The first weekend of the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival came to a close after Doja Cat's rousing closing set on Sunday night.
Whether you're looking to catch up on the weekend's biggest moments or are planning to head to Empire Polo Club for the festival's encore this weekend, here's what to look out for from the latest edition of the long-running festival.
Weirdest set of the weekend: Doja Cat
Doja Cat's set begins with her in a hazmat suit rapping wildly to a sample of 10cc's soft rock classic “I'm Not in Love,” which makes her one of the most prominent members of the Yeti tribe. She danced wearing a long blonde wig. Featuring a giant dinosaur skeleton controlled by a puppeteer, the finale raps her song “Wet Vagina” and culminates in a mud wrestling match with a troupe of female dancers wearing safety goggles, in which her picture You might have been hoping for the seminal pop hit “Say” to be performed. So” (she didn't actually do that).
This has to rank as one of the weirdest sets to ever happen at Coachella, and that includes Frank Ocean's meta spectacle last year. — Michael Wood
Craziest Stage Set: Tyler, the Creator
What did one of the wildest live performers of our time do in his headlining set Saturday night? Fighting with a giant sheep puppet, getting ripped off stage in a fake rainstorm, and more… How about having an A-list guest performer on a career-spanning set that has proven his unique place in music history? — August Brown
The best way to overcome long walks to and from the parking lot: Lana Del Rey
A decade after her last visit to the desert, Lana Del Rey headlined the first night of this year's Coachella festival with an almost radically languid performance, highlighting just how singular a figure she is in modern pop music. It reminded me of what it is. A fluttering voice and a deep, book-like lyrical approach. After arriving on stage on the back of a motorcycle, she wanders around the stage, which is designed to look like a run-down mansion in the style of “Sunset Boulevard.” She departed the same way. — M.W.
The best '90s reunion we expected: hands down
No Doubt, the popular ska-punk band from Anaheim that exploded with 1995's “Tragic Kingdom” and catapulted Gwen Stefani into a major pop star before disbanding in 2015, performed at Coachella on Saturday night. It was revived to a hero's welcome. In terms of repertoire, the band sticks to classics like “Hella Good,” “Ex-Girlfriend,” “Underneath It All,” “Spiderwebs,” and the thrashing “Total Hate '95” (originally a duet with the Sublimes). I returned to Nowell) and a cover of Madness's “One Step Beyond.” — M.W.
The best unexpected 90s reunion: The Fugees at YG Marley
It's no surprise that YG Marley brought his mother, Ms. Lauryn Hill, on stage, but the addition of Wyclef Jean, followed by several Fugees hits, created a frenzy among the crowd, and the audience He effortlessly recite every word of “Killing.” “Me Softly,” “Ready or Not,” and “No Woman, No Cry.” —Daniel Dorsey
E is for Effort: Sabrina Carpenter
The sun was still shining on Friday, when she performed, but Carpenter was already putting more effort into her set than past Coachella headliners. She took the stage in front of the facade of a blue motel along the road. Inside, a room was destroyed by an accidental car accident, plus a dozen backup dancers, a full rock band behind them, and a platform riser befitting the grand denouement of an arena set. As the recent opening artist for Taylor Swift's Elas Tour, it's clear she's learned from the best. — AB
Most ethereal set: J Balvin
What makes J Balvin's intergalactic set, full of neon lasers, alien heads, and chrome spaceships, even more otherworldly? How about rapping to the tune of “Men in Black''? — Nate Jackson
How to properly use pool floaties: Aquabats
The Aquabats' turn at the Sonora Tent on Saturday may rank as one of the most fun in festival history. His band of costumed ska-punks opened the event with a “pool party” and beach balls were thrown into the crowd. Then the creatures of “Yo Gaba Gaba” appeared. And when the band played “Pizza Day,” at least four giant pizza slice pool floats were thrown into the crowd. — Vanessa Franco
Most Unexpected Guest Star: Paris Hilton with Vampire Weekend
The band's set mixed Vampire Weekend's breezy oldies with some of the more complex new songs from their just-released fifth album, “Only God Was Above Us.” An unlikely guest appearance during the set: Paris Hilton popped out to play a round of cornhole as the veteran indie rock band played a rustic rendition of “Gold Rush Wedding.” Ta. “I haven't played this game since 'The Simple Life,'” the reality TV personality said, referring to the mid-2000s series with Nicole Richie. — M.W.
The celebrity sighting everyone expected: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey at Bleachers
Taylor Swift showed up to see longtime producer Jack Antonoff's band's set, not as a performer but as a fan. The pop superstar and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, stood by the stage at the Mojave Tent as Bleachers belted out a frenetic set characteristic of post-Springsteen rock. They were standing there (singing and clapping). — M.W.
Unexpected Lessons in Mexican Music History: Peso Pluma
Towards the end of Peso Pluma's set, he moved beyond old-school acoustic corridor Inspired by thumping reggaeton and muscular Latin rap. But he ended the show with a history primer of sorts, praising the names and faces of Mexican music greats like Charino Sanchez, Joao Sebastian and Ariel Camacho in front of a huge Coachella crowd. — M.W.
A set that reminded us that the heart of Coachella is music: Jon Batiste
The singer's set was reminiscent of the early days of Coachella, before it was experienced as a series of Instagram moments. Back then, it was more important to surrender to her music. Batiste morphed her grade school anthem “If You're Happy If You Know It” into “March of the Saints,” and she brought hip-hop legend Juvenile on stage to sing “Back That As…”・Up” was performed. Batiste also debuted a new song with Willow Smith, a fun, breezy, Afrobeat-flavored single that showcases Smith's youthful soprano in advance of the release of her just-announced Empathogen project. ing. —D.D.
Surprise guest who could headline Coachella in 2025: Shakira
She may not have headlined this year's Coachella, but judging by the cheers for her surprise set with Argentine DJ Visa Rap at the Sahara Tent, she might just as well have. His thumping trap and hard house were already the night's dance music highlights, but his best-ever tribute to an ex-lover he never recovered from, co-starring Shakira, “BZRP Music Sessions Vol. 53” Her hard-hitting performance became a phenomenon, and she soon delivered it here with a vengeance worthy of the main stage. — AB
Best flex I heard this weekend: Chapel Lawn
“This is what's going to me, because bitch, I know you're watching.''Chapel Lawn — Long red hair spilling over a T-shirt that says “EAT ME.'' — introduced “My Kink Is Karma” near the end of their emotional set at the Gobi tent. And she was probably right. The proudly theatrical pop singer is now making a comeback in earnest, releasing her critically acclaimed debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, and just finished opening for Olivia Rodrigo on her current tour. . . — M.W.
Most interesting new feature: Quasar Stage
Quasar is 55 feet tall and 235 feet wide with 660 LED panels on the screen and is designed for long-running DJ sets.
Late Saturday night on Michael Bibi's set, when he dropped Nirvana's “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” the screen looked like a kaleidoscope of insect wings. Then they transformed into beautiful stained glass patterns that resembled a church but pulsated to the beat. —VF