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Coachella 2022: Do Lab, a look inside the coolest place at Coachella

By Orange County on April 24, 2022

The Do Lab is possibly the coolest place in Indio’s Empire Polo Club, and it’s back to light up Coachella 2022 after a two-year hiatus.

Headliners like Harry Styles and Billie Eilish may get all of the attention when lineups are announced, but the Do Lab — powered by renowned DJs, iconic water guns that drench the thousands who dance in the tent at any one time, and bass that will rock your soul from the festival’s opening to its closing — has become a name-brand of its own at Coachella.

Lasers cross the sky above the Do Lab during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio on Saturday, April 23, 2022. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Contributing Photographer)

The idea for the Do Lab began in 2004 when the Flemming brothers realized their TV production jobs weren’t stimulating, Dede Flemming said in 2017.

Jesse played in a band, Josh worked on lighting and then set designs for his shows and Dede helped.

In the meantime, they were going to festivals and drawing inspiration from the creative anarchy of Burning Man, which creates an ephemeral city of art in the Nevada desert.

The Do Lab’s first year at Coachella was 2004, when the brothers made what they considered an art project — a 60-foot geodesic dome with sculptures and water misters that was a place to cool off.

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Coachella soon invited the Do Lab back, and the Flemmings began experimenting with different types of building materials and bigger structures. Meanwhile, the Do Lab became known as a stage, not just for music but for performance art, with the audience as part of the act.

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Festival-goers like Sean Voy say the Do Lab is a mini-festival within Coachella.

“It’s like a portal to burning man,” Voy said this weekend. “There’s really nothing like it.”

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The Do Lab is back for a 15th year with a lineup of more than 40 acts featuring Do Lab regulars like The Glitch Mob and house music duo Sidepiece.

Attendees also enjoy roaming clowns, aerialists, fire dancers and other immersive artists. And you never know who will show up to play, which is part of the fun.

In the past guests have included artists such as Skrillex, Richie Hawtin and Major Lazer but the stage has plenty of room for upcoming stars too, including 17-year-old Moore Kismet, a high school senior who spent the night before their prom performing at the Do Lab.

Moore Kismet performs on the Do Lab stage during Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio on Friday, April 22, 2022. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

“I’m just really really grateful everyone was so receptive with what I played; nothing can compare to this,” Kismet said, walking off the Do Lab stage after an hourlong set of energetic bass-driven dance music.

The next afternoon, DJ Andre Power rallied the crowd with remixed hits while fans armed with giant water guns on stage took turns soaking the crowd.

“It’s always,” Power said as he exited the booth, “a vibe.”

 


Source: Orange County Register

Published in Coachella Festival, Local News, Music + Concerts, News, Things To Do and Top Stories PE

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