The third day of the final weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival came to a roaring close on Sunday, April 23.
It was a long weekend of music out at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, but fans were treated to several history-making sets including the first Latin headliner with Bad Bunny on Friday and K-pop headliner, Blackpink, on Saturday.
There were a lot of massive EDM performances and across seven stages there were sets delivered in a variety of languages including Korean, Portuguese, Punjabi, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Arabic and the language of middle school-aged kids everywhere, the salty dialect of Sunday headliner Blink-182.
“It’s been a hellish past few years and two years ago, I had cancer and now I’m here with you tonight. Music brings us all together. Thank you for being here with us,” Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus said in a rare sentimental moment in the middle of their hit “What’s My Age Again.”
The mushy stuff didn’t last too long. The trio, who recently reunited with original guitarist-vocalist Tom DeLonge, quickly pivoted back to banter about buttholes, herpes and other juvenile topics.
Blink-182, who were a surprise addition to the Sahara Tent during Weekend 1 of the festival, were tapped to headline Weekend 2 when original Sunday headliner, rapper and R&B singer-songwriter and producer Frank Ocean bowed out of Weekend 2 due to an injury that allegedly plagued his initial festival set on Sunday, April 16.
“We’ll be back next week playing Stagecoach doing ‘Dude Ranch’ in its entirety,” joked Hoppus of the Coachella country music sister festival that takes over the same venue on April 28-30.
After his polarizing set, Ocean caused a stir amongst fans: some disappointed and some supportive. The crowd at the main Coachella Stage on the second Sunday didn’t seem to mind the Bllink-182 replacement.
Blink blasted through hit after hit — with a slightly different setlist than Weekend 1 — including “Stay Together for the Kids” and “Always.” Fans sang along to “The Rock Show,” “All the Small Things,” and “Dammit,” where Mark threw in a little Skee Lo “I Wish” rap. However, the loudest sing-along came with the now infamous DeLonge line and delivery, “Where are you?” in “I Miss You.”
“You know what these songs are?” asked DeLonge, “They’re nursery rhyme songs on meth.”
However immature, Hoppus, DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker are clearly having the time of their lives.
Though Blink-182 was billed as the Sunday headliner, their performance was followed by a party DJ set with Skrillex, Four Tet and Fred Again that kept the crowd grooving until after midnight.
Other highlights included a turn by Christine and the Queens in the Mojave Tent. Chris is the definition of grace, with soaring vocals and vulnerability as he moves from one side of the stage to the other.
“Don’t hide from your emotions,” he told the fans. There’s a nearly unmatched intensity to how Chris performs; a drama that captivated the crowd for the entire set. The big highlight was a mashup up of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Under the Bridge” with Christine and the Queens’ “Tilted.”
Willow’s audience spilled out of the Mojave Tent.
“I’m flabbergasted Coachella,” she said as she gave an energetic, rock-filled set.
She seamlessly transitions from melodic pop, to rock, to pop punk, to metal screams. Making it a family affair, her brother, Jaden Smith, made an appearance to perform “Summertime in Paris” before sharing a long hug and pausing to take it all in.
Over at the Sahara Tent, Hong Kong rapper Jackson Wang overcame some microphone issues and still fired up the crowd. The set started with an epic array of dancers dressed in black hooded robes and there was fire shooting up from the pyrotechnics. The singer was also dressed in all black, with black eyeliner, as he led a group of choreographed dancers. There was some anticipation on whether he’d bring out special guest Ciara after her appearance during Weekend 1, but she didn’t return. Wang still played “100 Ways,” “Blow” and “Come Alive.”
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Over at the Gobi Tent, Cannons took the stage to a modest crowd gathering. The indie-pop band didn’t disappoint with a vibrant set that resembled their dreamscape music videos. The video monitors displayed soft-lit backgrounds with hues of reds, pinks, yellows and a backdrop that shimmered like a disco ball. Much of the crowd danced and swayed to the electro-pop rhythms and indie-guitar licks of the tracks “Hurricane,” “Ruthless” and “Come Alive.”
One of the biggest parties in the desert over the weekend was at the Outdoor Theater during Fisher and Chris Lake’s set, which drew tons of fans that sprawled out past the Indio Central Marketplace. A sea of people gathered around the stage to dance to the house and techno beats of the DJs, who were part of an increased presence of electronic dance music this year at Coachella. Throughout the event, artists like Calvin Harris, Skrillex, Fred Again and Four Tet played late night sets.
According to a report by Luminate, this year’s EDM presence at the festival was roughly 34 percent, the most considerable genre presence by almost two-fold. Part of what makes these DJ sets successful goes beyond getting the crowds to engage with bass drops and groovy sounds. Many DJs included special guests, like Metro Boomin, Labrinth and Kaytranada, who included surprise acts on both weekends, which adds another layer of energy that Coachella is known to stir up.
Singer-songwriter Kali Uchis opened her Weekend 2 set with “Telepatía,” the Spanish-language song from her second album “Sin Miedo (Del Amor y Otros Demonios),” followed by “See You Again.” She was joined by Tyler, the Creator for that track last week, but he didn’t join her on stage Sunday. His absence was one of a few differences between Uchis’ Weekend 1 and Weekend 2 performances. The latter was shorter and featured a slightly different selection of songs.
She started her turn 15 minutes late and began with a quick apology to the crowd.
“I’m sorry I was late,” she said. “It wasn’t my fault.”
Uchis also performed “Tattoo,” an unreleased song she said she had only performed live one other time: at Coachella last week. She finished out her set with “Hasta Cuando” and “After the Storm.”
Rapper Latto walked on stage in a cherry-themed outfit and brought the fire throughout her performance while expressing the importance of “protecting women’s rights,” she said. Latto’s backup dancers held signs, including one reading “My body, My choice” through the length of a song to help illustrate her message.
Latto was also joined on stage by rapper Mello Buckzz to perform “Boom, Pt. 2” before closing out her set with her radio hit, “Big Energy.”
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