\u201cWe engaged in this project where we’re working with their tools to explore what are the ways that these tools can extend and expand an artist’s canvas, give them more tools for creative expression, expand artist world building on site and at home, and then make the experience more simple and more fun for fans,\u201d Ryan Cenicola, Coachella\u2019s innovation production lead, told Decrypt.<\/p>\n
![\"Coachella](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/coachella-2026-ai-experiment1.png@webp.webp\"\/)
A Coachella experiment using Google DeepMind AI. Image: Coachella<\/p>\n
One prototype, called \u201cTurning Performances Into Interactive Experiences,\u201d captures live shows and rebuilds them as 3D environments that fans can explore. During the first weekend of the festival, teams recorded lighting, audio, visuals, and the movement of both the crowd and artists during a Quasar stage set, then recreated the performance in Unreal Engine.<\/p>\n
Coachella said the technology could eventually create \u201cliving archives\u201d of performances that fans can walk through, replay from different perspectives, or view with alternate visuals generated in real time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are definitely ways we\u2019re looking at how fans on-site can engage with that content in the future,\u201d Cenicola said. \u201cLooking further ahead, with glasses and the emergence of that form factor, that\u2019s certainly a place we\u2019re thinking about this content living and making it an even more immersive experience for fans on-site.\u201d<\/p>\n
A second prototype is a stage-design tool for artists. The software lets performers upload visuals or enter prompts to see how a show would look on a 3D model of Coachella stages at different times of day and with different crowd conditions.\u00a0 The goal is to give smaller acts access to production tools typically reserved for artists with larger budgets and teams.<\/p>\n
\ufeff<\/p>\n
The third project is a mobile game called Coachella vs. The Game, where players control an astronaut and explore digital worlds based on festival artists. The team compared the idea to the games people could play before visiting a theme park, giving fans a way to explore the lineup before arriving at the festival.<\/p>\n
\u201cTypically, you’re looking at six to 12 month development timelines to really push a high-quality experience. And that time has been shrunk significantly, even just since the beginning of this year,\u201d Kevin McMahon, Coachella\u2019s innovation partnerships lead, told Decrypt.<\/p>\n
Asked why Coachella chose Google DeepMind over rivals like OpenAI or Anthropic, McMahon pointed to the company\u2019s visual AI tools and existing relationship with the festival.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us, we live in a really visual world, and they have the best visual models,\u201d he said. \u201cWe work with them across the festival, from our YouTube livestream, which is part of a Google relationship. We\u2019ve found them to have really great models that are easy to use, and they\u2019ve been shipping at a really fast rate. We\u2019re excited to keep exploring with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Coachella](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/coachella-2026-ai-experiment2.jpg@webp.webp\"\/)
A Coachella experiment using Google DeepMind AI. Image: Coachella<\/p>\n
The AI projects build on years of Coachella testing new technology to expand the festival beyond the event itself. In 2024, the festival launched Coachella Quests<\/a>, a game on the Avalanche<\/a> blockchain that let attendees complete challenges and earn perks through NFT stamps. That same year, Coachella launched Avalanche-based NFT passes<\/a> and collectibles after its earlier Solana NFT partnership with FTX fell apart when the crypto exchange collapsed<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAn experience like Coachella Quest was a way for us to shine a light on things and say, \u2018Hey, have you thought about this?\u2019\u2014without doing it in a boring menu kind of way,\u201d McMahon said. \u201cHow do we make it interactive\u2014a way to explore and discover at the festival\u2014and give fans a chance to bump into each other and say, \u2018Oh, you were going to see that thing or collect that thing too.\u2019 Those happy accidents are something we continue to get really positive feedback on.\u201d<\/p>\n Coachella has also invested in augmented reality experiences for livestream viewers. This year\u2019s AR broadcasts included digital effects layered onto performances that were visible only to online audiences.<\/p>\n The current AI projects have not been launched publicly, and remain internal proofs of concept. Cenicola said Coachella is reviewing lessons from this year’s festival before deciding what could roll out in future years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s difficult right now to put a firm timeline on it,\u201d he said. \u201cWe’re in the phase where we’re taking all the learnings from these three proofs-of-concept that we wrapped up last weekend and working with our team and with DeepMind to understand what the next steps are.\u201d<\/p>\n Daily Debrief Newsletter<\/p>\n Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In brief Coachella built three AI projects with Google DeepMind during the 2026 festival. The tools include a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":633508,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[256,254,255,64,63,105],"class_list":["post-633507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=633507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633507\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/633508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=633507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=633507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=633507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}