Weekend one of Coachella took social media by storm, showcasing some of the stand-out stars of this music season.
The phenomenal lineup of artists was only accentuated by the showmanship of all the artists on stage. Headliners like Lana Del Rey and Tyler the Creator sported elaborate stage designs and exciting set lists that left the crowd speechless and the internet in awe.
Del Rey took the stage after driving through the crowd on a motorcycle brigade to her unreleased song “Jealous Girl.” The excitement of her elaborate entrance was only highlighted by the fact that Del Rey hasn’t performed at Coachella in 10 years. Del Rey made her set list especially memorable by bringing out fan favorite celebrity creators to the stage with her. With three guest artists during her set, Del Rey’s performance kept audiences on their toes.
Jack Antonoff, longtime friend and producer on many of Del Rey’s songs, played the piano on stage alongside a hologram of Del Rey playing “hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have.” 2023 Album of the Year winner Jon Batiste performed “Candy Necklace” with Del Rey earlier in the set. Billie Eilish also came on stage to perform her own song with Del Rey. The two sang a soulful duet of Eilish’s “Ocean Eyes” and then sang Del Rey’s hit “Video Games.”
Returning to the festival scene, Tyler the Creator initially performed at Coachella in 2011 under the name Odd Future, a hip-hop artist supergroup. Returning to the stage a handful of times, this particular performance solidified Tyler as a true performer on stage. He came crashing through his set piece, which was an RV. Coming out in a ranger uniform, Tyler stunned the crowd with his unique and creative presentation.
Tyler invited out other hip-hop stars like Childish Gambino, also known as Donald Glover, and A$AP Rocky. With these two solidified hip-hop legends joining forces with Tyler, it was an undeniable success of a show, with every inch of social media covering every moment of excitement he brings to the stage as a performer. Tyler bursting onto the stage and performing his hit songs like “BEST INTEREST” and “Running Out of Time” flooded the internet after Tyler’s long awaited return to the stage since his 2021 tour of “Call Me If You Get Lost.”
Del Rey and Tyler weren’t the only artists to bring out guest artists for a dynamic set. Gwen Stefani and No Doubt brought pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo out to perform the group’s hit “Bathwater.” Fitting for Rodrigo’s breakup anthems, the song tells the story of a woman who has her sights set on a man who doesn’t have good intentions.
Stefani was performing like her early career days over the weekend, even recreating one of her first festival chants with the modern crowd. The 1995 hit “Just a Girl” by No Doubt was a mainstream success. Stefani famously made all the boys in the audience chant the lyrics “I’m just a girl” at one of the band’s performances in the ‘90s. She did the same bit this year with her band which had the crowd ecstatic at the group’s call back to their early years.
Sabrina Carpenter was able to make her first live performance of her latest single “Espresso,” which was released the night before her Coachella set. In front of the set piece of “Sabrina’s Motel,” Carpenter made it clear that she was born for the stage.
Carpenter also made rounds on TikTok and Instagram for her special outro for her Coachella performance. Carpenter’s hit song “Nonsense” is accompanied by a unique closing verse at every live performance she does. Online speculation about her outros for different cities or stadiums has become common, but nobody could’ve predicted her outro for her first Coachella appearance.
Carpenters rumored relationship with “Saltburn” star Barry Keoghan was the highlight of the set for onlookers, as videos were posted of Keoghan dancing and singing along to Carpenter’s songs, starstruck by her talent.
Even smaller artists drew large crowds to their stage with striking performances. Chappell Roan’s exceptional vocals and stage presence only justified her recent rise to TikTok stardom with her song “Casual” and “Red Wine Supernova” and the viral dance trend to her song “HOTTOGO!”
Taylor Swift was able to make headlines at the festival without even performing, showing up to see her producer and good friend Antonoff in his band Bleachers, alongside boyfriend Travis Kelce. The couple’s appearance was well documented by fans who were excited to see the power couple making a public appearance.
The final night of this weekend was headlined by Doja Cat, who had a controversial approach to her latest release. Her unique and polarizing aesthetic stunned in her setlist. Doja Cat’s previous pop hits like “Say So” were glaringly missing from the setlist. Her song choice focused more on her newfound focus on rap influences.
This showed in her guest choices including 21 Savage, Teezo Touchdown and A$AP Rocky, who was making his second guest appearance of the weekend. Doja Cat brought these artists on to make live debuts of three new collaborations. This choice was an ambitious one that only added to the theatricality of Doja Cat’s set design and costuming.
With such an action packed first weekend, Coachella’s second weekend is sure to bring more memorable moments for artists fans and the festival’s audience.
