Coachella 2024 day two: Tyler the Creator joined by A$AP Rocky and Donald Glover for headline set
Saturday at Coachella saw Paris Hilton playing cornhole with Vampire Weekend and Grimes suffering a major technical malfunction. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the festival’s final day
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Tyler, the Creator delivered a sharp, varied and spectacular headline set on the Saturday night of this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2024, joined by guests including Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino), A$AP Rocky, Charlie Wilson and Kali Uchs.
Earlier, No Doubt’s first show in nine years saw a special guest appearance from Olivia Rodrigo, Paris Hilton played cornhole with Vampire Weekend and Grimes suffered “major technical difficulties”.
On the opening Friday night of the festival, Lana Del Rey was joined by Billie Eilish and Jon Batiste during her rapturously received and beautifully staged headline performance.
Earlier in the day there had been performances from rising Mexican singer Peso Pluma, rapper Lil Uzi Vert, French dance act Justice and a history-making set from K-pop boyband Ateez. Shakira made a surprise appearance during DJ Bizarrap’s set, and announced a new world tour while she was there.
Doja Cat is set to close the festival tonight. The second weekend will take place from Friday 19 April to Sunday 21 April, with the same artists performing at both events.
Asides from its reputation for drawing influencers, many celebrities have been known to attend the event over the years, with Vanessa Hudgens being unofficially dubbed the Queen of Coachella. This year, even power couple Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have made the trip out to the desert - clearly not put off by reports of ridiculous traffic jams and overpriced burritos.
The festival also includes some must-see art installations, food and drink, and immersive experiences for ticket holders, which you can read about here.
Taking reservations for The Last Dinner Party
Whether you’re at the festival or tuning in from home, be sure not to miss The Last Dinner Party at 5:30pm PST on the Gobi stage. The British indie darlings have been one of the breakout success stories of the year - and their debut album Prelude to Ecstacy is well worth getting acquainted with. Here’s our five-star review:
The Last Dinner Party more than lives up to the hype on their decadent debut – review
There’s a cool swagger to the gender fluidity of the album’s lyrics
Raye of sunshine
English singer-songwriter Raye recently swept the board at the 2024 Brit Awards, so stop whatever you’re doing at 4:10pm PST and make sure your eyes are glued to the Mojave stage. As The Independent’s Nicole Vassell learned at a recent O2 Arena show, she’s adept at making “a sold-out arena feel like an intimate gig”. Read more here:
From silky R&B to big band jazz, Raye does it all at her O2 headline debut – review
A fortnight on from her record-breaking Brit Awards haul, Raye makes a sold-out arena feel like an intimate gig in vulnerable, star-cementing show
Raye gets Saturday off to a swingin’ start
Multiple Brit-winner Raye is onstage in the Mojave tent, dressed in what she describes as “office chic”, backed by a brass section and delivering vocal dramatics. “I’m a dramatic person,” she notes during opening song “The Thrill is Gone”, “So I’m gonna give this song a dramatic ending.”
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce appear to skip Coachella
Saturday is usually the busiest day at Coachella, but two people who don’t seem to have made the trip out to the desert this year are Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. My colleague Brittany Miller has the scoop, at the link below, but I can’t help wondering if the power couple were just put off by reports of ridiculous traffic jams and overpriced burritos?
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce appear to skip Lana Del Ray’s Coachella set
Kelce previously revealed he was open to attending Coachella
Food at Coachella - overpriced or simply ‘par for the course’?
The Independent’s Matthew Cooper has been dispatched to find out whether food prices at Coachella are really as exorbitant as has been previously claimed. He reports he paid $40 (£32) for this vegetarian quesadilla and a beer. Did he feel ripped off? “Just par for the course,” he says. “Not sure if that’s worse. Food was fine.”
Vampire Weekend nod to Shane MacGowan during Coachella set
Vampire Weekend are onstage at the festival’s Outdoor Theatre, fresh from the release of their well-received new album Only God Was Above Us. Frontman Ezra Koenig notes that they were a late addition to the line-up, but that they’re “so, so happy to be here”. Sartorially he’s paying tribute to the late, great Pogues singer-songwriter Shane MacGowan, who died last November at the age of 65.
Is Gwen Stefani ready for Coachella? No Doubt
No Doubt’s first show together in over a decade is one of the big draws on today’s lineup - and singer Gwen Stefani is getting into the mood in ripped tights and a vest that reads ‘Anaheim’, the Los Angeles suburb where the band formed all the way back in 1986.
Vampire Weekend play cornhole with Paris Hilton
Who had this on their Coachella bingo card? Vampire Weekend just brought out hotel heiress and reality TV star Paris Hilton to play cornhole live on stage during their set. If you predicted that one coming, well, I’d love to know your thoughts on this weekend’s lottery numbers.
Also nice to see Paris getting onboard with this year’s Cowboy Carter-influenced fashion trend.
The Last Dinner Party lay on a feast
The Last Dinner Party provided an indie rock masterclass on the Gobi stage earlier this afternoon, rocketing through 11 songs including a triumphant, closing “Nothing Matters”. Here’s Abigail Morris, Emily Roberts, a mystery guest, Aurora Nishevci, Georgia Davies and Lizzie Mayland backstage looking deservedly pleased with themselves:
Grimes rides onstage on a robotic tarantula
If Lana Del Rey’s bike motorcade last night was meant to evoke classic Americana, Grimes’ arrival on the Sahara Stage atop a sort of gigantic off-road tarantula robot looked more like something out of a terrifying futuristic sci-fi dystopia. As Grimes - born Claire Boucher - kicks off her DJ set, the robo-car sticks around to “dance” on its metal legs. You don’t get that with a Harley.
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