Coachella comes clean with 2023 lineup as Bad Bunny, BLACKPINK & Frank Ocean land headlining slots in the desert

Coachella - 2023 lineup

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival //
Empire Polo Club – Indio, CA
April 14th-16th & April 21st-23rd, 2023 //

It’s that day again when Coachella finally lets the cat out of the bag each year.

Many had speculated the famed California music festival would offer up its big secret this week as it often does once we ring in a new year, and Goldenvoice did just that for its latest installment on the same day Bonnaroo, Boston Calling and Sonic Temple all revealed their own lineups as well.

But after last year saw late lineup changes with Ye (fka Kanye West) — unsurprisingly — backing out as the headliner for Sunday and being replaced by Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd, it appears that Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett is prepared should the same sort of scenario happen again at the Empire Polo Club this April.

Headlining will be Bad Bunny, BLACKPINK and Frank Ocean, and while two of those artists check the box that we referred to in 2022 when it comes to the fest featuring more international acts, this year’s Day 3 headliner — whose set was originally announced for the 2020 edition but was pushed back to 2023 as the COVID-19 pandemic sent Coachella on a three-year hiatus — is also one who has been known to cancel his performances.

If Ocean does this time, Tollett and company will have Calvin Harris waiting in the wings and ready to step onto the main stage after 10 p.m. much like SHM did in 2022 (with some help from The Weeknd). He could even elevate sub-headliners Gorillaz, ROSALÍA and/or Björk to the No. 1 spot since two of them have headlined Coachella before. Either way, the man who has been organizing the three-day event — which expanded to two weekends in 2012 — for more than 20 years now certainly has his share of options after locking down Harry Styles and Billie Eilish to lead the charge a year ago.

We should note that it’s not clear yet which day Harris will perform if all goes according to plan, but the five-time Grammy-nominated DJ/record producer has headlined once before in 2016 and was included as a sub-headliner in 2020 before it was ultimately canceled. We will provide updates about his status below whenever we have more information.

Given those contingencies, the roster for Coachella’s 22nd year has a lot to consider below the top line for all three days and there are plenty of names that stick out among the undercard. And though those receiving high placement on the poster like Burna Boy, Eric Prydz, Kali Uchis, The Chemical Brothers, Porter Robinson, boygenius, Porter Robinson, Kaytranada, $uicideboy$, Fisher + Chris Lake, Blondie, the Kid LAROI, A Boogie, Becky G, Charli XCX, Dominic Fike, Metro Boomin, Labrinth, Jai Paul and Underworld are worth considering, there are others farther down that deserve being mentioned here such as FKJ, SOFI TUKKER, Jai Wolf, Wet Leg, Chromeo, 2ManyDJs, SG Lewis, TESTPILOT, Mura Masa, Weyes Blood, Marc Rebillet, Alex G and Hiatus Kaiyote.

Tickets for Weekend 1 are almost sold out, though you can always jump on the wait list here after three-day GA and VIP passes go on sale here during a presale this Friday, January 13th at 11 a.m. PT.

Coachella 2023

Surprise! Coachella offers a big twist while revealing 2022 set times as Arcade Fire joins the party unexpectedly

Coachella 2022

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival //
Empire Polo Club – Indio, CA
April 15th-17th & April 22nd-24th, 2022 //

Well, Coachellans … if you thought last week’s news that saw Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd replace Ye (fka Kanye West) as Sunday’s headlining acts was the only change before you head out to the desert, think again.

The three-day, two-weekend music and arts festival has surprised us all in revealing set times for its 21st edition just a little more than 24 hours before it begins and casually including Arcade Fire, which was not listed on the official lineup poster, at the Mojave Tent on Friday. If you’re hoping to catch what should be an epic performance from Win Butler, Régine Chassagne and company during “magic hour” and likely hear some new tunes off their forthcoming sixth studio album WE that comes out in May, we would recommend getting there early before 6:45 p.m.

And while there are always hard decisions to make at Coachella, it only gets tougher with the Grammy-winning band added into the mix.

