Where & How Did They Film the Concert Scenes in ‘A Star Is Born’?

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This past weekend, A Star Is Born was the second-highest grossing movie at the box office, raking in $42.6 million.

The movie, starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, marks Cooper’s directorial debut. Committed to the truth of the film, Cooper and Gaga both insisted that the concert scenes be filmed at actual music festivals with live audiences.

So what concerts were featured in the film?

Coachella

In April 2017, Gaga and Cooper took the stage at Coachella to shoot portions of A Star is Born. According to a Billboard article from the time, Coachella’s app featured the invitation.

A no-longer-active solicitation for extras invites concert-goers to “be in the audience as Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga films scenes on the actual Coachella stages. Help cheer and applaud their performances on camera… the scenes for these days will portray a Country Western music concert. All you Monsters that can attend should get decked out in your most comfortable denim & boots, throw on a Stetson (leave those pink Joanne hats at home) and come out to show your support!”

Just days before filming with Cooper, Gaga actually headlined the Coachella tour, debuting her song “The Cure” during the set.

According to The Desert Sun, locals were asked to serve as extras, and an open casting call took place weeks before filming. “Then closer to the film date, people were allowed to purchase a ticket for $10 to be part of the audience, with proceeds going to Lady Gaga’s Born This Way foundation,” the outlet wrote.

Stagecoach Festival

The opening scene where Cooper is onstage as Jackson Maine was shot at Stagecoach Festival. According to musician Lukas Nelson, who spoke to the New York Post, the scene was shot right between Jamey Johnson’s set and his father’s set. “We literally filmed that scene in 10 minutes. [Bradley] went up, sang exactly what you hear in the movie, and then we left. We got it in one take.”

Glastonbury Festival

During the 2017 Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, Kris Kristofferson offered up a few minutes of his set to Bradley Cooper so he could sing for the film.

A Star Is Born is already being considered the film to beat, with warm receptions at festivals. Many critics have sited Cooper and Gaga’s chemistry as an important factor in the film’s success. It premiered at the 75th Venice International Film Festival in August 2018, and is theatrically released by Warner Brothers.