Coachella 2024 kicked off Friday, and festival season is officially upon us once again.
With over 100,000 festival goers in the desert for this weekend’s debut, Day One was a stacked opening, with Lana Del Rey bringing out Billie Eilish for a duet, Shakira shocking the crowd and announcing a world tour during Bizarrap’s set, and Peso Pluma putting corridos on the world stage.
If Euphoria core influenced Coachella’s fashion in years past, 2024 has now gone cosmic cowboy as the silver boots and cowboy hats took over the festival grounds. Blame Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter. Blame Del Rey’s upcoming Lasso album (which she didn’t hint at during her set!) but Coachella’s crowd was an intergalactic saloon.
Plenty of Eighties influences also seemed to take over the various stages throughout the evening: Young Miko performed on a massive boombox, Chappell Roan channeled Cyndi Lauper with her cheetah-print tights, and Sabrina Carpenter starred in infomercials during her motel-themed set.
The weekend is off to a good start. Here are some of our favorite things we saw at Coachella Day One:
Narcocorridos have always existed. Accept it
The voice of Morgan Freeman helped Peso Pluma tell the history of corridos during Peso Pluma’s electric set on the main stage.
Peso laced some of his hits like “Nueva Vida” and Rosa Patel” with interludes of news broadcasts and paper clippings speaking of the existence and villainization of corridos about the narco lifestyle. “Peso Pluma and the debate over narco culture,” read one headline. Peso seemed to play into the criticism he’s received early in his set, playing tracks “El Gavilán,” “El Azul,” and “PRC,” which all mention an affinity for cartel boss El Chapo Guzmán.
By the end of his set, as he performed “Lady Gaga,” the faces of music icons that once sang corridos about narcolife — from Carlos y José to Jenni Rivera — flashed behind him. Narcocorridos are nothing new and they’re never going away. It’s time we accept it.
Peso also brought out his friends Santa Fe Klan for “No Son Klle” during a reggaeton and hip-hop-leaning portion of his set, Junior H for “El Azul,” and Becky G early in his set for “Chanel,” thanking her for believing in him early in his journey.
The only thing missing? Rolling Stone’s No. 1 song of 2023: “Ella Baila Sola.” Is he saving it for an appearance from Eslabón Armado next weekend? We sure hope so. – T.M.
Queen Lana
Lana Del Rey’s headlining set felt like a celebration of the singer’s impact on the world. Just ask Billie Eilish: “[She] is the reason for half of you bitches’ existence, including mine.”
It was clear Friday night — as fans adorned their hair in bows and Del Rey merch — how much of an impact Del Rey has had on culture overall and on the individual lives of the people watching her in the crowd. Fans wiped away tears as she performed songs “Without You” for the first time since 2014 and “West Coast” for the first time since 2019. And what better way to bring in the nostalgia than coming onto the stage while riding on the back of a motorcycle? For a second, it was 2012 all over again.
In the 10 years since she performed at Coachella for the first time, the world of music has changed so much, but Del Rey’s music has stayed intact. She’s a timeless act and her Coachella headlining set proved it.
At one point, Jon Batiste sat at the piano for an extended version of “Candy Necklace” as the two artists riffed on each other for the sweetest, most human moment of the set. Throughout, Del Rey felt like a Hollywood starlet too holy to even touch. “Is she real?” asked one person in the crowd. At one point, she wasn’t: Jack Antonoff made an appearance to play piano for a holographic version of Del Rey. We were born to die, but at Lana’s set we were living. – T.M.
Never Checking Out of Sabrina’s Motel
Sabrina Carpenter took it back to the Eighties with a gorgeous blue, Bates Motel-inspired set design.
She descended on the main stage in a giant heart and incorporated retro interludes of news anchors announcing the weather for “Tornado Warnings” and infomercials before presenting “Because I Liked a Boy” where she came out of one of the motel rooms on a giant red bed.
“There’s so much dust in my throat, if I hit a flat note that’s why. I promise I’m a good singer,” she joked onstage. (Her voice slayed, though there was a tiny hiccup during a piano set.)
She also debuted “Espresso,” and its line “I’m working late ’cause I’m a singer. Oh, he looks so cute wrapped around my finger” came to life as Barry Keoghan danced around and waved as Carpenter flashed him a smile.
Carpenter gorgeously interpolated the Cardigans’ “Lovefool” with “Feather” and, of course, a custom new outro for “Nonsense” as she rocked a “Jesus Was a Carpenter” t-shirt, referring to her iconic response when asked about filming the video for the song at a catholic church.
“All about the balls I’m Cinderella. Only use my mouth that’s acapella. I’m so glad you came for me Coachella,” she sang. – T.M.
Lil Uzi’s Rapid Fire Pace
“You see my leg shaking? That means I have too much energy and I’m ready to keep going,” Lil Uzi Vert tells his fans in the latter half of his Coachella set on the mainstage just after the sunset. And Uzi was right: The rapper’s set was a revved-up, adrenaline-boosted 45-minute sprint.
“High everybody,” Uzi, who uses they/them pronouns, said cheekily, standing high above the crowd on a platform as they lept right into “Suicide Doors” to start the concert. From then on, there were few moments they would sit still. Uzi and his dancers sprinted from one side of the stage to the next. They squirmed on their back as they sang vocals before jumping right back on his feet, removing their white shirt and showing off his ornate gold and diamond necklace and Chanel belt. “Coachellllla,” they screamed as he performed “Pop.”
Between the high-energy outbursts, Uzi was jester-like, promising the crowd they were ready to reveal a really important secret before saying it was that they loved them. At another point, Uzi told their grandmother watching the livestream to go to bed.