Don’t be shy, though … what’s your biggest conflict this year and who are you most excited for?

WEEKEND 1 SET TIMES

Coachella 2022 - Weekend 1 - Friday set times

Coachella 2022 - Weekend 1 - Saturday set times

Coachella 2022 - Weekend 1 - Sunday set times

WEEKEND 2 SET TIMES

Coachella 2022 - Weekend 2 - Friday set times

Coachella 2022 - Weekend 2 - Saturday set times

Coachella 2022 - Weekend 2 - Sunday set times

Arcade Fire are most notably missing from the Weekend 2 set times, but that’s not the only change that stands out if you’re comparing them to Weekend 1. Besides some changes to the early-afternoon slots as well as slowthai moving up and The Marías moving back to compete with Grupo Firme for some odd reason, another notable adjustment is Run the Jewels moving to Friday at 8:10 p.m. in the Mojave Tent after taking the Coachella Stage on Sunday at 4:35 p.m. during Weekend 1.

And as we saw last weekend with Shaina Twain, Justin Bieber, Damon Albarn, Snoop Dogg, Post Malone, Diplo, Khalid, Tyga, Saweetie, Metro Boomin and more all making cameos, Coachella has become a breeding ground for live collaborations and special guests so we’ll see if Weekend 2 has more surprises in store for fans after a star-studded return to the polo fields.

MAP

Less than four hours before the gates officially open at the Empire Polo Club, Coachella has finally shared this year’s map and it looks a lot like what we saw in 2019. But one change to the map that sticks out is the relocation of the Yuma Tent, which has moved farther away from the main entrance (though only slightly) and closer to the 12 Peaks VIP section adjacent to the Coachella Stage. Also, there’s only one way to access the Sonora, Gobi and Mojave Tents now as compared to prior years when guests could walk directly from the Sahara Tent to any of them, and while that might create for less foot traffic in the area near The Do LaB Stage, it will be a longer walk than before.

Coachella has long been considered to be one of the world’s best-run music festivals (and rightfully so), yet with Goldenvoice running behind schedule this week on the release of set times and other pertinent information, we’ll see how smoothly things go after a three-year hiatus for the concert promoter.

Coachella 2022 - map

So whether you’ll be in Indio or watching the YouTube livestream on your couch, let’s hope there aren’t any other artists or bands canceling at the last minute.

Happy Coachella!

Coachella unleashes a new group of headliners after three-year hiatus as Harry Styles, Billie Eilish & Ye spearhead 2022 lineup

Coachella - 2022 lineup

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival //
Empire Polo Club – Indio, CA
April 15th-17th & April 22nd-24th, 2022 //

The wait is officially over.

Just a year after celebrating its 20th anniversary with Childish Gambino, Tame Impala and Ariana Grande at the top of the poster, Coachella was primed to make another splash in 2020 with Rage Against the Machine headlining for the third time in the legendary band’s career and Travis Scott scheduled to make his headlining debut on the polo fields as well as Frank Ocean.

But the three-day, two-weekend event became one of the first large-scale music festivals in the U.S. — along with South by Southwest and Ultra Music Festival — that was forced to postpone its plans when the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm almost two years ago. Goldenvoice worked to quickly reschedule Coachella for October, though with coronavirus cases and deaths spiking out of control all over the country, another delay came in June, signaling the unfortunate reality that there would be no festival in the calendar year for the first time since 2000.

With the state of the pandemic in flux and the U.S. still operating without a vaccination program in place by early January last year, Coachella in 2021 quickly became a fantasy. Fast forward another year, and the famed California fest is finally ready to give it another go in April.

However, none of the previously announced 2020 headliners are still booked for its 21st edition in less than three months. Rage Against the Machine, for starters, dropped out despite the Los Angeles Times reporting last summer in an exclusive interview with Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett that the band would still headline and Scott was also pulled following his disastrous Astroworld Festival — or as some might like to call it, Disastroworld — performance back in November while Ocean is now expected to perform in 2023, according to the aforementioned LA Times report.

