Saturday night of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival finished with a bang as Tyler, the Creator tore up the main stage and No Doubt proved why nostalgic rock sets still have a home at the Southern-California festival. The third and last day of Coachella was guaranteed to have more excitement from sets including Khruangbin, Kid Cudi, and Sunday headliner Doja Cat.
YG Marley
The artist brought out Ms. Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, Skip Marley and Busta Rhymes. The artists performed songs from the Fugees albums and other popular throwbacks. The set was vivacious. Wyclef Jean was very loud. Skip was charming. Ms. Lauryn Hill was soulful and legendary.
Taking Back Sunday
(Contributed reporting by Greg Poblete)
A rather nostalgic set for any emo millennials at Coachella, Taking Back Sunday came back Sunday for weekend two to play their pop-punk tunes on the Mojave stage. Bringing everyone back to the days of Warped Tour, MySpace, and skin-tight jeans — Taking Back Sunday had everyone in the palm of their hands with tracks like “Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut From the Team)” and “You’re So Last Summer.” Although lead singer Adam Lazzara strained his voice a bit trying to reach certain notes, he still brought plenty of energy swinging around the microphone and dancing around on stage. The rest of the band was fantastic playing every song flawlessly. The band ended with the iconic “MakeDamnSure” in an all out sing-along that was beautiful to experience live.
Jockstrap
(Contributed reporting by Greg Poblete)
Jockstrap, an experimental, electronic duo from England consisting of Georgia Ellery and Taylor Skye played a rather peculiar set filled with whispery singing, violin playing, and the most nonchalant keyboard performance. There was also a bit of a remix detour of Nicki Minaj’s verse on Kanye West’s “Monster.” It was a random portion of the set and was a slight head-scratcher, but was an entertaining interlude nonetheless.
Kid Cudi
Kid Cudi announced that he was going on tour this summer before injuring himself at his set’s end. A background track of “Pursuit of Happiness” closed off the show. Kid Cudi’s injury wasn’t apparent to a lot of festival goers. His recognizable hum brought on nostalgia. He played a couple of live debuts, “Moon Man Shit” and “Blue Sky.” He danced around his giant Kid Cudi statue as if he were summoning his old persona, Mr. Rager. Get better Kid!
Skream
(Contributed reporting by Greg Poblete)
Dubstep is alive and well thanks to English electronic producer, Skream. At the Mojave tent, Skream’s set felt like looking through a time capsule when the dubstep genre was inescapable. For some people, the genre may have been a bit too niche, but the diehard fans of the dubstep movement continue to carry its legacy which was apparent at Skream’s Coachella set. Although the turnout was on the lighter set due to conflicted set’s such as Kid Cudi and Reneé Rapp, Skream still harnessed a fantastic dance party during his time slot.
Marc Rebillet
(Contributed reporting by Greg Poblete)
Probably the most unpredictable stage at Coachella due its constant surprise guests was the Do Lab stage. Mostly known for its DJ sets, the Do Lab provides an experience at Coachella that is hard to find at other stages across the festival. The Do Lab sets are always high energy and carefree vibes with dance music blasting through the speakers as colorful decorations fly above the audience.
On Sunday morning, the Coachella Instagram page announced a surprise DJ set at the Do Lab set by Loop Daddy himself, Marc Rebillet. Known for his absurd yet sensual, improvised live-stream sets, Marc returned to the desert to bring the Do Lab crowd a party they would never forget. Full of grooves, aggressive energy, and a barely clothed Marc, this set was a blast for anyone who was able to witness it. Similar to Energizer Bunny, Marc was bouncing up and down the entire time as he kept screaming “Do not lab! Under no circumstances, do not lab!” As every year passes, Marc seems to be becoming a Coachella staple from his wild main stage performance in 2023, to this rowdy Do Lab set.
The Rose
(Contributed reporting by Greg Poblete)
The Korean rock band, The Rose, put on a powerful show at the Outdoor Theatre during the sunset hour. With a big, bright, synth-rock sound, The Rose aren’t a typical Korean band that most people are used to such as BTS or P1Harmony. This band plays all their own instruments live without any choreography or dance moves to back it up. All that to say, The Rose are a very strong unit together with Woosung’s impressive lead vocals. The band played a mix of songs from both studio albums DUAL and HEAL including “Alive,” “Cure,” and “Wonder.”
Victoria Monét
Grammy winner, Victoria Monét, had a lot of energy. Her choreography was sharp. She danced to Sexy Redd’s “Get it Sexy” and the audience cheered and danced alongside. She played her hits and presented like the star she is. Everything was seamless. There was a lot of cannabis use even outside of the Mojave stage.
Bebe Rexha
(Contributed reporting by Greg Poblete)
The pop powerhouse, Bebe Rexha put on an explosive performance at the main stage. As she arose from the elevated stage, the instrumentation of “Me, Myself, and I” by G-Eazy began to play. Out of the gates, Bebe put her vocal chops on full display with her very full and vibrant voice. Her backing band heightened her straight-foward pop songs to the most potential with booming drums and headbanging guitars. There was a moment during her set where her outfit was restricting her from dancing, but she was able to power through without missing a single note. Some standout songs during the set include the Martin Garrix track “In the Name of Love” and “Bad Bitch.”
