• Tweet

Both the Stagecoach Festival and its sister festival, Coachella, both held annually in Indio, Calif., were in jeopardy of not being held or being postponed next year because of a request by a neighboring city’s council. But those scares have been put to rest, and the Stagecoach Festival is not only happening, it’s expanding to three-days instead of the traditional two (Coachella is also expanding to two weekends instead of one). This year the Stagecoach festival will be held Friday, April 27 to Sunday April 29, 2012.

Stagecoach, known for the high profile county music acts it attracts, will this year feature Brad Paisley, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton and a reunited Mavericks, a band that has been broken up since 2003.

Stagecoach began as a two-day country festival to compliment the successful Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which had started in 1999 and featured mainly alternative rock music. Since its inception, Stagecoach has been a two-day festival every year except 2008, when it was expanded to three days due to a reunion concert by the Eagles.

Other notable performers this year will include Alabama, Kenny Rogers, Martina McBride and Sara Evans. The festival will benefit the city of Indio, as well as charities like the Indio Youth Task Force, the Indio Teen Center and the Silverlake Conservatory.

The reunion of the Mavericks has been a big story in the country music world, and the group says that the Stagecoach date will be a part of a reunion tour, though no other dates have been announced. Initially formed in 1991, the Mavericks became known for hits such as “All You Ever Do is Bringing Me Down,” “There Goes My Heart,” and “Here Comes the Rain.” In the latter portion of the band’s career, they tended to find more success in the United Kingdom than in America.