Instead, Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Ye (fka Kanye West) will spearhead the 2022 lineup after reports circled last week about Eilish and Ye being in talks to headline and another surfaced only hours before the roster was unveiled regarding a commitment from Styles.

Swedish House Mafia, in the meantime, will return to Coachella for the first time in a decade since the electronic supergroup’s closing set on the main stage in 2012, although their appearance is not all that surprising thanks to this tweet back in October. Which day they’ll perform, however, is anyone’s guess right now.

Coachella has had a penchant for booking more international acts — from BLACKPINK to Bad Bunny — in recent years, and 2022 will be no different with Grupo Firme, Anitta, Joji and Karol G on the bill. But this year’s undercard showcases plenty of other talent too, including Lil Baby, Flume, Doja Cat, Daniel Caesar, Megan Thee Stallion, Phoebe Bridgers, Disclosure, Jamie xx, Big Sean, 21 Savage, Run the Jewels, Danny Elfman, Maggie Rogers, Louis the Child, Stromae, Ari Lennox, Baby Keem, GIVĒON, Banda MS, Still Woozy, BROCKHAMPTON, Fatboy Slim, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Rich Brian, Måneskin and more.

Tickets for Weekend 1 are already sold out, but there is a wait list that you can jump on here while three-day GA and VIP passes for Weekend 2 will go on sale here during a presale this Friday, January 14th at 10 a.m. PT.

UPDATE (April 6th): With less than two weeks to go, Coachella has revealed some changes to its 2022 lineup after reports surfaced earlier this week indicating that Ye (aka Kanye West) would not perform this year. Ye won a pair of Grammys a few days ago at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards and was scheduled to headline the festival on Sunday over both weekends but will be replaced by the previously announced Swedish House Mafia, who had yet to be assigned a specific day on the initial poster that came out back in January, and newly added The Weeknd — after his last appearance in 2018 — as co-headliners who will perform together as a new collaboration and something that neither Coachella nor many other music festivals have done before at the very top of the poster. That, of course, is the beauty of Coachella after all as Goldenvoice always finds a way to keep the programming fresh with new and exciting surprises.

Headed out to the desert this spring? Look back at our coverage of Coachella over the years here.

Coachella

The Bam Team’s 5 Favorite Albums & Songs of 2020

Best of 2020 - Run the Jewels, My Morning Jacket, Fiona Apple, Hum, Fleet Foxes

Wow, 2020 … what can we say? This year will certainly be remembered for a lot of things, but none more so than the COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged both the U.S. and world over the last 10 months and forced the live music industry to mostly shutter as musicians pivoted to livestreams and drive-in concerts to keep the show going as best they could and however possible. Yet along the way, we lost musical legends who spanned multiple generations from Neil Peart to Bill Withers to John Prine to Little Richard to Eddie Van Halen to MF DOOM — some due to COVID-19 unfortunately — making these past 12 months even more painful to endure than they already were. Ready to officially flush 2020 down the toilet and start anew? Don’t worry … you’re not alone!

In retrospect though, it has been a very quiet year for The Bam Team. You’ll notice there haven’t been a lot of updates in this space, and that’s partly due to the lack of live music on Planet Earth right now. But it’s also been a hectic time for all of us as we try to navigate our way out of these dark days and into some brighter ones, and like any good remedy nowadays, new music has definitely played its part in helping us physically and emotionally cope with the chaos.

It’s why after several months of inactivity here, we decided to dust the cobwebs off Showbams and deliver a modified version of our annual “Best of” lists like we have done since this blog first started (see our 2019 picks here). While that doesn’t mean we had time to hear and dissect every new album or song in the last 365 days — we are still in a pandemic after all — sharing our own individual picks offers a fun and stimulating opportunity for us to reflect on the year that was in music.

So, without further ado, Showbams presents The Bam Team’s five favorite albums and songs from 2020.

