Don’t be fooled by the clickbait headlines about influencers or tenting drama – Coachella stays the premier competition for any music lover, particularly digital music followers. I had the prospect to attend Weekend 2 for the second yr in a row, and it someway surpassed my already sky-high expectations.
I might speak about how logistics had been seamless for W2, or how the stage and sound design had been top-notch, or how the climate was completely superb for W2. However what makes Coachella actually unbeatable is its lineup of unique performances from one of the best musicians within the recreation.
I managed to hit 22 units over the course of the three days I attended, however these 10 stood out from the remaining:
Sammy Virji: Perhaps the true breakout star of the weekend. Between his “UKG Avengers”-style B5B Do Lab shock set (that includes fellow UKG stars Interplanetary Legal, Oppidan, Salute, and Conducta) and his packed Sahara stage performances, Virji completely dominated the dialog popping out of each weekends. Together with his infectious enthusiasm, killer choices, and insane mixing expertise (shoutout to his mashup of Radiohead’s “All the pieces In Its Proper Place” and “If U Want It”), Virji had the gang actually leaping from open to shut.
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Chase & Standing: It’s so satisfying to see these veterans get their flowers within the US dance music scene on condition that they’ve been on the reducing fringe of DnB for many years. This was certainly one of the best crowd of the entire competition. The vitality was actually electrical, made much more spectacular by the truth that it was one of many final units of the entire competition and most of the people had been most likely drained. It was the one dance flooring I used to be a part of the place everybody was actually dancing like loopy.
Woman Gaga: It feels unfair to check every other set to Woman Gaga’s, as a result of she gave such a legendary efficiency that may thought-about one of many greats in Coachella historical past books. She absolutely placed on a five-act opera full with outfit modifications, unbelievable choreography with a full ensemble, and a number of set modifications. And her mic was ON. On the finish, she handled us to an acoustic rendition of “Shallow.” I will likely be occupied with her efficiency for years to come back.
Inexperienced Day: One among my most extremely anticipated units of the weekend, and but they someway surpassed expectations. One factor is simple – Billy Joe Armstrong is really a rockstar. His swagger was off the charts and he embodied the punk mentality whereas additionally bringing everybody collectively. The gang was filled with nostalgic millennials reliving our childhood reminiscences, and everybody singing alongside to the lyrics of “Wake Me Up When September Ends” will certainly be a brand new core one.
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Charli XCX: With Brat being my high album of 2024, I couldn’t wait to listen to her songs stay. Whereas I noticed loads of folks complaining on social media that she was autotuned, that she didn’t have any stage manufacturing, or that she didn’t have anybody else on stage – I couldn’t have cared much less. She didn’t want it, and I used to be there be part of the gang greater than anything. She fully dominated the stage by herself, someway hyping up the hundreds and hundreds of individuals in attendance and remodeling the large predominant stage expertise into an intimate rave.
Lola Younger: This lady has Chappel Roan potential. She packed the Mojave stage at 5PM on a Friday, and her voice is simply actually unbelievable. One of many few artists I’ve seen who sounds even higher stay than she does on her albums. Her rock ‘n roll meets Amy Winehouse vitality was the proper strategy to kick off my competition expertise, and although the gang had probably the most vitality for her viral closing tune “Messy,” I believed her finest efficiency was “Immodest,” a defiant energy anthem that I personally assume ought to be her subsequent primary single.
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Sara Landy: I wasn’t acquainted with her recreation. Her hardcore techno set was simply so enjoyable. She performed remixes of so many pop songs (together with one electrical remix of a Charli XCX tune) – I by no means thought it was potential to need to twerk to techno music till her set.
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T-Ache: One other pure dose of nostalgia. This man simply has so many hits and the gang sang alongside on full blast to each tune. T-Ache has been on a marketing campaign to let folks know that regardless of being a pioneer of autotune, his actual voice is unbelievable, and it was on full show throughout this set. Though he had a daytime slot, he transported the viewers right into a 2010 nightclub.
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The Prodigy: I really like drum & bass music, however I’ve by no means seen actual stay DnB music, till I noticed The Prodigy shut out the Mojave tent on Saturday. I used to be blown away by the magic they made with their full stay band, and if the mosh pits I noticed had been any indication, the viewers felt the identical method. This efficiency from these 90s trailblazers was as particular because it was uncommon, given they hadn’t carried out within the US since 2017.
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Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic: I believe it ought to be a rule that an orchestra must be on the lineup each single yr from right here on out. When it comes to pure star energy, they had been unbeatable, bringing out 5 totally different friends: Laufey, Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso, Natasha Bedingfield, Dave Grohl, and Cynthia Erivo. Between every of those stellar shock friends, they performed traditional songs starting from “Flight of the Bumblebee” to the Darth Vader theme tune. It was so unexpectedly pleasant.
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