Laura Nolan and Matthew MacNabb have revealed what Coachella is REALLY like – and how much it actually costs to go.
Over the weekend, Irish couple Laura Nolan and Matthew MacNabb attended Coachella, and shared an insight with their followers of what the star-studded festival really entailed.
On TikTok the pair shared their “Coachella Review” as well as practical tips for attending the festival.
@lauranolan3 2025 Coachella review. Our favourite and not so favourite performances #coachella2025 #fyp #foryou #viral #coachellareview ♬ original sound – lauranolan3
Speaking about who their favourite and least favourite performers were in Laura’s video, the Dancing with the Stars pro said: “Benson Boone because he was amazing but also it means so much to me,” to which Matthew said: “I think my worst one was Jenni or Charli XCX, I know it’s a bit controversial.”
Speaking about the atmosphere of the crowds, and how they differ to European festivals, the pair spoke about the Dj Zedd’s performance: “Zedd was probably up there with like the best. The best ever I’ve been at. Everybody says Coachella crowds are terrible. And we got a glimpse of that. And they’re a bit dead compared to like European festivals, like Irish ones, but for Zedd, everybody went absolutely crazy.”
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The pair agreed that the performances that stood out to them were Green Day and Lady Gaga, with Matthew saying: “Green day, I give a special shout out because they were just amazing. I like green day, but I’m like not obsessed with Green Day. so to hear them live, the sound carries so well.”
The pair confessed they did expect the crowd to be a little more lively, and compared it to festivals in Ireland and the UK: “A lot of people say the crowd in Coachella is a bit dead. We did experience a little bit of that, where we were expecting it to be a bit more wild, like crowds in Ireland and in UK festivals.”
European festivals do be so engaged and so loud, where here they are kind of more subdued, taking it all in, but for certain acts, they were amazing.”
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In Matthew’s video the pair explained more about their “top tips” for the festival.
Speaking to his followers, Matthew said: “So tip number one is if you can have somebody driving get preferred parking. It’s $435 split between four people or whatever how many is in your group.”
The pair explained this worked out way cheaper than ordering Ubers, as they had heard horror stories of people being quoted between $500 and $700.
@matthewmacnabbOur practical Coachella tips from our experience this year!♬ original sound – Matthew MacNabb
They explained how they barely spent anything on travel costs because of this, and that’s where they learned a lot of people were getting ripped off.
The second tip Laura gave her followers was to “pre-drink or pre-eat before” heading to the festival, as in their experience they paid $16 for a lemonade, and the same amount for a can of White Claw.
They explained “you can make it as cheap or expensive as you want” depending on your food and drink choices.
Another tip the pair gave was to make sure attendees had downloaded the “Coachella app.”
The app, similar to Irish festival Electric Picnic, allows concert-goers to schedule the performers they want to go and see.
Their third tip references the common misconception that you cannot bring food and drink in, which they debunk, stating you can bring in empty bottles and refill them.
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Their final tip concerns the weather conditions in the Colorado Desert, where the festival is held each year: “Last tip is wear sunglasses and wear a bandana if you can because the dust gets everywhere and it really helps to have a bandana.”
In the comments Matthew elaborated on the cost stating: “Yes it’s expensive, like we are in LA. So between the Airbnb in Palm Springs, Coachella tickets, parking and spending money it was about 1300. That’s pretty cheaply done though! people would spend more tbh.”
Ultimately the pair agreed they “had an amazing time, and would definitely go back.”