Listen to The Bam Team’s favorite songs of 2020:


Run the Jewels - RTJ4

Josh Herwitt // Los Angeles

Top 5 Albums of 2020
1. Run the Jewels – RTJ4
One might think that after three critically acclaimed albums with some of the most socially and politically charged material since Rage Against the Machine burst onto the scene, it would only seem natural for Run the Jewels’ act to turn a little stale by their fourth time around. But despite the three-year wait for RTJ4, the longest that the hip-hop duo has gone between releases, the final product — like a fine wine — has only gotten better with time. Anchored by stellar production (a RTJ trademark) and provocative rhymes, the 11-track offering sees the two emcees sounding off on everything from corporate greed to police brutality just days after the tragic death of George Floyd. It also boasts a guest list loaded with star power, with DJ Premier, 2 Chainz, Pharrell Williams, Zack de la Rocha, Mavis Staples and Josh Homme each lending a hand while El-P and Killer Mike inject truth serum into our ears with one verbal haymaker after another. In what proved to be a shitstorm of a year, this was the soundtrack a lot of us needed to survive 2020.

2. My Morning Jacket – The Waterfall II
3. Fleet Foxes – Shore
4. Tame Impala – The Slow Rush
5. Caribou – Suddenly

Favorite live album: Sylvan Esso – WITH

Top 5 Songs of 2020
1. Royal Blood – “Trouble’s Coming”
The British rock duo composed of lead singer/bassist Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher are gearing up to drop their third LP in 2021 and wisely chose to wet our palette with an absolute banger for its lead single. “Trouble’s Coming” has all the makings of a Royal Blood song — catchy bass riffs that sound like they’re coming out of a guitar, heavy-metal drums and Kerr’s falsetto vocals — while charting a slightly different path for the band, one that conjures up some serious 70’s disco vibes. Just watch this scene from Charlie’s Angels to see what we mean, and if you have a pair of fingerless leather gloves handy, you might as well put those on too. We think Sam Rockwell would approve.

2. My Morning Jacket – “Wasted”
3. Run the Jewels – “JU$T” feat. Pharrell Williams & Zack de la Rocha
4. Pearl Jam – “Dance of the Clairvoyants”
5. Sylvan Esso – “Ferris Wheel”

Favorite remix: Bonobo – “Final Days” (Michael Kiwanuka)


Hum - Inlet

Andrew Pohl // San Francisco

Top 5 Albums of 2020
1. Hum – Inlet
This four-piece’s fifth studio effort came as a complete surprise when it dropped in June, and it was honestly THE album I needed. Being knee-deep into the COVID-19 pandemic, I wasn’t sure what the rest of the year would look like musically, and it was exactly the type of record that hits all the marks for me. It’s sonically huge, it showcases Hum’s trademark ultra-layered, dense instrumentation and it ebbs and flows between energetic and emotive. Inlet was easily my most-listened-to album in 2020.

2. Coriky – Coriky
3. PEARS – PEARS
4. Fiona Apple – Fetch the Bolt Cutters
5. Run the Jewels – RTJ4

Favorite live album: NOFX – The Decline (Live at Red Rocks)

Top 5 Songs of 2020
1. Run the Jewels – “Walking in the Snow”
Oh man, this track was just the thing I needed during what may have been one of the most tense times in modern history. And like all of RTJ4, it absolutely crushes as El-P and Killer Mike bring their signature styles to full effect on this dramatic, yet bouncy tune. The middle section, which sees Mike taking the lead, is not only effective, prophetic and timely, but it also serves as a reminder that the time for action is now and that history has a tendency to repeat itself if we’re not careful. Check out the song’s brand-new music video here, too.

2. Hum – “Desert Rambler”
3. IDLES – “War”
4. Middle-Aged Queers – “Gary’s Making Biscuits”
5. PEARS – “Zero Wheels”

Favorite remix: Squarepusher – “Pink Maggit” (Deftones)


Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters

Rochelle Shipman // Los Angeles

Top 5 Albums of 2020
1. Fiona Apple – Fetch the Bolt Cutters
I almost feel cheated that my two No. 1 picks went to the same artist, but this year belonged to Fiona as much as it did to Dr. Fauci. FTBC busted us out of our mental prisons and allowed us to imagine our lives were more exciting than they actually were in 2020. It reminded us that we are strong enough to survive anything, to use our voices to speak even louder for what we believe in and that we can work on our own healing even if we can’t quite get outside. Ms. Apple set women free together.

