The last day of Coachella is always bittersweet knowing that the exciting weekend is coming to a close, but there were still plenty of surprises, more dancing, and fun vibes at the desert music festival. Although Frank Ocean dropped from his headlining spot after his intriguing performance last Sunday, legendary pop punk icons Blink-182 stepped up to the plate to take the main stage performance as well as DJ trio Skrillex, Fred again…, and Four Tet closing the entire festival. Sunday also included performances by Björk, Dominic Fike, Weyes Blood and much more!

Paris Texas 

First set of the day was at the trustworthy Mojave stage for Paris Texas. The alternative hip-hop group is known for their aggressive, youthful energy similar to BROCKHAMPTON with quirky production and braggadocious bars. The stage design consisted of chain linked fences with scrap metal attached like a junkyard. The set was rumbling with bumping bass, crowd surfing, head banging, and moshing. The group made the entirety of the Mojave stage crouch down and waited for the beat to drop to start jumping up and down, and the crowd listened to their demands. Coming out the gates wearing motorcycle jerseys, Paris Texas was full of energy and helped the Coachella crowd start their day on the right foot. They also made sure to remind everyone to stay hydrated today.

Las Fabulosos Cadillacs

At the Outdoor Theatre was the ska band from Buenos Aires, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. They had great energy with bass slapping and blaring horns. This year’s Coachella lineup was not afraid to celebrate Latin artists as well as many other cultures, and it truly paid off big time.

El Michels Affair 

The first time being inside the Sonora stage all weekend (because it’s been far too crowded to attempt getting in the tent) was to watch El Michels Affair. Once the backing band for Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan, El Michels Affair are known for their “cinematic soul” music and chill beach rock tunes. It was a nice set to catch your breath and enjoy the air conditioned Sonora stage before embracing the rest of the madness Coachella has to offer.

IDK

Another successful set at the Mojave stage belonged to hip-hop artist, IDK. His set was a good mix of hype tunes and moody R&B cuts. There was a bassist on stage who looked disinterested most of the set but added plenty of “umph” to the instrumentals. The bassist even played an upright bass, the first spotting at the festival so far, to channel jazzy elements to the music. During the set, IDK got the audience going by asking them to mosh, split the crowd in half and ran straight into each other when the beat dropped. IDK wore a racing jacket with sparkly gloves while performing some of the set on top of a pile of car tires. Overall, it was a good time at the Mojave Stage as always.

Fousheé

At the Gobi Stage, Fousheé came through with a true punk rock set with brutally heavy instrumentals, raw energy and some moshing and screaming. The singer/songwriter from New Jersey came through with one of the heaviest sets, and even included a surprise appearance from collaborator Steve Lacy to perform “Sunshine.” Sunday definitely felt different than the previous days because there has been a lot more moshing and aggressive music. At times,  Fousheé’s set felt disorienting, but there is beauty in chaos.

Porter Robinson

Probably the hottest set temperature-wise of the day goes to Porter Robinson at the main stage. Producer and multi-instrumentalist Porter Robinson brought uplifting and positive vibes to the desert with his electronic infused pop set. His music contains plenty of shimmery pianos, chipmunk vocals and dreamy soundscapes with vocals about how life is beautiful. Despite the sun beaming down on everyone, there were still no complaints from anyone in the crowd. How could anyone be upset with watching a therapy session in the form of a music set at Coachella? During his set, Porter brought out a couple of friends including Madeon to perform “Shelter” and British producer Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs to play “Unfold.” This set was a great reminder for everyone to just take care of themselves and take it easy in life.

Weyes Blood

An ethereal dream pop set occurred at crowd favorite stage, Mojave with Weyes Blood. This was the perfect set to sit back, relax on a picnic blanket while festival goers bathed in luscious instrumentation and calming vocals. Titanic Rising is one of the greatest dream pop albums of recent years including the mild banging hit “Everyday.” When she played this song, a person in a hippo costume popped out on stage and danced around carrying around a guitar but not playing it. In her beautiful flowing white dress, Natalie Mering gave the Mojave stage one of the most beautiful sets of the day.

Rae Sremmurd

Another set caught in passing glance was the hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd. At the Outdoor Theatre, Rae Sremmurd provided a set that one would expect from the group, but nonetheless, people were hype for it. Obviously their music is not for everyone, but they opened with the massive hit “No Type,” bringing a ton of energy and the crowd returning all that energy right back. They were rapping over their backing vocals, essentially being their own hype man, but the crowd did not seem to care one bit.

2manydjs 

At the Gobi stage, was Stephen Dewaele and David Dewaele, known as the group 2manydjs. The duo lit up the Gobi Stage with booming house music, wearing professional attire, but definitely not on stage for business. They were ready to party. On the one’s and two’s, 2manydjs played nonstop house and electronic music for a crowd grooving nonstop, proving that there is no such thing as having too many DJs. This set was constant thumping speakers hitting directly to the gut in the best way possible.

Kali Uchis

Back at the main stage during magic hour was the Columbian-American singer/songwriter, Kali Uchis. Although she came onto stage a little late, she still brought a sensual and lovely set with elegant stage presence and sassy attitude. She played a stacked set performing hit after hit such as “Telepatía,” “See You Again” and the Kaytranada song “10%.” Last weekend she brought out a few guests such as Tyler, the Creator and Don Toliver, but this week was just her. It was still a wonderful set as she proved why she deserved to be on the main stage.

