From April 12 to 14, tens of thousands of music enthusiasts descended upon the Empire Polo Club grounds in Indio, Calif. for the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. From headlining shows like Tyler, The Creator to dancing attendees like Taylor Swift, read on for everything that happened at weekend one of the festival.
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A decade after her first Coachella performance, Lana Del Rey returned to the desert as the first headliner of the 2024 edition of the festival. She sang favorites like “Young and Beautiful,” “Summertime Sadness” and her cover of Sublime’s “Doin’ Time” and brought out Billie Eilish to sing “Video Games” and “Ocean Eyes.”
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A reminder that the best acts of the weekend often happen on the smaller stages, Chappel Roan sprinted through an early evening set on the Gobi Stage and brought to life her club-ready pop tracks, like “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl,” “Hot to Go!” and, her latest single, “Good Luck, Babe!” Roan’s Coachella performance comes just as she wrapped up her run opening for Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour.
Kevin Abstract, formerly of Brockhampton, made his way back to Coachella for his festival debut as a solo artist. For his grand return, instead of gracing the stage himself first, he had Sky Ferreira—who has not released a new album since her excellent 2013 debut Night Time, My Time—open his set with an enchanting cover of Lady A’s “Need You Now.”
Jakob Nowell—son of the late Bradley Nowell, founding frontman of Sublime—and company hit the Coachella main stage for a glorious performance of fan-beloved hits and songs that haven’t been performed in decades. The SoCal legends blasted through the likes of “Santeria” and “What I Got,” alongside “Badfish” and “Garden Grove,” which have not been performed since 1996.
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Sorry to Swifties around the world: there is no new performance footage of Taylor Swift after the first weekend of Coachella despite a slew of collaborators being on the lineup. However, Swift and boyfriend Travis Kelce made the rounds at the festival and supported the likes of Ice Spice and Jack Antonoff of Bleachers.
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Warming up the stage for Saturday’s headlining performance, Gwen Stefani and crew reunited for a 16-song set that reminded everyone why No Doubt dominated the ‘90s and early aughts airwaves. Coachella was treated to the likes of “Sunday Morning,” “It’s My Life,” “Underneath It All, “Just A Girl” and “Don’t” Speak,” in addition to a kinetic cameo from Olivia Rodrigo for “Bathwater.”
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A longtime featured artist at the festival, Tyler, The Creator was finally a headliner of Coachella on Saturday. The multihyphenate entertainer presented an impressive 23-song set peppered with star guests including Childish Gambino, Kali Uchis, Charlie Wilson and A$AP Rocky.
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The Mean Girls musical movie and former The Sex Lives of College Girls star continued the ascent of her artistic career with a memorable early Sunday evening performance that bowed out with singles “In The Kitchen” and “Snow Angel.” She also delighted attendees with a surprise appearance from Kesha for a lively “TikTok” duet.
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Ahead of her performance, Tems teased on Twitter: “Coachella, I’m too exciteddd I have a surprise tonight.” The Grammy-winning artist did not disappoint and brought out Wizkid and Justin Bieber to the Empire Polo Club stage for “Essence.” She also sang “Higher,” “Me & U,” “Free Mind” and new song “Love Me JeJe.”
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Returning to the Indio festival as a headliner, Doja Cat leveled up with a 21-song performance that certified her status as a powerhouse entertainer. She left behind a number of her pop radio bangers to make room for much of the tracklist from Scarlet and Scarlet 2 CLAUDE, showcasing the likes of “Demons,” “Paint the Town Red,” “n.h.i.e.” with 21 Savage and “URRRGE!” with A$AP Rocky.
Are we all best friends now @billieeilish @TheDoLaB pic.twitter.com/F3zMokpJyH
— Coachella (@coachella) April 14, 2024
In addition to popping up on stage with Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish threw a surprise party with her friends at the Do Lab stage on Saturday night. The 22-year-old artist didn’t sing, but attendees were lucky to hear three new tracks set to be on her upcoming album, Hit Me Hard And Soft, which is set to be released on May 17.
Year after year, Coachella proves it’s a desert party that is not to be missed.
See also: Everything You Need To Know About Coachella 2024
Photography by: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for Coachella
