Spring has officially sprung on the West Coast and thousands of music lovers have flocked to Indio, California to attend one of the largest music festivals in the U.S. Dating back to the 1990s, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is an infamous affair held at the Empire Polo Club.
But this year, the festival’s extravagance stood against the backdrop of today’s increasingly authoritarian politics. Be it Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” Green Day’s altered lyrics in support of Palestine or Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) delivering an introductory speech for Clairo, it is evident that the federal government is shaking the entire nation — or at least the entertainment industry.
In his speech, Sanders warned, “This country faces some very difficult challenges,” to which an audience member can be heard calling out “like the oligarchy.”
Sanders targeted Coachella’s audience, which is overwhelmingly young. According to a report by the AEG, 73% of Coachella’s attendees were between 18 and 34 years old.
He told attendees that America’s future is “dependent upon your generation,” saying that “you can turn away and you can ignore what goes on, but if you do that, you do it at your own peril. We need you to stand up, to fight, for justice.”
While the long list of festival-goers includes a number of A-list celebrities and influencers — such as Kylie Jenner, Paris Hilton and Justin Bieber — around 125,000 people attend each day. Taking place over two April weekends, many attendees arrived a day early on Thursday to set up camp.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Some attendees reportedly spent 12 hours waiting to be admitted to the campgrounds as temperatures reached highs of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Nonetheless, by Friday afternoon, festivities were officially underway, with dozens of performances taking place across the festival’s eight main stages. One of Friday’s performances offered Brown students a sneak peak into what can be expected at Spring Weekend, as Ravyn Lenae delivered a beautiful and ethereal performance of “Genius” that will probably be even better on the Main Green.
After a full day of concerts, Friday’s headliner, Lady Gaga, took to the Coachella stage for a 110-minute performance that was nothing short of extravagant.
Gaga’s immaculate artistry was evident throughout her whole performance, as she delivered absolutely stunning vocals, choreography and a career-defining performance. Gaga’s voice was perfectly lined with emotion during “Paparazzi,” with her performance paying homage to her 15-year-old video.
Nearing the end of her set, Gaga performed her pride month 2011 classic “Born This Way,” which includes the lyrics “No matter gay, straight or bi / Lesbian, transgender life / I’m on the right track, baby / I was born to survive.”
But this support for the transgender community felt insincere and despite her mentions of current “mayhem” in the world, her words felt shallow in comparison to other artists who more explicitly used their platforms for social good, like Clairo and Green Day.
The second day was truly-star studded, featuring performances by Charli XCX, Green Day and Travis Scott, among others.
“Brat” was brought to life on the Coachella stage, with XCX bringing Troye Sivan onstage for an energetic “Talk talk featuring troye sivan.” Even though the stage setup was simple — fog and bright flashing lights — her stage presence alone was more than enough to engage the audience. Unlike Gaga, where the spectacle was in the costumes, choreography and set, XCX was the spectacle.
In addition to Sivan, she brought out Lorde to sing “Girl, so confusing featuring lorde,” which was arguably the highlight of the set. XCX brought back the energy from “Brat Summer,” and her performance was enhanced by the addition of not just Sivan and Lorde, but also Billie Eilish, who performed “Guess featuring billie eilish.”
Green Day, the festival’s second headliner, continued the political undertones from the previous night. The set started off strong with an updated iteration of “American Idiot,” substituting “I’m not a part of a redneck agenda” with “I’m not a part of a MAGA agenda,” referencing President Trump’s signature phrase “Make America Great Again.”
But that was not the band’s only political commentary. Their rendition of “Jesus in Suburbia” included an addition by the lead singer, Billie Joe Armstrong, singing “Runnin’ away from pain, like the kids from Palestine,” to which he received raucous applause.
On Sunday, Megan Thee Stallion’s stellar performance was overshadowed by faulty technology with her microphone cutting out during “Mamushi.”
While she continued to dance and rap silently amid the crowd chanting her name, the festival’s technical difficulties did her artistry a gross injustice. But like XCX, she brought out multiple surprise guests including Queen Latifah, Victoria Monét and Ciara, all of whom were received with enthusiastic cheers.
The weekend was closed out by Post Malone’s 90-minute set that delivered an interesting combination of hip-hop and country. He put on a strong show that ended the first weekend of Coachella on a high note.
Talia LeVine is a section editor covering arts and culture. They study Political Science and Visual Art with a focus on photography. In their free time, they can be found drinking copious amounts of coffee.