Khruangbin
(Contributed reporting by Greg Poblete)
Supporting the recently released record A La Sala, Khruangbin performed an immaculate set with face scrunching grooves. The psychedelic trio had an entrancing set with plucky bass lines, shimmering guitars, and crispy drums. This was the perfect set to watch if one needed to rest their voice due to a good portion of their songs being instrumentals. The band had very few words and let the glamorous, funky music speak for itself. Out of the entire weekend, this was probably the most sonically balanced set, mix wise. “So We Won’t Forget” and “May Ninth” were particularly exceptional.
Tems
Tems enchanted the audience with her Nigerian accent and electric voice. The crowd spilled out of the tent and people rushed to see her perform her viral song, “try me.” Tems has a very loving and chill vibe. Her Coachella performance was encouragement for the public to attend her live concerts. Tems knows how to make an audience feel at home. Her stage presence was confident in a candid-nonchalant way.
Lil Yachty
(Contributed reporting by Greg Poblete)
People were oozing out of the Mojave tent for Lil Yachty’s nighttime set. This stage placement was definitely too small for the rapper and should have performed at the Outdoor Theatre or even the main stage. Performing on a giant boat replica, Yachty sang over the edge of the boat a la Titanic starting his set with songs with the appropriately titled record Let’s Start Here. With his infamous auto-tuned vocals, Yachty played his new material with a full band to bring the psych-rock songs to life. Along with Justine Skye, Lil Yachty performed “THE zone~,” “running out of time,” and “drive ME crazy!”
About half way through, Yachty switched up the vibe and went into his older Soundcloud era rap songs including “Minnesota,” “Get Dripped,” and “Broccoli.” Yachty also brought out a few friends on stage such as Camo!, Dc2trill, Draft Day, and KARRAHBOOO who are collectively signed to Lil Yachty’s record label, Concrete Boyz. This portion of the set felt like an entirely different show than the first half, but it was a very crowd pleasing set because Yachty performed both old and new tunes.
Jhene Aiko
Jhené Aiko notably directed the audience to meditate during her set. The audience inhaled and exhaled for a few breaths. Aiko utilized singing bowls, a gong, and stage direction to establish a serene set. Aiko brought out Omarion, Big Sean, and her daughter which exhibited communal support and significance. Aiko, a pisces, portrayed her water sign symbol at the end of her set.
ATARASHII GAKKO!
(Contributed reporting by Greg Poblete)
One of the most fun sets of the entire festival was the Japanese group, ATARASHII GAKKO! Formed in 2015, the all-girl group is known for their wildly colorful and exciting pop music. Closing out the Gobi stage, the group channeled their freeing and truly unique personalities as they danced to bright and bubbly J-pop music.
In English, “atarashi gakko” means “new school” which is appropriate since the band wears school uniforms while on stage. Although dressed like students, it seemed as if ATARASHII GAKKO! were the real teachers teaching the crowd how to say “thank you” in Japanese. The crowd ate up every second of ATARASHII GAKKO!’s performance and showed that there was no other stage they would rather be at than the Gobi stage with them.
It’s sets like these that shows Coachella’s commitment to discovering new artists that aren’t necessarily known for their US presence, but can put on an undeniably great performance no matter what language they speak.
Doja Cat
Doja Cat had a group of men dressed in white singing in Xhosa, a South African native dialect. During her “Demons” performance, the background singers wore long-threaded full-body attire. The dancers’ outfits share similarities with the Kumpo dance, which is a ceremonial dance intended for protection from hostile forces.
Overall, Doja Cat was energetic and embodied dark femininity. The setlist consisted of songs from her latest album, Scarlet. Most of the crowd was unfamiliar with every song, which may have contributed to droves of concertgoers leaving thirty minutes into her nearly one-and-a-half-hour set. Doja Cat demanded the crowd’s attention. She stated, “Give me attention.” Her confidence qualified the sexiness of her show. It was comfortable to watch because she was telling us to watch. The audience became voyeurs.
The production was on point with sound, lighting, and special effects. The transitions could’ve been smoother when she walked off, but that was likely to build tension with the viewer. Her set director needed to diversify Doja’s viral songs (from her latest album since that’s what she’s marketing).
Doja Cat Coachella Weekend Two Headlining Set
- Acknowledge Me
- Shutcho
- Demons
- Tia Tamera
- F**k The Girls
- Gun
- Okloser
- Ouchies
- Go Off
- Attention
- 97
- Balut
- Need To Know
- Masc (ft. Teezo Touchdown)
- Disrespectful
- Streets
- Agora Hills
- Ain’t Shit
- WYM Freestyle
- Paint The Town Red
- Wet Vagina
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