Coachella Weekend 1 Highlights: No Doubt, Taylor Swift and More
The first weekend of Coachella 2024 is over, and what went down off stage nearly made more headlines than what went down on stage.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce stood in the crowd during Ice Spice and Bleachers’ sets. Vampire Weekend had Paris Hilton play Cornhole during their Western-inspired performance. Grimes came out on a giant robot spider. Will Smith donned his suit and Ray Bans to perform “Men In Black.” Suki Waterhouse used her set as a gender reveal. ATEEZ brought the K-Pop while The Aquabats brought the “pool party.” And those weren’t even the headliners!
Us will note that the trio of top-billed talents — Lana Del Rey (Friday), Tyler, The Creator (Saturday), and Doja Cat (Sunday) — didn’t disappoint either. During Del Rey’s April 12 performance, she brought out a hologram version of herself. Tyler, The Creator, literally exploded on stage at the start of his Saturday set. And Doja Cat brought out dancing yetis before being chased by a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton.
The second weekend of the festival takes place from April 19-21. As the bands prepare to top this first installment, scroll on to see what went down during Weekend 1 of Coachella 2024.
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Taylorchella
For a moment, it seemed that the only time Swift caught live music was when she danced at awards shows. However, Swift made up for lost time by attending Coachella alongside Kelce.
The two lovebirds watched as her BFF Jack Antonoff rocked the stage with his band, Bleachers, on Day 2. Later in the night, she was front and center when her new bestie Ice Spice. Afterward, when Swift, Kelce, and Ice Spice hit up DJ Dom Dolla’s set, Kelce lifted his love in the air as if she weighed nothing at all.
Cameos, Cameos, Cameos
After the lineup left fans online feeling slightly underwhelmed – ticket sales were slower than usual, according to Billboard – every act went through their phone’s contacts to see who they could get to join them on stage.
Shakira came out during Bizarrap’s set on Friday to perform “La Fuerte” before announcing that she’s going on a world tour. She and Bizarrap also performed “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53,” the track that skewered her ex Girard Pique.
As J Balvin performed on his extraterrestrial-themed set, out came “Agent J” from Men In Black – a.k.a. Will Smith. The Oscar-winner and rapper formerly known as “The Fresh Prince” then performed the theme song from the 1997 movie.
Tems also got Justin Bieber to come out on stage. Bieber, who performed for the first time in two years at the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend in February, joined Tems and Wizkid for a rendition of her 2021 hit, “Essence.”
Reneé Rapp drew a crowd on Sunday and treated her fans to a surprise Kesha appearance. While on stage, Kesha performed her breakthrough hit, “Tik Tok,” changing the lyrics to take a stab at Diddy over his multiple sexual misconduct allegations.
Right before Del Rey closed out Friday, rising superstar Peso Pluma brought out Becky G (“Chanel”), Junior H (“El Azul”), Santa Fe Klan (“No Son Klle”) and Arcángel (“Peso Completo”), each performing their collabs with Pluma.
On Saturday, Vampire Weekend was deep within their country vibe, leaning into a bloes-Americana sound. Suddenly, Paris Hilton, in a cowboy hat, came out to play a game of Cornhole. She picked up the beanbags and said she hadn’t “played this game since The Simple Life.”
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Relationship Timeline
Random Fugees Reunion Out of Nowhere
Lauryn Hill surprised the Coachella audience when she joined her son, YG Marley, during his afternoon set on Sunday. Then, Wyclef Jean came out, and the trio went through “Killing Me Softly,” “Ready or Not” and “Fu-Ge-La.”
Busta Rhymes and Spliff Star performed during YG Marley’s set. The third Fugees member, Pras, did not appear (he was convicted in April 2023 on 10 federal charges that included conspiracy, witness tampering and failing to register as an agent of China, per NPR. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.)
No Doubt Returned
The ‘90s were alive and well at Coachella. Deftones, Blur and the newly reformed Sublime (with the late Bradley Nowell’s son, Jakob Nowell, taking over singing and guitar duties) rocked the stage. Yet, the 90s act that most came to see was No Doubt.
Saturday’s set was a reunion nearly a decade in the making. Gwen Stefani, bassist Tony Kanal, guitarist Tom Dumont and drummer Adrian Young came together to play a set featuring their biggest hits, including “Hella Good,” “Just A Girl,” “Don’t Speak” and “Spiderwebs.”
During the set, Olivia Rodrigo came out to perform “Bathwater,” a song Rodrigo said was one of her favorites.
Lana Del Rey and Billie Eilish
Del Rey capped off Night 2 in a spectacular fashion. She performed “Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have – But I Have It” via hologram, as her collaborator/friend Antonoff played the piano. Earlier in the night, Jon Batiste joined Del Rey for “Candy Necklace.” However, the most exciting guest during Del Rey’s set was none other than Billie Eilish.
“Yep, that’s the voice of your generation, the voice of our generation,” said Del Rey after bringing out Eilish. “I”m so f—king grateful she’s standing next to me right now.” The “Bad Guy” singer replied that Del Rey was “the reason for half [of] you bitches existence, including mind.”
Together, they performed versions of Eilish’s “Ocean Eyes” and Del Rey’s “Video Games.”
This cameo wasn’t Eilish’s only Coachella moment. During a club night/listening party at Do Lab’s tent on Saturday, she’d preview a song from her upcoming album, Hit Me Hard and Soft. The track, apparently titled “Lunch,” depicted Eilish’s lust for another femme (“I can eat that girl for lunch,” went one lyric.)
Tyler, The Creator Blows Up
Tyler kicked off his set on Saturday by playing a video of him dressed in a park ranger’s outfit, saying he had given up his life as a music star to live inside the camper parked on the Coachella stage. Cue some magic and stage explosions, and Tyler crashed through the camper’s wall as it exploded. It was a way to wake up the crowds, and the energy stayed high as he brought out Childish Gambino to perform “Running Out of Time.”
“I used to hate that n—a. Seriously,” said Tyler about Gambino (aka Donald Glover). I don’t know why, I gotta go to therapy to figure it out. but this n—a put this song called ‘Urn’ out…I was at conflict with myself, like, how could a n—a I hate so much make something so good?”
Tyler would also bring out ASAP Rocky to perform “Potato Salad” and “Who Dat Boy”; singer-songwriter Charlie Wilson to perform “Earfquake”; and Kali Uchis to perform “See You Again.” In the end, Tyler got caught up in a windstorm and was blown off stage to close out Night 2.
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Doja Cat Ends It on A Weird Note
Doja Cat closed out the first Coachella weekend the only way she could: fabulously. Doja performed in a white furry two-piece, and her set included a mud pit, dancing Yetis, and a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton chasing her around the stage.
She started her performance wearing a blonde wig that went down to her knees. Later in the show, she performed with dancers in furry suits, giving the sense that she had recruited the local Bigfoot population as her entourage.
Doja Cat also brought out some friends. Teezo Touchdown performed alongside Doja for her live debut of “MASC.” ASAP Rocky returned for “URRRGE!!!!!!!!!!,” while 21 Savage came out for “n.h.i.e.” Doja also introduced the Coachella crowd to The Joy, a five-man a capella group from South Africa.
She closed her set with “Wet Vagina,” and the stage turned into a giant mud pit. Doja and her dancers got deep into much, crawling around each other to end the night with a giant innuendo.