2. Fleet Foxes – Shore
3. Mura Masa – R.Y.C.
4. Kari Faux – Lowkey Superstar
5. Liv.e – Couldn’t Wait to Tell You…

Favorite live album: Dolores Diaz & The Standby Club – Live at O’Leaver’s

Top 5 Songs of 2020
1. Fiona Apple – “Shameika”
This is a badass, “can-do” tune that was inspired by a passing comment made decades ago, one Fiona surely never thought twice about until now. And as she pounds the piano with the strength of RBG, it’s clear that this is the song 2020 needed — not to mention that it came full circle, inspiring Shameika herself all these years later. Sweet.

2. Noname – “Song 33”
3. Open Mike Eagle feat. Kari Faux – “Bucciarati”
4. Liv.e – “Lessons From My Mistakes…but I Lost Your Number”
5. Quakers feat. Sampa the Great – “Approach with Caution”

Favorite remix: Thundercat feat. Smino & Guapdad 4000 – “Dragonball Durag”

Showbams_Sticker_Rectangle2

Coachella locks down Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott & Frank Ocean to headline in 2020

Coachella - 2020 lineup

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival //
Empire Polo Club – Indio, CA
April 10th-12th & April 17th-19th, 2020 //

Well, if your New Year’s resolution was to see Rage Against the Machine perform at Coachella, it’s time to start packing your bags.

After the legendary rock band posted to Instagram on Halloween that it would be performing in Indio this April and multiple reports surfaced over the last few weeks confirming the news, the California festival made the announcement official with the release of its 2020 lineup.

It marks the third time that RATM have been booked to headline Coachella, with the previous instance dating back to 2007 when Zack de la Rocha (vocals), Tim Commerford (bass, vocals), Tom Morello (guitar) and Brad Wilk (drums) reunited following the group’s unforeseen break-up seven years prior.

Joining Rage at the top of the fest’s famed poster will be Grammy-nominated rapper Travis Scott and enigmatic crooner Frank Ocean, both of whom will be headlining the three-day, two-weekend event for the first time (though they each have played Coachella before).

And in what was nearly an unprecedented move by organizers, 2016 headliner Calvin Harris has retreated to second-line status. It’s just the second time that’s occurred in Coachella’s 21-year history, with the only other artist being Beck when he headlined its inaugural edition in 1999. But the rest of the undercard boasts some highlights like Flume, Lana Del Rey, Run the Jewels (with a de la Rocha cameo as we once witnessed likely), Thom Yorke, Disclosure, Rex Orange County, Daniel Caesar, FKA twigs, Danny Elfman, Louis the Child, BROCKHAMPTON, Fatboy Slim, Caribou, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Charli XCX, Jai Wolf, Madeon, Yaeji, Chicano Batman, Hot Chip, Mura Masa, Duck Sauce, GRiZ, DJ Koze, Carly Rae Jepsen, Peggy Gou, Duke Dumont, Floating Points, J.I.D, IDLES, BADBADNOTGOOD, Daphni, Weyes Blood, Steve Lacy, (Sandy) Alex G, slowthai, Big Wild, TOKIMONSTA, Noname, Friendly Fires, Altın Gün, Crumb, Cashmere Cat, Sampha the Great and girl in red.

Like in more recent years, many of the acts on the bill lean in the hip-hop, R&B and electronic direction while rock continues to get phased out. Nevertheless, it’s worth mentioning that two of Dan Snaith’s projects are listed in Caribou and Daphni, the latter of which will assuredly be a DJ set in the Yuma Tent.

Coachella’s first weekend is scheduled for April 10th-12th, with its second weekend slated for April 17th-19th. With Weekend 1 passes already sold out, tickets for Weekend 2 will go on sale this Monday, January 6th at 12 p.m. PT here.

