The world was shocked by the death of Prince on April 21st. He was musical genius and an icon, and countless people have reached out to pay their respects and celebrate his life, whether it be through social media or a block party in Brooklyn hosted by Spike Lee. Today, one generous fan has taken to Soundcloud and uploaded audio of the the singer’s full set from Coachella in 2008.
While Prince was rumored to be headlining nearly every festival season throughout his career, it never came to be until that one fateful day in 2008. He graced the main stage of the festival in Indio, CA for a killer set that would be talked about for years to come. Not only was it rare for the singer to make an appearance at a music festival, but his set list stood out as well. His first seven songs were all covers, including The Beatles’ “Come Together,” The Time’s “Jungle Love,” Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” and more. He eventually got to his own music, playing “Little Red Corvette” and “1999,” before ending his set with an encore that included “Purple Rain” and “Let’s Go Crazy.”
The most famous song of the day was arguably his cover of Radiohead’s “Creep,” which was highly praised and received significant coverage from the media. However, the full video of the performance was made available on YouTube just last year with Prince’s permission. Following the set at Coachella, he had initially ordered takedown notices for any and all YouTube videos from the set. However, he had a change of heart in 2015 and allowed the high-quality performance video to be uploaded to YouTube for all to see.
His live performances were one of many things of which Prince was highly praised. They were a way for him to express himself as an artist and combine his eclectic musical style, fashion sense and enthusiasm. He was never afraid to be his own person, and the wide variety in his Coachella set demonstrates his sheer unpredictability as an artist. and Throughout his career, he sold over 100 million albums, won seven Grammy awards and inspired countless people with his talent.
Listen to the full Coachella set below
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