📌 PINNED | April 21, 2024 5:01 p.m.
Gia Canto, A&E Staff Writer
Sun sets on Indio’s music-lover mecca
Apart from the distinctive palm tree-lined mountains and watercolor sunsets, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival brought a weekend’s worth of beauty in the form of sound and vision.
“My favorite part about the festival is how much visual eye candy there is everywhere,” said Chris Turino, a senior majoring in communication at USC, in giddy anticipation of Girl Ultra’s Sonora tent set Saturday. “I forget that Coachella is also for art installations.”
Between sets, attendees stopped to marvel at and take photos in front of the festival’s large-scale installations, which also served a critical role in shading the open, arid Empire Polo Club grounds. From NEWSUBSTANCE’s rainbow-colored “Spectra” structure to Nebbia’s “Babylon,” a brutalist-cubist mountain of polygons, there was no shortage of visual splendor at the United States’ largest music festival.
12:06 a.m.
Gia Canto, A&E Staff Writer
My phone is fully at 3% but I have to write this down. As much controversy as she has stirred in recent years, damn, can Doja Cat perform. She’s truly mesmerizing; everything from the way she moves to the way she sings, it’s just mind blowing.
She also just has so many hits, you can’t deny it. Every single person in that seemingly endless crowd knew the words to at least handful of the songs she sang on that stage. From “Paint the Town Red” to “Streets,” her confidence is contagious. You could tell she was feeling herself, but as you watched, all of the sudden, you started to feel it too. This domino effect continued until she had everyone in that crowd dropping their hips and flaunting their stuff right along with her. After a sapphic mud fight not even twenty feet away from me, Doja bid her farewell to the audience as fireworks erupted into the night sky.
This has been the experience of a lifetime and I’m so glad I got to share it with you all. With that, Coachella draws to a close, and I’m snapped back into reality with a 6 a.m. bus to catch and a Junior Project Presentation in a little over 12 hours. Thanks for escaping to the desert with me this weekend.
Bye!!
10:44 p.m.
Gia Canto, A&E Staff Writer
Doja Cat is getting a buzz cut mid performance. Should note all her dancers were dressed like Cousin Itt from “The Addams Family” (1991).
She’s carrying a white Balenciaga purse on stage à la PinkPantheress. It’s decked out with keychains; I kinda want it, to be honest.
10:42 p.m.
Gia Canto, A&E Staff Writer
My phone is at 7% battery, and Doja Cat is currently killing “Tia Tamera.”
10:16 p.m.
Gia Canto, A&E Staff Writer
Fans of ATTARASHI-GAKKO overflowed the Gobi tent as the group took to the stage. Their synchronized costume changes and unfaltering choreography stirred a frenzy, sending the hundreds in attendance straight onto their feet. I’m in awe of the precision that comes with every aspect of their performance, every pop and lock as intentional as the last.
10:14 p.m.
Gia Canto, A&E Staff Writer
From the get-go, J Balvin had one mission: “LET’S FUCKING PARTY!”
He did not disappoint. From the laser light displays, to the giant alien head and his multiple bedazzled outfit changes, Balvin’s set was jam packed with otherworldly energy and flair. It was impossible to keep yourself from dancing, as reggaeton after reggaeton compelled you to move with every bump and thump coming out of those speakers.
J Balvin brought the “Latino gang” with him on that Coachella stage, as he was joined by special guests Maria Becerra, Jowell & Randy and De La Ghetto. Playing hit after hit like “Mi Gente” and “Dientes,” Balvin brought his all and left it out on that stage tonight.
9:35 p.m.
Gia Canto, A&E Staff Writer
I am about to put my post-J Balvin thoughts into words, but walking past the Mojave tent pre-ATTARASHI GAKKO I couldn’t help but stop and admire Lil Yachty’s performance.
He fully has half a yacht for a stage, it’s amazing.
9:25 p.m.
Gia Canto, A&E Staff Writer
“MENACE FROM ANOTHER WORLD THREATENS BIGGEST FESTIVAL ON PLANET EARTH!”
After a space-age introduction, J Balvin takes the stage, joined by alien backup dancers and a giant U.F.O.
7:59 p.m.
Gia Canto, A&E Staff Writer
The crowd is growing wider every second as fans arrive at the main stage for J Balvin.
7:49 p.m.
Gia Canto, A&E Staff Writer
Apparently the 4/20 festivities don’t end on 4/20: “Let me see your blunts!” said Victoria Monet as she introduced her song “Smoke.”
7:19 p.m.
Gia Canto, A&E Staff Writer
The Mojave tent is overflowing with fans here to watch Victoria Monet; I can barely squeeze in.
6:04 p.m.
Gia Canto, A&E Staff Writer
Reneé Rapp is your newest pop princess for good reason. She’s just as charming in person as she seems on your screen; and with her Broadway roots, Rapp’s vocals do not mess around. Even in the swelling sun, she made the girls and gays go wild. Performing in front of a pair of interlocking scissors — unapologetically gay, in true Rapp fashion — she dished out impressive rock-fueled renditions of hits like “Not My Fault” and “Snow Angel.”
5:51 p.m.
Gia Canto, A&E Staff Writer
Reneé Rapp just brought out Towa Bird AND Coco Jones. What is going on.
5:17 p.m.
Gia Canto, A&E Staff Writer
“If you want to shake your ass, this is the time to shake your ass,” said Reneé Rapp, as she herself shook ass to Willow
5:08 p.m.
Gia Canto, A&E Staff Writer
Confirmed: Reneé Rapp is just as cool as you think she is.
4:54 p.m.
Gia Canto, A&E Staff Writer
When I heard the “Succession” theme song at the beginning of Jockstrap’s set, I knew I was in for a treat. The duo’s one of a kind electronica sends the Gobi tent into a trance.
4:14 p.m.
Gia Canto, A&E Staff Writer
Mdou Moctar absolutely shreds in the Gobi tent this afternoon.
