Soho House Does Coachella with BACARDI Pop Up

Over the second weekend of the iconic Coachella Music Festival (Friday, April 19 to Sunday, April 21), celeb hotspot Soho House partnered with BACARDI for an unforgettable weekend in the California desert. Supported by Samsung Galaxy, the events took place at the Merv Griffin Estate in La Quinta, a luxury villa with rolling lawns and a spectacular poolside area – very Soho House brand-appropriate. The pop-up lounge allowed guests (many of them familiar faces in Hollywood) to escape the heat and enjoy modern takes on classic BACARDI cocktails, including the refreshing and well-received Pina Colada and Daiquiri.

The private member club of the creative elite brought the comfort of Soho House to the music festival, making high-profile Coachella attendees (who arrived in style in 1950s BACARDI Cadillacs) feel at home. The estate was dressed with Soho House’s traditional furniture, a Soho House signature-style grill, salads and tasting plates were served, and the creative culture of the brand was highlighted in offering a place for bands and the industry to relax, reconnect, charge phones and celebrate Coachella 2013.

Jumping on the PR opportunity, Samsung Galaxy was on-site showcasing their latest devices for guests to experience, with check-in managed using Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablets and Samsung reps on hand with Galaxy Note 8 devices to create and print keepsake postcards using photos of guests.

Easy-on-the-eyes actress Jessica Alba (rocking a floral dress and sun hat) and husband Cash Warren kept it casual poolside, sipping on Mojitos and soaking up the sun. Psychedelic rockers Father John Misty took advantage of the rolling lawns and laid out by the pond with members of LaRoux. Other notable guests who made an appearance included Gerard Butler and Bernard Sumner from New Order. Also present at the Soho House pop-up were Jillionaire and Walshy Fire from Major Lazer, who sat at a table by the pool enjoying the BBQ skewers of shrimp and chicken, relaxing before their Coachella set on Saturday.

Of course, like every epic pool party, there was music. UK band the FOALS kicked off the weekend with a poolside DJ set, followed by Wynne Bennett from popular synth-pop group Twin Shadow and British indie-rock quartet Alt-J. Poolside DJ sets continued with Chris Baio from Vampire Weekend, Welsh house and techno DJ Jamie Jones and Jordan Lawlor from M83

Soho House is known for its industry events and pop-ups around creative cultural events. As in-the-know Toronto YPs are aware, Soho House opened its Toronto location this year just in time for TIFF, and was the chosen hangout of celebs like Matt Damon, Kate Hudson and Kristen Stewart, just to name a few.

The year prior, the members club set up a pop-up location in the Storeys building during TIFF, a venue that hosted events like Madonna’s A-list-filled film dinner and after party. Soho House had also had a (strict, guest list-only) presence at the Grammys, The Brits (music), Art Basel Miami, Frieze London, Frieze NY (art), TIFF, Cannes, The Oscars, Berlinale, and BAFTAs (film). 

Following in the tradition of these events, an affiliation with one of the biggest music festivals in the US was a natural progression. Now, how about one at this summer’s Osheaga festival in Montreal?!

Photos courtesy of: Getty Images for BACARDI