UPDATE (March 10th): Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Coachella 2020 has been rescheduled for October 9th-11th and October 16th-18th. All passes purchased for the festival’s previous dates in April will be honored in October, with refunds available to those who are unable to attend. Coachella becomes the latest major event to be affected after South by Southwest and Ultra Music Festival were both canceled last week.

UPDATE (June 11th): As coronavirus cases continue to spike in certain parts of the U.S., the sad and unfortunate likelihood of Coachella not occurring in 2020 has now become a reality. Goldenvoice instead has marked some 2021 dates down on the calendar — Weekend 1 will be April 9-11 and Weekend 2 follows April 16-18 with all 2020 passes purchased being honored — though sadly there’s always the possibility that Coachella could be postponed until October again as we near the New Year, when the festival usually reveals its annual lineup.

Ready to take the desert by storm? Look back at our coverage of Coachella over the years here.

Coachella drops 2018 set times & map changes

Coachella 2018

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival //
Empire Polo Club – Indio, CA
April 13th-15th & April 20th-22nd, 2018 //

Breathe easy, Coachellans. All of your scheduling conflicts have finally arrived.

The three-day, two-weekend music and arts festival has delivered this year’s set times just after 7 p.m. PT (7:02 p.m. to be exact), precisely one hour later than it did in 2017.

Part of going to Coachella is having to make some tough decisions when it comes to choosing which artists to see, and veterans like ourselves have become quite used to experiencing this #FirstWorldProblem over the years.

But now that the cat is out of the bag, you can start mapping out your 2018 schedule if you’re headed to the Empire Polo Club this weekend.

So, what’s your biggest conflict on this year’s schedule and who are you most excited to see?

WEEKEND 1 SET TIMES

Coachella 2018 - Friday set times

Coachella 2018 - Saturday set times

Coachella 2018 - Sunday set times

WEEKEND 2 SET TIMES

Coachella 2018 - Friday set times

Coachella 2018 - Saturday set times

Coachella 2018 - Sunday set times

Over the last several years, it has become more common to see the folks at Goldenvoice make some slight tweaks to Coachella’s Weekend 2 set times after the first weekend ends (the most notable might have been in 2015 when Florence Welch broke her foot during her performance Sunday on the main stage), and the same has proven to be the case in 2018, starting on Day 1 with Benjamin Clementine’s set being moved from the Gobi Tent to the Coachella Stage. Rick G., meanwhile, has been moved into Clementine’s 1:30 p.m. slot in the Gobi Tent, with DMM no longer preceding it at 12:30 p.m.

Some other noteworthy changes for Friday are Fisher, who didn’t perform during Weekend 1 but will replace B.Traits in the Yuma Tent, and Late Night Laggers, who were the first act to perform in the Sahara Tent on Day 1 but won’t be back for Weekend 2. Absent from Friday’s Mojave Tent lineup is Smiles Davis, which consequently has pushed Francesa Harding’s set back to 12:25 p.m., and Chulita Vinyl Club has replaced Jim Smith.

On Saturday, hip-hop producer Ahwlee will fill in for Salami Rose and Joe Lewis in the Mojave Tent, while Ron Gallo has been moved from the Gobi Tent, which lost Birdtastique and added Loboman, to the Sonora Stage, where Bane’s World, Otoboke Beaver and Mild High Club have all moved back one hour and five minutes to make up for the loss of R.O.C. Furthermore, Feel Good Green has replaced Palm Desert DJ Alf Alpha at the Outdoor Theatre, and Mexico City’s N.A.A.F.I. has been added to the Sahara Tent lineup in place of Jimbo Jenkins. The Coachella Stage also now has an eighth performer, with Gabe Real + Juicewon kicking things off at 1:25 p.m. on Day 2.

