camper-only crowd.

Campers marque their mode done the clouds of particulate to the caller Desert Sky stage.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“At the extremity of the day, if you’re camping, you’re afloat submitting to the implicit acquisition of the festival. I tin already tell, conscionable by driving around, however overmuch vigor determination is amongst the people,” said Lake. “These are the benignant of radical that you privation to beryllium playing for.”

Settling into an physics saccharine spot — wherever helium debuted euphony from his upcoming medium “Chemistry” and mixed tracks similar “Messy” by Lola Young and Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison” — Lake had ignited a caller consciousness of vigor successful the Coachella campsite. And it wasn’t adjacent Day 1 yet.

“There’s a immense portion of maine that’s selfish, and I would similar this to beryllium the champion portion of everyone’s weekend,” said Lake. “By the extremity of the weekend, they’re perfectly exhausted and I program to lend to that heavily.”