COACHELLA 2023 BEGAN WITH A PACKED LINEUP FULL OF MAJOR STARS WANTING TO CAPTURE THE MOMENT AND MAKE THEIR SET A MAJOR EVENT. Artists seemed to be pulling out all the stops on every stage, with elaborate production design and buzzy surprise appearances by everyone from Nile Rodgers to Post Malone to the Weeknd. Becky G brought out the biggest names in Mexican music, including Peso Pluma and Fuerza Regida’s JOP. Meanwhile, Metro Boomin packed the stage with rap’s biggest names, including Future and 21 Savage, to name a few.
Unfortunately, one recurring theme was technical difficulties, as microphones failed and sound systems cut out during multiple performances. When Post Malone’s microphone failed, Bad Bunny was forced to lead the crowd in a mini a cappella sing-along. When Kali Uchis joined Kaytranada onstage, she also encountered some technical difficulties. Overall, everyone rolled with the punches and made Coachella 2023’s first day unforgettable, generating excitement for the rest of the weekend. Here’s what we thought was the best of what we saw.
Doechii’s Swamp Kingdom
Early in the afternoon, Doechii transformed the Coachella MainStage into a swamp. Attendees flocked to see her setup, which she had decorated with an open alligator mouth in keeping with the rap star’s Swamp Princess brand. “Is it okay if I take my clothes off in front of y’all?” she asked as her dancers removed her skirt to reveal a revealing undergarment. After mentioning Nicki Minaj and Missy Elliott, the rap star turned up the volume for “Crazy.” Given that her Coachella performance was a huge accomplishment for her, she honored her humble beginnings by performing “Yucky Blucky Fruit,” the song that first drew her attention and which she wrote while “sleeping in a McDonalds.”
DannyLux’s Wholesome Journey
DannyLux, a Mexican-American singer-songwriter, is known for wearing his heart on his sleeve when performing tender acoustic ballads and corrido. On Friday, he let his emotions show, telling the massive crowd that had gathered for his set at the Sonora tent that he couldn’t believe he was onstage. DannyLux has a special connection to Coachella: He grew up in the Coachella Valley, and his father used to drive garbage trucks to clean up after the festival. Right before the show, his father surprised him with bright billboards around town that read, “My last time at Coachella, I was picking up trash.” Now I’m returning to see my son perform on Friday. Dannylux, I adore you. “You, papa.” —
Blink-182’s Family Reunion
There was no doubt that Blink-182 still had that wonderfully special juvenile touch from the moment the crowd roared out a string of obscenities in unison to the opener “Family Reunion.” With a last-minute addition to the lineup and a reunion with Tom DeLonge for the first time in nine years, the band turned up the nostalgia to eleven as they blasted through an electric set. We got everything from “All the Small Things” to “I Miss You” to “Feeling This” to “What’s My Age Again?” in between sophomoric banter between DeLonge and Hoppus about everything from UTIs to the recent Dali Lama scandal and “eating it from the back.” Blink-182 demonstrated that we may not have matured as much as we thought, and why should we?
The Raucous World of Yungblud
Yungblud’s high-energy Outdoor Theatre performance was filled with camera kisses, flying beers, and cross-stage sprints. The rocker opened his set with single “The Funeral,” wearing bright pink socks and striped black and white sleeves, bringing rock ‘n’ roll to Coachella’s second-largest stage. His performance — and the jamming fans in the audience — demonstrated that rock is far from dead. The singer performed songs like “Loner,” “Strawberry Lipstick,” and “Sex Not Violence,” as well as his massive hit “I Think I’m Okay,” which features Machine Gun Kelly and Travis Barker. Fans should get excited if the set is any indication of what to expect during his upcoming world tour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28DbQYSsn1w
Kaytranada’s All-Out Night Party
As soon as the sun went down, Kaytranada transformed Coachella into a full-fledged rave. The moment the artist and producer took his place at a pair of turntables on an elaborate stage adorned with silver sculptures of his own head, the crowd began to gravitate toward him. But it was all about the music once he started playing songs like Beyoncé’s “Cuff It,” which had the audience going wild. As if that wasn’t enough, he invited some special guests, including rapper Aminé, with whom he formed the collaborative project Kaytraminé. He also shared the stage with Kali Uchis, who will be performing later this weekend at the festival. People didn’t seem to mind that she was having technical difficulties, and they just kept dancing.
Magdalena Bay Made Us Ask “What’s In the Box?”
“Look at this huge, lovely box. Doesn’t it make you feel optimistic?” Mica Tenenbaum slyly directed our attention on stage to a monolithic-looking set piece with swirling lights within. “You’ll see what I mean pretty soon.” The Miami synth-wave duo kept us guessing but never bored throughout their set, shredding on the keytar to songs like “Secrets (Your Fire)” and “You Lose!” against a pixelated backdrop of crunchy, early internet gifs (and, at one point, a framed portrait of Laura Dern).
