Stagecoach 2026: How to get personalized cowboy boots, hats at festival

The Stagecoach Country Music Festival really gets going in the evening as the sun drops below the San Jacinto Mountains and headliners take to the Mane Stage.

But there’s a powerful incentive to get to the Indio event when the gates open at 1 p.m. It’s called swag.

There are plenty of free goods and services available around festival grounds, the Empire Polo Club. Some of them go viral. But supplies are usually limited.

The trick is to be first in line.

Sheri Turner of Lake Forest came to the 2026 festival wearing a free cowboy hat she got in 2025 promoting the TV series “Yellowstone” and its spinoffs.

“We ran in early each day because they were only giving out hats to like the first hundred people,” her husband Sean Turner said.

“We went in and got six hats. We got them for my ex-wife, my daughter-in-law, the girl taking care of my wife’s horse while we’re here and ourselves.”

This year’s “Yellowstone” tent is called Paramount+ Outpost, and it has giveaways throughout, from branded leather koozies, which go fast, to bolo ties and monogrammed cooling towels.

Country music fans are seeking freebies with their names or their own personal touches.

One of the vendors that’s meeting the demand is Ariat Boot Studio, based in San Leandro. It calls itself the first company to infuse sneaker technology into boot-making. Its on-site inventory includes Western boots priced around $150-$350.

Ariat is offering complimentary boot branding with up to three characters. With a boot purchase, customers can get hand painted names or designs by an artist using acrylic paint for leather.

Representatives said the line started on Friday about 10 minutes before the festival grounds officially opened at 1 p.m.

Malibu Rum is trimming hats in a hot pink cocktail bar called Disco Diner. Adornments include feathers and charms, but by late afternoon Friday it ran out of everything but colored ribbons, advising people to come back early on Saturday.