I hate to say it, but all good people admit when they’re wrong. After attending Coachella in 2022, I saw a dying franchise desperately trying to retain its grasp on relevancy. With lackluster Californian crowds who only go for the festival name and not the names headlining, outsiders often wonder why artists treat this as a Mecca for music.
Long gone are the days when girls’ outfits were chosen with Tumblr shots in mind. The bohemian chic style that Vanessa Hudgens, Miley Cyrus, and other attendees made famous began as “Coachella style.”
And when I got a taste of the coveted festival, I was beyond underwhelmed. Sure, the rich and famous were within reach…but I couldn’t have felt further away from them. I ended up with dust in my lungs and a week’s worth of exhaustion.
Celebs stopped attending en masse, the non-festival influencer events like Revolve Festival rose in popularity, and it became abundantly clear that no one cared about the music…it was all about their Instagram posts.
But what I’ve learned from live-streaming Coachella 2024 — and pouring over my social media and consuming every single piece of Coachella content there is — is that Coachella is back in a major way.
Sure, the festival is designed to give you an intense bout of FOMO…but all I kept hearing was how bad everyone thought the lineup was. How no one of note would be in attendance this year. How Coachella was surely done for…until it wasn’t.
It’s been every bit as star-studded and shocking as earlier years. We’ve had earth-shattering performances, surprises left and right, and even reunions…not to mention the iconic American Royal Couple sighting.
We had 5-star performances from headliners like Tyler, The Creator and Doja Cat. Chris Lake and Chris Lorenzo via their supergroup, Anti Up, confirmed rumors of a joint album.
After spending the weekend across the country on the wrong coast sobbing to my friends that I opted not to go this year, I put together my must-see lineup.
Here are the five performances I would’ve attended at 2024 Coachella Weekend One.
Chappell Roan
Chappell Roan’s sheer star power has truly been surprising me. With a devout fanbase (just watch her set), you’ll immediately realize that we’re dealing with someone who is about to break through to a different level of stardom.
During her set, you’ll hear essential songs like “Good Luck, Babe!”, “HOT TO GO!”, and “My Kink is Karma.” But what’s more impressive is her stage presence, the way she commands the crowd in avant-garde makeup, big hair, and a bigger personality.
Songs like “Good Hurt” saw a 160% increase on Spotify…Don’t sleep on Chappell Roan. Before you know it, she’ll be performing at a much bigger stage.
Everything Always – John Summit & Dom Dolla
The boys are back in town @domdolla @johnsummitWatch the 2024 livestream now at https://t.co/j5uIbSOgaa, presented by @nyxcosmetics pic.twitter.com/Ok14VdTygp— Coachella (@coachella) April 13, 2024
Not enough is said about a house music set at a festival. Sure, the headliners are great and deliver us our fix of rock, pop, or soul. But it’s always been the DJ’s who have my heart at the end of the night. They know how to get you dancing, to feel the beat down to your soul, and forget for a while.
We saw a lot of technical difficulties and underwhelming sets from various artists this weekend…but John Summit and Dom Dolla delivered a borderline flawless collaboration that perfectly exhibited both their greatest hits and EDM essentials.
There’s nothing better than watching an artist truly having fun on stage…so when two friends, Dolla and Summit, come together to display some of the best techno house out there, they do not disappoint.
Soon to be the pregame track for many, Dom Dolla and John Summit are two of the biggest names in house for a reason.
No Doubt
Two words: jaw dropped. Coachella’s Main Stage has reunited long lost bands and supergroups like Blink-182 and Swedish House Mafia…but few have No Doubt’s impact.
After a year of music domination on TikTok, Gwen Stefani, Tom Dumont, Tony Kanal, and Adrian Young took the stage to bring punk rock back in all its glory. In their first performance since 2015, this band has the exact same 1995 energy when they released “Just a Girl.”
Bringing out Gen Z’s very own punk pop princess, Olivia Rodrigo, was a passing of the torch in many ways. Stefani and Rodrigo belted “Bathwater” side by side as Rodrigo sported low rise cargos and an “I <3 ND” tank. “Bathwater” saw a 430% increase in streams on Spotify following the performance.
Perhaps the most impressive performance comes from Stefani, who at 54 years of age pranced and throttled around the stage full force. Stefani embodied a whirlwind tornado that gave more stage presence and energy than a 19-year-old. She went full punk rocker mode, and it was gorgeous.
Sabrina Carpenter
I keep reminding my readers that Sabrina Carpenter is the one to watch this year. She’s got all the ingredients of your classic popstar: proven vocal talent (even a stint on Broadway with Renee Rapp in Mean Girls), the opener for Taylor Swift’s legendary Era’s Tour, a past love triangle scandal with aforementioned Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett, and the latest It Boy, Barry Keoghan, falling over his feet for her.
Her Coachella performance only solidified that I’m right. Carpenter understands her audience, and knows how to bring in more fans. She’s candidly witty, overtly sexual in her euphemisms, and yet exudes an innocence and honesty in her music.
For the first time on a Coachella stage, Carpenter was able to belt out her emails i can’t send album. This tell-all set of songs details her relationship with Bassett, her perspective on the backlash, and shares refreshing insights into her life.
She had the cinema, the vocal ability, the wow-factor. No notes.
Lana Del Rey
And while many prominent publications and, most notably, the Recording Academy will continue to turn their noses towards the genius of Lana Del Rey, the world watched anyway. Del Rey’s music has inspired the careers of thousands of budding artists, and it’s rare that she gets such a massive platform to perform it.
Arriving via motorcade, Lana Del Rey took the stage to perform hits like “Summertime Sadness”, “Ride”, and “West Coast” while dancers twirled from poles and swirled around Del Rey.
With guests like Jack Antonoff, Jon Batiste, and the one-and-only Billie Eilish, Del Rey flawlessly integrated tracks like “Ocean Eyes” and her own “Video Games” into her set.
Many will criticize the microphone issues or the lack of energy from the crowd (all factors that were out of the headliner’s control)…but it’s overwhelmingly clear from Lana Del Rey’s performance that her star far outshines any technical difficulties.
