Next year's annual Coachella [ tickets ] Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, CA, will expand from two to three days (April 27-29), and before the stages are torn down, promoter Goldenvoice will throw in a major two-day country-music fest the next weekend.

The country cousin of Coachella will include performances by George Strait [ tickets ], Kenny Chesney [ tickets ], Willie Nelson [ tickets ], Lucinda Williams [ tickets ], Emmylou Harris, Sugarland, Nickel Creek and Sparrow Quarter featuring Bela Fleck, among others.

The new, as-yet-unnamed fest will take place May 5-6 at Empire Polo Field, which has been home to Coachella since 1999. The full lineup for the country event is yet to be announced.

What is known is that there will be four stages: a main stage, an alt-country stage, a bluegrass stage and a storytelling area that will feature Garrison Keillor and Texas Poet Laureate Red Steagall, among others.

Besides the acts announced by Goldenvoice, various reports say Ricky Skaggs, Earl Scruggs, and Riders in the Sky are scheduled to appear. Tickets are expected to go on sale in January.

In a case of really bad timing, the radio station that has brought country music to the high desert community around Indio for years, KZLA-FM, switched to a pop/dance format this year. However, the region is a powerhouse for country CD sales, and promoter Paul Tollett has no concerns that there is an audience for the format, according to the Los Angeles Times. On the bright side, AM station KKGO will reportedly switch to a country format Dec. 1.

As for Coachella, the lineup for the massive, multi-stage alt-rock/hip-hip/electronica fest has not yet been announced. More information about both festivals will be available at at Coachella's website early next year.

This year's Coachella brought in more than 80 acts on five stages and attracted more than 110,000 people, according to The Desert Sun. Mainstage acts included Tool, Massive Attack, Depeche Mode, Franz Ferdinand and Kanye West. A big highlight was Madonna's performance in the Sahara Tent.

Earlier this year, a Coachella film was released in theaters and on a double-disc DVD, featuring performances and interviews from the first six events.