Coachella kicked off April 12th with a bang. With Lana Del Rey, Tyler the Creator, Doja Cat, and No Doubt headlining, the annual music festival’s first weekend of the year started energetically. Additional performances from Tinashe, J Balvin, Blur, Sublime, and many others kept the festival jam-packed with activity.
However, weekend one didn’t occur without some mishaps. Most notoriously, Grimes’ DJ set faced major technical difficulties to the point where she screamed onstage in frustration, the music halting to a stop multiple times—apparently not mixed properly. For such a seasoned performer to have such a disastrous set on one of the world’s biggest stages, it was disappointing, to say the least. “Don’t blame me. It’s not my fault. Well, it’s partially my fault,” she admitted on stage. Later, she apologized on X, resolving to not let such issues happen again. And, from reports, Grimes did in fact kill her weekend two set, even poking fun at her previous problems.
Lana Del Rey’s own set had mixed reviews. Starting early and strong by riding in on a motorcycle in a sparkling blue sequined dress, Del Rey certainly knows how to make an entrance. Facing mic problems attributed to the high winds at the time, the singer has been accused of having a “lifeless” set. Del Rey brought out Billie Eilish onstage, who proudly proclaimed that Del Rey was “the reason for half you bitches’ existence, including mine”. Together, they performed “Video Games” and Eilish’s “Ocean Eyes”. (Eilish also had her own DJ set at the Do Lab later that weekend.) Still, others have seen Del Rey’s performance as profound. Other guests included Jon Batiste and frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff, whom she appeared alongside as a hologram to perform “hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have – but i have it.” During her weekend two set, Del Rey brought out Camila Cabello to perform Cabello’s latest single “I Luv It.”
Not every set, however, was lethargic, facing technical problems, or lacking in guests. Doja Cat’s segment was highly choreographed and well-staged, albeit impersonal, given how little she talked during the performance itself. No Doubt brought out Olivia Rodrigo. Mac DeMarco joined Lil Yachty on stage, and Vampire Weekend hosted both Paris Hilton and an Abraham Lincoln impersonator in two of the more unexpected pairings of the festival.
Weekend two held its own surprises. Peso Pluma brought Anitta and Eslabon Armado with him onstage. No Doubt aced their second set without the need for a special guest this time. Kid Cudi broke his foot jumping off stage during his performance. Tyler, the Creator invited Earl Sweatshirt to join him. (Tyler hosted A$AP Rocky, Donald Glover, and Charlie Wilson the first weekend.) While weekend two was just as lively as the first, it lacked the star power of special guests that the first weekend brought with it.
