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States—Hundreds of thousands of revelers were descending on California’s Coachella Valley for the premier desert arts festival that kicks off Friday, which for the first time won’t feature a white headliner.
Reggaeton titan Bad Bunny, K-pop superstars Blackpink and the influential but reclusive R&B artist Frank Ocean will top the 2023 edition of Coachella, the mammoth event that takes place over two three-day weekends and traditionally kicks off the year’s summer concert circuit.
It’s set to be a history-making weekend, with Bad Bunny—the globe’s most-streamed artist—as the first Spanish-language and first Latin American act to headline.
And K-pop group Blackpink of South Korea is the first Asian act to receive a top billing at the festival.
Both acts debuted at Coachella in 2019 to great fanfare, teeing up an eventual headlining slot.
Ocean—thought to be the first out queer man to headline the festival—was originally booked as a top-billed act for the 2020 edition, which organizers postponed and eventually scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The acclaimed R&B artist, who hasn’t released an album since 2016’s “Blonde,” is anticipated to debut new work at this year’s festival.
The headliners—in particular Puerto Rico’s Bad Bunny, who is by most measures the world’s biggest contemporary artist—are some of the buzziest in years, since Beyonce shut down the stage in 2018 with her revered “Homecoming” show.
