When people talk about the top music festivals in the US, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival always makes the list. Alongside festivals like Bonnaroo and Burning Man, Coachella is one of the top-tier festivals with plenty of musical inspiration for any artist!

Running more or less annually for a decade, Coachella’s main draw is a great lineup every year, with a decent mix of big-name headliners and smaller up-and-coming bands with potential.

They sometimes have trouble getting truly great headliners, although that varies from year to year. Their lineup of indie bands, however, is always stellar. If you want our advice, skip the big acts and try to catch some of the smaller ones instead. You’re likely to find more musical inspiration in the acts that haven’t become superstars yet.

One of the unique things about Coachella is their two-weekend format. In effect, the same festival is held twice in April, with the same lineups for both shows. Which to attend mostly depends on whether you’re there for the people or the music.

Being in California, celebrities love to attend Coachella, and they’re almost always going to the first set. The second set has fewer stars, which means more focus on the music, but that weekend usually includes April 20th, which creates its own challenges.

None the less, if you’re going in search of indie bands to pull musical inspiration from, Weekend Two is probably the better option.

If you want to attend Coachella, be sure to sign up as soon as tickets go on sale. The 2014 pre-sales have already happened, but regular registration tends to happen in early March. Mark your calendars! Tickets sell out fast, and don’t forget – you’re competing for tickets against the likes of Leo DiCaprio and LiLo.

Sure, it’s in the middle of a desert, heatstroke is an ever-present threat, and sandstorms are a very real possibility, but despite all that it’s still an amazing experience whether you’re on stage or just watching the action.

Plus, it’s still less hot than Burning Man.