Christine and the Queens

Once again, we find ourselves at the Mojave Stage for French artist Christine and the Queens. Similar to Charli XCX’s forward thinking pop music, they bring a very solid and incredibly bold performance with breathtaking vocals and pulsating grooves. They did a pop rendition of Red Hot Chili Peppers “Under the Bridge” that got the crowd moving. Singing partially in French, this set made it seem like Coachella had representation of all the languages in the world over the course of the festival.

Dominic Fike

At the Outdoor Theatre there was a huge turnout for the Dominic Fike set. The breakout star of the second season of Euphoria, brought beach-y rock and roll vibes with his dirty blonde, frizzled locks, raspy vocals and gorgeous charm. He put on a dreamy, spunky set with punchy guitar tones, rap flows and sticky choruses. A couple of highlights from this set included a cover of Paul McCartney’s “Kiss of Venus” and the Kenny Beats produced banger “Phone Numbers.”

Björk

One of the most mesmerizing and other worldly sets of Sunday at Coachella was the Icelandic artist Björk. For such an iconic artist of her magnitude, the main stage area was rather empty. But those who were in attendance during her set were in for a treat. Generally speaking her music can be difficult to digest with her disorienting vocals and complicated instrumentation, but her Coachella performance stuck true to her artistic vision with her backing orchestra transforming original instrumentation into a beautiful movie soundtrack.

It was expected that people would give Björk more love since one of the reasons Frank Ocean decided to perform for weekend one was because of her performing, but it is understandable since her music is not necessarily music one would turn up to at a festival. Even though there were a lot of slow-burning moments, this Björk performance was soul-cleansing, allowing one to feel any emotion that passes through, whether it be sadness, joy or confusion. Those that were able to witness this rare set guaranteed left with joyful tears in their eyes.

The Björk set consisted of a mix of different cuts from different albums including the 2015 release, Vulnicura such as set opener “Stonemilker” and “Lionsong,” Homogenic tunes like “Hunter” and “Pluto” as well as “Hyperballad” from Post.
Knocked Loose

At the Sonora Tent was the hardcore band from Kentucky, Knocked Loose. Even with many conflicting set times such as Willow and DRAMA, Knocked Loose packed out the Sonora Tent with the crowd going absolutely nuts for the entire set. With their heavy guitar riffs, screeching vocals and sludge instrumentation, the Sonora crowd had no choice but to mosh, headbang and stage dive. At this set, ear plugs were definitely needed because one’s ears would be ringing for the rest of the festival. Even in the air conditioned tent, people were getting sweaty getting down for Knocked Loose. It was apparent this was a solid set because numerous people were yelling victoriously “Knocked Loose” after the set ended.

Blink-182

Last minute headlining stage time for weekend two following Frank Ocean’s cancellation went to legendary pop punk icons Blink-182. When the band performed Friday during weekend one, they packed out the Sahara Stage with the Coachella crowd witnessing the return of Tom DeLonge in the band. Upgrading their set over to the Coachella Stage, it was apparent how many people really craved a bit of pop-punk energy closing out the Coachella Festival. Their set included all the hits including “Feeling This,” “Always,” “The Rock Show” and so many more. The chemistry between the original trio is fluid, almost like Tom never left the band in the first place.

Travis Barker’s drumming is second to none, DeLonge’s vocals sounded better than ever and Hoppus held it down on the bass guitar like he always does. Blink’s stage banter was very humorous, sounding like they were still in their teens when they first started the band. They made a handful of dick jokes and made fun of the crowd for being on illegal substances despite being on camera. The one sincere moment of the set was when Mark expressed how grateful he was to be performing especially after having been diagnosed with cancer two years ago.

“I Miss You” was a crowd favorite the band performed towards the later half of the set where the entire Coachella festival sung along with Tom’s infamous refrain of “Where are you?” The last string of songs Blink played were some of their biggest songs including “First Date,” “All the Small Things,” and grand finale, “Dammit.” Even with the songs being played in a slightly slower bpm, these massive pop-punk anthems demonstrated why Coachella asked the band to perform in the first place: Mark, Travis, and Tom know how to put on a memorable show. This set proved that despite Frank Ocean’s cancellation, Blink-182 can put on a headlining performance for the Coachella Festival to enjoy.

Four Tet, Fred again…, Skrillex

Closing out the Coachella main stage was the “tba” last minute addition to weekend two was the trio of DJs, Fred again…, Skrillex and Four Tet, giving the Coachella crowd a three-for-one package. Especially for such late notice, it was impressive on Coachella’s end to get such legendary icons in the electronic genre performing on the main stage for the first time together. The Coachella crowd was hyped to say the least for their set, and rightfully so.

Because they were a last minute addition to the lineup, there weren’t any visuals on the screen, but the trio of artists hit the center stage and gave the crowd an explosive ending to the exciting Coachella weekend. The set included plenty of dubstep drops, trippy electronic passages, and a few remixes of massive pop hits such as Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” and Taylor Swift’s “Love Story.” There was almost no time to take any breaths in between songs, and the crowd did not seem to mind. They were milking every single second of their time on stage, ending the Sunday evening with a very different vibe than what the crowd might have expected when buying their tickets with a Frank Ocean finale. One of the final songs of the set was a remix of “Party in the U.S.A.” by Miley Cyrus, and it went off without a hitch. And as any final Coachella set, there was a giant fireworks show ending the night in a colorful bang.

Even with all the last minute rearrangements for Sunday, the final day of Coachella was an overall success. We can only wait and see how the desert festival can top such a wildly chaotic but exciting Coachella.