Festival goers attend the Coachella Music & Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club on Sunday, April 14, 2019, in Indio, Calif. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
There’s only one place where a crowd can jam to “Baby Shark” and “Sandstorm” in the same remix. And thanks to Jauz, after receiving 20,000 retweets on his original tweet, the DJ reluctantly complied. With all of the drama and new developments surrounding the music industry in the past year, it’s no surprise that the infamous Coachella music festival is continuing with the outlandish fashion, eccentric events and big-name headliners that have come to be associated with the desert-valley party. With surprise appearances from artists like Selena Gomez, catch up on all the music moments, celebrity appearances and food from the past weekend to prepare for all that will be sure to happen this coming weekend.
Ariana Grande, current queen of pop and youngest Coachella headliner, did not disappoint during her performance Sunday night. With four out of the five members of ‘90s boy band NSYNC onstage, they performed “It Makes Me Ill” interpolated with Grande’s “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored,” along with “Tearin’ Up My Heart.” Adorned with a tiara and ruffled sleeves, the artist shifted from some of her dramatic songs, like “God is a Woman” and “Breathin,” complete with violinists and fireworks, to some of her explosive hits. Her set continued with hit after hit, including “Into You,” “Dangerous Woman,” “Break Free,” “No Tears Left to Cry” and “Thank U, Next.” With Nicki Minaj joining in for “Side to Side” and “Bang Bang,” the crowd could not deny Grande’s star power.
And Grande wasn’t the only artist with some famous friends to ring up. The band Weezer brought out Chilli from TLC to perform “No Scrubs” and Tears for Fears to perform “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” Weezer had payed tribute to the female anthem on their recent 2019 covers LP, “The Teal Album.”
Friday brought a range of headliners for concert-goers to choose from, all of them dominating their performances. Kasey Musgraves, country’s cool record-breaking artist, is perhaps the most fitting to bring the otherwise misplaced genre to the Coachella stage. After winning the Grammy for Album of the Year for “Golden Hour,” Musgraves’ performance last week further established how her music is changing listeners’ perceptions about country music, with glitzy pop outfits and crowd-chants of “Yee haw!”
Donald Glover, otherwise known as Childish Gambino, headlined Friday, performing one of his final shows under the pseudonym. However, he also went out with a bang, at the peak of his musical prowess. He decided to keep the performance low-key in term of production value, save for some laser lights, and he requested attendees to put their phones away because “this is not a concert, this is church.” Glover’s visual and audio storytelling played out crisply and beautifully, truly showcasing his mastery of a well-rounded performance with favorites “This is America,” “Sober,” “IV. Sweatpants” and “Redbone.”
Some cooler and chill performances came from alternative synth-pop band The 1975 and psychedelic pop rock band Tame Impala. With only a video screen as a backdrop, 1975 frontman Matt Healy stripped down the flash from the arena that was present in their usual tour to highlight the beauty of their songs. “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)” shone with the contrast in melancholy and euphoria, as “Sincerity is Scary” and “The Sound” enticed the crowd to sing along. Tame Impala brought their signature dreamy sound and floating vibes, performing under a psychedelic halo to hits like “Let It Happen,” “Elephant” and “The Less I Know the Better.” Billie Eilish kept it cool herself despite the technical delay on her set and brought the crowd back with songs from her recent debut album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” reminding us just why the teen became a phenom.
We can’t forget about the celebrities that will return next weekend to the desert festival. Models Kendall Jenner and Winnie Harlow and actresses Vanessa Morgan and Shay Mitchell featured the eccentric fashion that the festival is known for, such as chain link pants, black fringe, floral jumpsuits and a bright neon two-piece. Janelle Monae, both performing and watching her fellow artists, wore some of the slickest conductor-inspired outfits the Coachella stage has seen. And we can’t forget the Coachella queen, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, who sported a tie-dye shirt, a straw hat and matching braids with none other than fellow “High School Musical” alum Ashley Tisdale.
With the excitement of this weekend under their belts, we can’t wait to see what the upcoming weekend has in store for the artists and lucky festival-goers in California.
Hollie Lao is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at hollianne.lao@uconn.edu.