“I just feel like I look better than I ever idd in my fucking life. Not only do I look good, I smell good and my bank account is looking better,” Uzi said before jumping into the hit “Money Longer.”
Uzi kept it relatively straightforward with some dancers and lights, no new track teases or special guests this time. Running mainly through Pink Tape and Luv Is Rage 2 songs, Uzi wrapped the set with “XO Tour Llif3” and “Just Wanna Rock.” — E.M.
Shakira Should’ve Headlined Coachella
“You asked for guests at Coachella,” Bizarrap told the crowd. “Look who I brought you.”
Bizarrap over-delivered as he welcomed Shakira for a two-song performance — of “La Fuerte” and their Music Session — that ended with an announcement that she’ll be heading on tour later this year — and kicking it off at the Coachella Valley.
“Today, I can’t contain myself. I have news for you. Biza, I’m going on tour!” she told the crowd as the words “Shakira Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour” showed up on screen. “Finally, we’re going on tour.”
Even if she just performed two songs, Shakira delivered choreography and vocals worthy of a headlining set. (She sure deserved it.)
Elsewhere in Biza’s set, he delivered some of his biggest collaborations, including his Nathy Peluso song — backed by a white robot visual — and his songs with Eladio Carrion and Milo J. He also flashed some clown and circus visuals during his Residente track. – T.M.
The Femininomenon Herself
“I’m pretty sure she invented gay,” joked one person in the crowd. (Can confirm: She did.)
Chappell Roan hadn’t yet hit the stage and the Gobi tent was already overflowing with gays and girlies. (Coachella, fix it next week.) Dressed in a Betsey Johnson suit and holding a retro phone, Roan walked on stage for “Femininomenon,” channeling Eighties pop star energy realness.
It seemed, as the audience held up pink cowboy hats and bandanas, that the vast majority of the crowd made it a priority to see the star, who later returned on stage in a bodysuit with the word “EAT ME” on her chest and cheetah-print tights. She led fans in choreo to “Hot to Go!” before debuting “Good Luck, Babe!” live. (Many in the crowd knew it.)
It was a Gobi tent celebration of queerness — even if folks trickled out early to rush to Sabrina Carpenter. – T.M.
It’s Brittany (Howard), Bitch
Brittany Howard is a rockstar, full stop. She shouts and yelps, easily switching between deep bellowing notes and a piercing falsetto. During her impressive early evening set on the Gobi stage, dawned in a shiny sequined dress beside her eight-piece band, Howard powered through her 45-minute set weaving funk, soul, rock and blues. She kept it strictly to solo material, shredding a solo on “Earth Sign,” strutting on “Prove It to You,” and delivering her spoken word testimony on loving those around you on “13th Century Metal.” — E.M.
Trapped in Faye’s Web
Categorizing Faye Webster’s music isn’t easy when going through her discography, and it’s not much easier at her live shows either, as she seamlessly weaves between pedal-steel laden folk and indie rock to ethereal dream pop to cosmic country.
Webster’s set was delightfully unusual, with Webster introduced to a choir of minions from Despicable Me as she walked out to a stage outfitted as a laundromat, complete with a gigantic blue t shirt in the background.
Webster seldom stopped for chit-chat, taking only a brief break in the middle and end of her set to say hello and introduce her impressive backing band.
Rolling Stone’s Angie Martoccio wrote in a profile on Webster last month that any anonymity Webster has in public when she’s off stage “isn’t likely to last that much longer.” If her Coachella crowd’s screaming reactions to “Thinking About You,” “In A Good Way” and “Kingston” are any indication, she couldn’t be more right. — E.M.
Puerto Rican Power
The sun was still blazing as Young Miko took the main stage, but the Puerto Rican star seemed to shine brighter.
Surrounding the star as she performed hits like “Riri” and “Chulo Pt. 2,” was a massive silver boombox, adorned with a giant heart. The singer also debuted several tracks from her new album attn, including “Fuck TMZ” and “Princess Peach.”
For “Arcoiris,” she was surrounded by rainbow visuals and video game-esque visuals. She also performed her verses from her songs with other stars like Bad Bunny’s “Fina” and Tainy’s “Colmillo.”
It was a big moment for Miko, who told Rolling Stone in the Future of Music that Coachella was on her bucket list and she “didn’t expect” it to come so fast. Miko sure delivered. – T.M.
A New Pyramid In The Desert
EDM continues to take over Coachella, and now, in one of the biggest changes the festival has seen in years, Coachella just opened a new stage for showcasing DJs. The Quasar stage looks like a cross between an ancient pyramid and a spaceship, featuring a distinct angular design and intricate lights lined up across the entire stage. Whereas most of Coachella’s stages are hosting 30-minute to hour-long sets, Quasar’s go on for hours.
Berlin DJ Patrick Mason was the first-ever artist on the new stage, with Green Velvet and Honey Dijon taking over the rest of the night. Jamie XX, Michael Bibi, Carlita Mall Grab and several others are slated to play this weekend. — E.M.
Hatsune Miku’s Virtual Reality
To be honest, weren’t actually sure what to expect from a set from the Japanese virtual artist Hatsune Miku heading into this weekend, but we can say confidently there will be no show like it the rest of Coachella.
The show featured a live, real-life band alongside the virtually animated Miku, a blue-haired 16-year-old who was presented on an LED screen in the middle of the stage. The right light creates an optical illusion that the avatar is actually there, not dissimilar to the hologram tours of Whitney Houston and Roy Orbison that had launched before the pandemic.
She drew a serious crowd at the Mojave tent, plenty of whom serious fans screaming at the start of each song, others who seemed much newer to Miku’s sets, but certainly intrigued at what they saw. — E.M.
From Rolling Stone US
