Thousands of music lovers will soon be descending on Coachella as the summer concert circuit gets underway.
But as festival-goers rush to take their place at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, California, spare a thought for the workers toiling away behind the scenes.
Thomas Hearts is among the former employees who have laid bare the grueling conditions at the festival.
He described working as a merchandise vendor at last year's event as 'torturous hell' before slamming the lack of organization, limited breaks, and absence of team morale.
Thomas Hearts is among the former employees who have laid bare the grueling conditions at the festival
He described working as a merchandise vendor (stock image) at last year's event as 'torturous hell' before slamming the lack of organization, limited breaks, and absence of team morale
Thomas took to the r/Coachella subreddit after working at the festival last year - and he did not hold back.
He began: 'It was absolute torturous hell. During the three-day festival I worked a total of 33 hours in the merchandise tent, standing on my feet for hours on hours in front of a never-ending line.
'By the end of day one I could hardly stand. Each step hurt so bad. It only got more painful as the weekend progressed.'
Thomas claimed that team leaders were handing out ibuprofen to workers who were in pain with some shifts running until 2am.
He also argued that there was 'no organization' and said that team members 'routinely went over five hours working without a break during our shifts' and alleged that their timesheets were edited to 'fix' it.
The festival worker, who explained helpers were paid $20 an hour or $30 an hour for overtime, said that he ended up taking home $750 plus $80 in tips.
Thomas said that 'staff camping was a nightmare' and added that he wished 'there was more solidarity among staff' because he felt there was 'unnecessary tension.'
FEMAIL has contacted Coachella for comment.
Thousands of music lovers will soon be descending on Coachella (stock image) as the summer concert circuit gets underway
And Thomas' candid insight was met with sympathy from other Reddit users as some shared their own experiences
And the candid insight was met with sympathy from other Reddit users as some shared their own experiences.
One wrote: 'Thanks for giving us all a behind scenes take on what happens in that tent. I had no idea it was that disorganized, no wonder it takes so long.'
Another added: 'Working at Coachella sounds like sunshine and rainbows but turns out it’s actual hard work.'
And a third said: 'I spoke to a few employees and they all said [it] was an absolute mess.'
But Thomas is not the only worker to have shared secrets from the festival.
Katelyn Darrow, based in LA, took to TikTok to give further insight on the realities of working at Coachella on the lemonade stands
@katelyn_darrowReply to @little._.rat_ this has been our experience, specifically with the lemonade stands! but every vendor/company is different 🙂 I still think festival work can be a lot of fun, despite the gnarly conditions. #coachella #coachella2022 #festivalworker #festivaltok
♬ original sound - Katelyn Darrow 🌈✨🔮Katelyn Darrow, based in LA, took to TikTok to give further insight on the realities of working at Coachella on the lemonade stands.
Speaking about having to work 10-hour shifts, the content-creator said: 'I wanted to talk a little bit about the shift times because they are gnarly.
'Not only do we work 10 hours - we work 13 hours, 15 hours...
'To be real, its a lot and you have to advocate for yourself out here, it's not a typical office job, there's not a HR department.'
In a separate clip, Katelyn explained that the company she works for also enforces a strict policy that sees workers pay a $400 deposit which is only returned at the end of the festival if employees show up to each of their shifts satisfactorily.
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