The third and final day of the festival’s second weekend sees the removal of Gabe Real from the Coachella Stage, leaving LION BABE as its first act to perform, while Los Angeles-based producer nostradahm will fill in for Juice won at the Outdoor Theatre. In the meantime, the Gobi, Mojave and Sahara Tents will each have new openers on Sunday: mr. rotu (replacing Phantom Thrett), VNSSA (replacing Pax) and EMME (replacing CVSS), respectively. And we couldn’t not mention that Jessie Ware’s set at the Outdoor Theatre has been moved back 15 minutes (as well as MAGIC GIANT’s by 10 to 2:25 p.m.), meaning that Weekend 2 attendees will have to settle for only 35 minutes from the UK singer-songwriter rather than 50.

Coachella 2018 - Weekend 2 set time updates

UPDATE (April 20th): Weekend 2 changes! Goldenvoice has announced some more tweaks to the schedule, with Jessie Ware moving from the Outdoor Theatre at 5:55 p.m. on Sunday to the Coachella Stage at 2:50 p.m. on Saturday (we have to think it has something to do with Cardi B performing around the same time after she drew one of the biggest crowds during Weekend 1). The other alterations are related to Sunday’s set times in the Sahara Tent, as Illenium (now at 6:35 p.m.) and French Montana (now at 8:05 p.m.) have switched places. Petit Biscuit will still precede both at 5:10 p.m., while chart-topping hip-hop trio Migos are expected to hit the stage at 9:30 p.m., although we’ll see if they’re a little more punctual this time compared to the first weekend of the festival, technical difficulties and all. Of course, we recommend downloading the Coachella app on your mobile device to receive the latest updates if you’re out in Indio for the festivities.

MAP

Several hours before revealing its Weekend 1 set times, the festival unveiled this year’s map, and it looks quite a bit different in comparison to some of Coachella’s past editions.

Last year, Coachella made some notable changes to its map, with the Mojave and Gobi Tents switching places and the addition of a third VIP section named “Hacienda Del Toro” that sat in between the Gobi and Sahara Tents. Goldenvoice even offered an updated location for the GA beer garden on that side of the polo field, which was supposed to improve the traffic flow behind the Sahara Tent, though we’re not sure it totally worked to be honest.

Now, the Mojave Tent has been moved far away from the Gobi Tent and into the same area that the Sahara Tent once occupied (next to the VIP Rose Garden). In its place will be the Sonora Stage, which Coachella introduced last year, with the third VIP section (no longer named “Hacienda Del Toro”) directly behind it rather than off to the side. The Gobi Tent, meanwhile, has moved back to its old confines closer to the Outdoor Theatre, where the Mojave Tent was located just a year ago.

Coachella - 2018 map

Another brand-new addition for Goldenvoice’s signature event is the Indio Central Market, a covered food hall that will feature 15 different restaurants and be situated behind the Sonora Stage. Inside will not only be New York City burger chain Shake Shack for the very first time, but also street food stand Cena, Moby’s vegan restaurant Little Pine and David Chang’s fried chicken sandwich shop Fuku. So, make sure to come hungry if you’re going to Coachella this year — we know we will.

But the biggest modification to the fest’s layout has to be the Sahara Tent’s new home after seeing the massive stage outgrow its longstanding location over the last decade. Positioned next to the main entrance, it will sit just in front of the Cantina and Beer Barn with the iconic ferris wheel and The Do LaB Stage nearby. And from what we can decipher by looking at the map, it appears that the Sahara Tent will be not as long as it used to be, but instead wider, a structural adjustment that was likely made to fit the space within the grounds.

We’ll make sure to give our two cents about these changes and much more when we return from the desert to share our favorite moments from this year’s installment, but as we often like to say around this time … Happy Coachella!

Coachella wastes no time, revealing 2018 lineup headlined by The Weeknd, Beyoncé & Eminem

Coachella - 2018 lineup

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival //
Empire Polo Club – Indio, CA
April 13th-15th & April 20th-22nd, 2018 //

Well, that didn’t take long.

Just one day into the New Year, and Coachella has already revealed its 2018 lineup, signaling to music fans worldwide that festival season isn’t far off.

