Coachella has been an institution since 1999, founded on the alternative music scene, as a counterculture to the mainstream popular artists of the day. With a variety of artists ranging from Rage Against the Machine, Morrissey, Beck, The Chemical Brothers and others, the inaugural festival brought together a certain audience of like-minded fans. Now in its twenty-fifth year, Coachella in many ways has evolved into an event quite the opposite o which it was initially founded upon. Mainstream pop acts are now included and even headline but many of its ethos of supporting the lesser-known emerging acts still remain. The first weekend of the 2024 edition took place April 12-14 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA and brought the heat with many surprises, as is tradition, along with memorable performances from the headliners in Lana Del Rey, Tyler, the Creator and Doja Cat. Buzzworthy performances by Olivia Dean, The Last Dinner Party, Atarashii Gakko!, salute, Faye Webster and Raye were standouts from this year.
Lana Del Rey put together a great set with a well-balanced mix of staples with more recent fare as she performed fan favorites “Summertime Sadness”, her cover of “Doin’ Time” and “Cherry”. Kicking off the weekend of many major surprise appearances, Jon Batiste first came out to play piano during “Candy Necklace” and right after, Billie Eilish walked on stage to perform “Ocean Eyes” and “Video Games”. Billie would later show up on Saturday in the DoLab to perform a surprise set with Finneas and Tyga.
No Doubt made their long-awaited return, not only to Coachella, but as a collective in 9 years and exceeded all expectations. The Anaheim natives exuded an enthusiasm and joy that was infectious throughout their entire set and was evident throughout the audience that was jam-packed with fans. Right from the get-go with performing “Hella Good”, “Sunday Morning”, “Ex-Girlfriend” and the joyous “It’s My Life”, lead singer Gwen Stefani was strong, energetic and inspiring. Digging into album tracks and lesser known songs like “Different People” and “Total Hate’95”, No Doubt were able to keep the crowd bouncing and dancing to their brand of ska/rock.
The surprise appearance of Olivia Rodrigo to perform “Bathwater” was satisfying and bridged generations for those who grew up with Stefani and continue to be inspired by her. Rodrigo was just as energetic and fun, fitting right into the duet version of the song, while bouncing and dancing along with the likes of bassist Tony Kanal and Stefani. Ending with their signature songs, “Just a Girl”, “Don’t Speak” and “Spiderwebs”, the audience got even louder as they sang along, some tearing up as Stefani emoted both the strength in the former, vulnerability in the second to last song and fun in the latter. It was an absolute strong return for the band that many hope will tour, especially those who weren’t able to attend in-person.
Tyler, the Creator may not have had any new music to promote before playing the festival but he still delivered an exciting and fun set. The set was familiar to what he’d done in other festival appearances, with the boat theme and mountain background. He expertly got the crowd hyped with “LMEONHEAD”, “LUMERBJACK” and “I THINK” while performing “BEST INTEREST” for the first time. Mid-way through the set, Childish Gambino came up on stage to perform “RUNNING OUT OF TIME” and A$AP Rocky was brought out to perform “POTATO SALAD” and “Who Dat Boy”, the first two which haven’t been performed in many years. The surprises wouldn’t stop there, as Charlie Wilson came out to perform “EARFQUAKE” and Kali Uchis was brought on stage to perform “See You Again”.
Grimes returned to the desert and unfortunately had a set that was not as fulfilling as it could’ve been. There were technical difficulties and unexpected transitions, which caused her to stop the set many times to apologize and reset. There were technical issues during the set for The Japanese House as well that marred what would’ve been a great set.
Those in attendance to see Olivia Dean were absolutely blown away from her set. Her presentation, voice and music were enthralling and gave a glimpse of a rising star in progress. Songs like “Danger”, “Messy” and “Dive” really shone and Dean’s voice was silky smooth and stage presence was warm and inviting.
Japanese group, Atarashii Gakko! brought the house down in the Gobi tent Sunday night. They were energetic, had the choreography of a veteran pop group and exuded a confidence and stage presence only seen in an artist who’d been around for years. Even though they were singing entirely in Japanese, the audience was bouncing and dancing along, fists pumping in the air.
The crowd went wild as the USC Trojan Marching Band appeared on stage with them as the energy levels were at its peak.
The same energy was experienced during Bleachers’ set as Jack Antonoff and his band had the crowd wrapped around their finger throughout the entire set. Unbeknownst to pretty much the entire audience, Taylor Swift was backstage watching and enjoying the set right along with them. Antonoff was an expert at commanding the crowd to sing along, dance and jump along to the band’s familiar songs like “Modern Girl”, “Rollercoaster”, “I Wanna Get Better” and “Don’t Take The Money”.
Lil Yachty was incredible as his set was basically the bow of a ship or yacht, where he would perform the beginning of his set on top of before coming down to the stage. Justine Skye made an appearance early in the set to perform “running out of time”.
KARRAHBOOO came out to perform the Concrete Boys song “ON THE RADAR CONCERETE CYPHER”, while “Mac DeMarco really surprised everyone to perform “On the Level” and “Chamber of Reflection”. The set had everyone jumping, moshing and dancing and needless to say, many phones in the air to capture the moment.
In an area that continues to grow, the DoLab has created buzz over the years and rightfully so as it’s become a breeding ground for many electronic acts from ODESZA, Alison Wonderland and many others. This year the space was modified to an open-air environment and featured outstanding sets from salute, Azzecca, Channel Tres, Anna Lunoe, Sam Gallantry, The Dare and numerous others. As mentioned, Billie Eilish made a surprise appearance on Saturday night to an overflowing crowd. Sofi Tukker performed a surprise set filled with new mixes and music on Friday to an enthusiastic and energetic crowd.
The festival’s new open-air space Quasar was situated right near the ferris wheel and midway to the expanded Sahara tent and was reminiscent of Splash House but on a larger scale. Featuring exciting sets from Honey Dijon x Green Velvet, Michael Bibi, Jamie xx, Floating Points and Daphni, during the first weekend, the stage was free from distractions and was refreshing to vibe to the elongated sets, especially as night fell.
Overall, the vibe of Coachella remained- an congregation of music-heads of all genres that led to even more exploration. As the festival curators continue to push into bringing in mainstream pop artists, the international flare continues to grow and has proven consistent with the artists’ who push for more genreless art. Coachella still stands alone in bringing a large contingent of such fans into one space for a weekend and this year will live in many memories for years to come.
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