Some 100,000 festival-goers have braved scorching temperatures and long lines to attend the sprawling desert long weekend that also saw top acts including Lady Gaga, Charli XCX and Green Day.
Along with the marquee performers Post Malone and Megan Thee Stallion, both of whom will perform at the festival’s main stage, German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk will deliver a set of their trailblazing conceptual soundscapes.
Shaboozey kicked off Sunday with his viral brand of country that recently earned him a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.
In the evening South Korea’s Jennie will give a solo performance days after her Blackpink bandmate Lisa — fresh off a role in HBO’s hit show “The White Lotus” — electrified the stage on Friday.
On Saturday Charli XCX bathed the desert in her signature “brat” lime green to close out her banger set that pays homage to her sensational year, with cameos including Troye Sivan, Lorde and Billie Eilish, whose appearance whipped the crowd into a frenzy.
The appearance of Eilish triggered hysteria rivaled only by the crowd’s mad dash to the stage next door, where Senator Sanders made a surprise appearance to thunderous applause.
The self-described socialist from Vermont has been on his own “Fighting Oligarchy” tour with US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a bid to harness anger over the actions of Donald Trump’s White House.
– Green Day, Gaga, Gustavo –
The one-two punch of Charli XCX’s club-ready performance followed immediately by Sanders’s rousing call to action left Coachella fans ready to rock by the time headliners Green Day took the stage.
The career-spanning performance filled more than 90 minutes with hits — including “Brain Stew,” “Minority,” “Basket Case” and “When I Come Around” — a reminder of the grip the rockers had on popular music throughout their 1990s and 2000s heyday.
At an earlier sunset performance Gustavo Dudamel led the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a sweeping sunset show that turned the concept of genre on its head, marrying orchestral arrangements with an eclectic crop of collaborators including rapper LL Cool J, Country star Maren Morris and Icelandic jazz-inspired pop singer Laufey.
Lady Gaga kicked off the festival with a three-act tale of mayhem channeling her latest album, but did dole out her classics to the delight of her ardent fans.
Her rendition of “Poker Face” saw Gaga playing against her dancers in a giant chess game — the type of performance art that made her one of the contemporary era’s seminal pop stars.
And Missy Elliott dealt a headliner-worthy show of her own, a blistering, catalog-spanning set featuring trippy visuals, lasers and her smashes including “Lose Control,” “Get Ur Freak On” and “Work It.”
Coachella’s second weekend– which features the same lineup, save for cameo shakeups and occasional special features — will take place April 18-20.
By AFP
