This year, the desert welcomed some old faces and some new fresh talent – often together. Reneé Rapp made her first Coachella performance memorable by bringing out Kesha to sing a new version of her 2010 hit TiK ToK, deftly changing the lyric about Sean “Diddy” Combs. In a similar style, No Doubt reunited for their first live performance since 2015, doing the fans justice in a spectacular set on the main stage. In the midst of all this nostalgia, pop superstar Olivia Rodrigo made a surprise appearance to sing their 2000 hit Bathwater, and drove fans absolutely wild.
It's frankly impossible to write about the 2024 Coachella without mentioning the legendary Lana Del Rey, and her astonishing headline performance. Ten years after her first and only performance in the desert, the singer returned with a bang – or to be more specific, on a motorcycle. She did not come alone – her special guests included Jon Batiste, Camila Cabello, and Billie Eilish, who performed a special duet of Video Games.
The singer returned with a bang – or to be more specific, on a motorcycle
However, not everyone’s Coachella went quite so swimmingly. Grimes experienced a wide variety of technical difficulties during her DJ set on the Sahara Stage. Amid screams of irritation, she informed the fans that her tracks had boosted to double tempo, and were, as she described it, “borderline unmixable”. The beloved britpop band Blur didn’t have the best time in the desert either. Frontman Damon Albarn unleashed his frustration on a particularly unanimated crowd as he attempted to get them to sing along to their 1994 song Girls & Boys, stating that “you’ll never see us again”. The desert may not be the target audience Damon, but don’t worry – London still loves you.
