- The Revolve Festival is a music, arts and shopping event that took place on April 16th and 17th this year.
- The festival is in partnership with Coachella and was hosted in La Quinta, California.
- Influencers described long lines to get to this year’s event, and some say they didn’t make it inside.
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Last weekend, the Revolve Festival — an event hosted by the online retailer during the Coachella music festival — resumed after a two-year hiatus. On April 16th and 17th from 1pm to 8pm, influencers and other invited guests attended the festival in La Quinta, California. But according to some guests, not everyone made it inside.
Attendees shared videos on TikTok of scenes from the waiting area waiting for shuttles to take them to the festival site. Some videos showed long lines snaking around metal barricades beneath white tents, while others showed scenes of people running towards large buses trying to board. Revolve officials did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
For some, it brought back memories of the infamous 2017 Fyre Festival hosted by Billy McFarland, which promised a VIP experience in the Bahamas but instead delivered disappointing accommodation and food, leaving celebrities and influencers stranded.
Averie Bishop, a Dallas law student and creator, posted a TikTok video on Sunday calling the Revolve Festival “absolute chaos.” She said although the brand invited her to attend, she never really made it onto the site. Bishop’s video had 3 million views as of Monday.
“I didn’t even come to the festival, guys,” she said in the video. “I waited in line for two hours. There were people in front of the buses, people pushing, pushing, yelling, tugging, people standing between the buses as they moved just to get on those buses and get to the Revolve Festival.”
She shared a clip from the waiting area where a friend called the situation “dangerous” and “Fyre Fest 2.0.” Emily Hemelberg, an influencer who claims to have been waiting in line for the event, also compared the situation to Fyre Festival in a video that had 55,400 views on Monday.
“Sorry Revolve, but I really hope next year you take everyone’s safety into consideration,” added Bishop.
One TikToker, Bri, who said she works as a designer for Revolve, described the transport situation as “absolute dumpster fire” in a now-deleted video viewed by Insider on Saturday. She said there are separate queues based on what type of ticket attendees have (she said the categories are VIP, influencer and general admission) but there were no security personnel present to keep things in check.
Bri posted a follow-up video on Sunday, saying she showed up extra early to make sure she actually got to Revolve Festival after failing to make it on a shuttle the day before.
Bishop, who arrived around 3:20pm, told Insider that the queues weren’t clearly marked and that people were starting to “stomp” others to get into the VIP queue, which she says is given preferential treatment. She also said there was no water for anyone waiting and that she recalled a security guard asking attendees for water when a guest in line appeared to be on the verge of passing out in the heat.
Lars Gummer, an LA-based influencer who arrived at the site at 1:30 p.m. wearing a VIP bracelet, told Insider he was handed a water on the way from the parking lot to the lines. Gummer waited about 30 minutes for his bus and said he only knew through word of mouth upon arrival that there was a VIP queue.
Content creator Kristi Howard said she waited in line for five hours and was unable to get on a bus. She’s posted several videos detailing her experience and wrote in a caption that she ended up spending “a few thousand” dollars. Her video below, posted on Sunday, had 3.2 million views as of Monday.
While several attendees describe being turned away and never attending the festival, others shared videos of the inside showing attractions such as flower photo ops, swing rides and a Post Malone concert performance.
Lauren Ashley Beck (@laurenashleybeck on TikTok), a presenter and influencer who was in attendance, shared how it was when she got on, but also said she waited in the lines for three hours. Her video had 38,000 views as of Monday.
If you’ve been to the Revolve Festival or attempted to attend the Coachella first weekend event and would like to talk about your experience, reach out to [email protected].