Another Valley Music Festival Hits The East Valley

You’ll still see a young crowd and hear bands play, though you’re miles from all the action at the Empire Polo Grounds.

The Second Annual Hue Music and Arts Festival features music acts and works of art all from students at east valley high schools.

“It means all colors and all cultures coming together in a festival,” Peggy Toledo from the Coachella Valley High School Arts Department said.

“I made all these tie-dye sheets because I wanted to make a hippie tent to promote unity in the valley,” Coachella Valley High School senior Denise Romerotorres said.

A major sponsor of the hue is also the sponsor of two music festivals just miles away – Goldenvoice.

“We approached them with the concept of building a free community event in the actual heart of Coachella for the community using our local talent,” Elizabeth Toledo of Building Healthy Communities said.

Elizabeth Toledo says organizers wanted Goldenvoice to see the real Coachella.

“Took them around to show them some of the living conditions that folks in the eastern Coachella Valley deal with,” Toledo said. “They were really appalled at some of the conditions that continue to exist in the eastern Coachella Valley that really nestle up to their festival.”

So, they became one of the sponsors of this “other” desert music festival.

“A space for young people and families who don’t necessarily have the ability to go to their concerts, Coachella and Stagecoach,” Long said.

“tt’s youth driven, youth-led, and there aren’t a lot of venues for youth in the valley for them to show their local talent,” Romerotorres said.

With professional and student art on display, the theme teachers preach in school is also threaded throughout the festival.

“Anything can be art. Anything you find in everyday life is art. You don’t have to pay 5,000 dollars. You don’t have to go to a museum, you just find it everywhere,” Romerotorres said.