But we were dying to know — what was already in the box?! — Tenenbaum eventually emerged from it, transformed into Doctor Doom with a sexy Mac Tonight, to deliver new tracks from their latest audiovisual project mini mix vol. 3. We’re just living in Magdalena Bay’s lo-fi dream world. — S.A.
Icons Nile Rodgers and Debbie Harry Combine Star Power
Nile Rodgers simply desired to “get funky!” Blondie’s set at the Mojave stage on Friday night went from good to spectacular when Nile Rodgers joined Debbie Harry for a five-song jam session. “This is what happens when old friends say, ‘All we want to do is play.'” “We just want to have a good time,” Rodgers said after performing songs on guitar with the band like “The Tide is High,” “Rapture,” and “Backfired.” “I love her so much, you have no idea what our lives have been like together.” At 77, Harry has shown no signs of slowing down. Of course, Harry finished with the band’s biggest hits, including “Heart of Glass.” — T.M.
Bad Bunny Makes History
The anticipation for Coachella’s first Latino headliner, Bad Bunny, seemed to grow throughout the festival. Fans wore shirts and hoodies with the little red heart from the Puerto Rican star’s Un Verano Sin Ti tour merchandise, and they filled the entire MainStage area well before the performance began. When Bad Bunny took the stage, the audience began to roar and stayed with him throughout sound problems and a few lengthy speeches. The set list was designed to look like a greatest hits reel, with medleys dedicated to his most recent albums and video tributes to Puerto Rican music history. Jhayco, Jowell Y Randy, Nengo Flow, and Post Malone assisted Bad Bunny, who handled a major mic malfunction like a champ. — J.L.
Metro Boomin’s Superheroes of the Stage
“A storm is brewing at Coachella…” Morgan Freeman’s booming voiceover set the tone for legendary producer Metro Boomin’s fiery and star-studded set under the Sahara Tent. With an orchestra on trumpets and strings accompanying a revolving door of surprise guests, this may go down as one of the festival’s most iconic performances this year, bringing the energy of his Heroes & Villains album. Future opened with “Superhero (Heroes & Villains),” followed by Don Toliver. 21 Savage pumped up the crowd with “Runnin” and “Bank Account,” and Diddy appeared at the end for the “Creepin” remix. When it seemed like he couldn’t be topped, Metro Boomin introduced the much-rumored and eagerly-awaited The Weeknd, who debuted his latest single “Double Fantasy” from The Idol Vol. 1 in a live performance. Metro Boomin clearly did not come to play, with his high energy, dramatic visions, and star-pulling power. — S.A.
Yves Tumor’s Haunted Wonderland
During their performance, Yves Tumor mixed gothic glam and razored rock, attracting fans from all over the festival. As the experimental musician commanded the stage from the center, snarling and their way through haunting selections from their recent album Praise a Lord Who Chews but Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) and 2020’s excellent LP Heaven to a Tortured Mind, the audience alternated between swaying and head banging. The baroque set, which included a velvet-red backdrop and white chandeliers adorning the tent, aided the scene and welcomed everyone into Yves Tumor’s violent delights wonderland.— J.L.
Becky G’s Star-Studded Carne Asada
Becky G brought out the whole family for her MainStage set. As Mexican flags waved in the audience, the Inglewood-born singer shone brightly as she shared the stage with Mexican and Mexican-American artists such as Peso Pluma, Marca MP, and Fuerza Regida’s Jesus Ortiz Paz. She later kissed her friend and collaborator, Dominican artist Natti Natasha, before performing “Sin Pijama.” “There were so many people who didn’t want us to work together,” she told Rolling Stone before her set. “I’m not sure what would have happened if it hadn’t been for ‘Sin Pijama.'” “I now have a sister for life.” — T.M.
Burna Boy’s MainStage Moment
Burna Boy’s performance on the Coachella MainStage marked a turning point in his career: He had performed at the festival four years before in front of a crowd “a quarter of this size,” as he put it. “This is a big blessing for me,” he told the crowds that had gathered to see him. Burna’s show was a straight-up party, complete with a brass band and a trio of backup singers. The Nigerian singer performed hits from his recent Love, Damini album, including “For My Head” (without Ed Sheeran, of course), before concluding his set with “Last, Last.” — T.M.
Angèle Soars In From Belgium
“Do you know who this is?” a pair of festivalgoers asked as they approached Angèle’s magnetic pop sounds in the Mojave tent. The Belgian star, dressed in a disco ball-inspired two-piece, gave the night’s only pure pop performance. “It’s difficult for me to believe that this is actually happening,” she told Rolling Stone ahead of her performance, adding that she was “overthinking” how to deliver a memorable performance. But she got the crowd going with hits like “Demons,” “Libre,” and her Dua Lipa collaboration “Fever.” Angèle closed her set with “Bruxelles Je T’aime,” backed by a silly backdrop of flying Belgian waffles, as a nod to her LGBT audience. — T.M.
