From Harry Styles and Karol G to touching tributes and mosh pits, here’s what we’ll remember about the first Coachella since the pandemic.
After returning for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival brought hundreds of artists and an expected 250,000 or so fans to the Empire Polo Club in Indio over two weekends. The Southern California News Group Team crisscrossed the fields April 15-17 and April 22-24 to see music, art and more. These are the memorable moments we’re taking back with us. 1. The historic Coachella and Stagecoach crossover Sure, Yola and Orville Peck both played Coachella and are on the books for next weekend’s sister event the Stagecoach Country Music Festival, but Shania Twain made history on Friday of Weekend 1. When she showed up to sing “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” and “Still the One” with headliner Harry Styles, she became the first performer to appear in a headlining set at both festivals. — Vanessa Franko 2. The passing of the reggaeton torch Colombian singer Karol G included a celebration of the influence of Latin artists and the No.1 songs that influenced global music during her Sunday set on the main stage. She performed snippets of hits in chronological order from Selena’s “Como la Flor” and Ricky Martin’s “Maria” to Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie.” (And we’ve forgiven her for putting the “Macarena” back in our heads.) However for Weekend 2, Karol G was joined by J Balvin, another fellow Colombian reggaeton star, who said he was happy and proud to know the star who he remembers meeting when she was in college and taking music classes. It was a heartwarming moment to watch one successful reggaetonero who played the festival and shared the stage with Bad Bunny in 2019, welcome another star on the rise. — Peter Larsen and Charlie Vargas 3. Best theatrical experience Former Oingo Boingo frontman and famed film composer Danny Elfman was ferocious during his Coachella debut and played a career-encapsulating hour-long set that included a mix of classic Oingo Boingo songs, new music from his industrial Goth double album “Big Mess” and a variety of pieces from his work on films like “Batman,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.”It was his first true solo show in more than 27 years and it was sonically and visually wild and weird, with Elfman leading the charge and fellow Oingo Boingo member Steve Bartek directing the orchestra and choir. — Kelli Skye Fadroski 4. Best place to bust out your band T-shirts from Hot Topic Few emo bands have played Coachella (Jimmy Eat World and Sunny Day Real Estate played so long ago there weren’t twin weekends), so for everyone who has ever needed to have a cathartic scream-along to My Chemical Romance’s “I’m Not Okay (I Promise),” there was the late Saturday afternoon Emo Nite set in the Sahara, which included guest spots from Tom Higgenson of Plain White T’s and Jacoby Shaddix from Papa Roach over the weekends. However, a close second would be the main stage on Weekend 2, where Hayley Williams from Paramore joined Billie Eilish to sing the emo punk hit “Misery Business” and Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever.” — V.F. 5.