After it was reported almost two weeks ago that this year’s headliners would be The Weeknd, Beyoncé and Eminem, that indeed will be the scenario, marking the first time in all 19 years that the three-day, two-weekend event won’t have a rock act topping its bill (a real sign of the times as some might say). Coachella’s 2018 edition will also serve as Beyoncé’s official debut after being forced to cancel last year due to pregnancy, as well as Eminem’s (the only time he has appeared was as a guest back in 2012 during Snoop Dogg’s and Dr. Dre’s headlining set). The Weeknd will be back on the polo fields for the first time since 2015, when the R&B singer closed the main stage on Saturday night as a sub-headliner after Jack White’s headlining slot.

Other notable names listed on the festival’s famed poster this year include HAIM, ODESZA, Kygo, Jamiroquai, Portugal. The Man, David Byrne, St. Vincent, The War on Drugs, alt-J, A Perfect Circle, Fleet Foxes, Chromeo, MØ, Chic feat. Nile Rodgers, Kamasi Washington and Jungle. The undercard, meanwhile, does feature some buzzworthy indie-rock acts such as Perfume Genius, BØRNS and King Krule, but as was the case in 2017, there continues to be more of a focus on hip-hop and R&B, as evidenced by this year’s headliner selections along with the second-line poster placement of SZA, Tyler, the Creator, Migos, Vince Staples, Post Malone, Cardi B and Miguel.

Coachella’s first weekend is scheduled for April 13th-15th, with its second weekend slated for April 20th-22nd. All tickets will go on sale for both weekends this Friday, January 5th at Noon PT here.

Got your sights set on the California desert this April? Relive our five favorite moments, from Radiohead to Kendrick Lamar, after last year’s festival.

Coachella 2017

Outside Lands 2017: Our 10th anniversary awards

Outside Lands 2017Photos by Marc Fong & James Pawlish // Written by Kevin Quandt & Molly Kish //

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival //
Golden Gate Park – San Francisco
August 11th-13th, 2017 //

Outside Lands celebrated its 10th anniversary this August, and it was a weekend that we can definitively say had its share of ups, downs and unexpected twists. While many found plenty to gripe about, some took away a more positive experience, proving that music festivals and live music events are truly unpredictable even when you have some of the best in business at the helm. That said, the increasingly over-inflated market of music festivals right now can be volatile and may not be a cakewalk for concert promoters as more and more folks are drawn to large-scale events such as Lollapalooza, Coachella and Outside Lands.

Some stated that the 2017 edition of OSL lacked fireworks when the lineup dropped. Others said the lineup catered closer to the 25-35 demographic. There was no lack of opinions with regard to the acts that Another Planet Entertainment and Superfly booked, but it was clear they did have a vision and a bill that stood apart from the pack with a rare group of festival legends in The Who, Gorillaz and Metallica. Below those names led to further intrigue with the return of Queens of the Stone Age, Fleet Foxes and A Tribe Called Quest after a multiyear absence from the live arena.

But many now know that two out of those three sub-headliners were unable to perform for one reason or another, and while these sorts of things are generally out of anyone’s hands, they still take a toll on everyone involved in the days, hours and even minutes leading up to those highly anticipated sets. Alas, when you have such festival production pros who were backed by three insanely spot-on headliners, these bumps in the road can create something different than initially intended, yet equally satisfying.

So, without further ado, here are our awards from the 2017 edition of Outside Lands.


Outside Lands 2017 - Gorillaz


Gorillaz

Best three-time OSL performer: Hamilton Leithauser
One highlight this year was the debut of Hamilton Leithauser’s solo act on the Sutro Stage. Having played the festival in 2008 and 2012 with his primary outfit, The Walkmen, his set marked the rare occasion of an artist performing at Outside Lands for the third time, and while Leithauser did have to battle some minor sound issues, he rallied past them like the consummate professional that he is. Short of “Alexandra”, Leithauser exclusively dug into tracks from his collaborative album with fellow New Yorker Rostam Batmanglij (formerly of Vampire Weekend) by the name of I Had a Dream That You Were Mine. The spirited crooner still remains at the top of his game, and his vocal performance can’t be rivaled by even the best. One can only hope that this will not be Leithauser’s final time onstage at OSL as fans clamor to know what’s next from this crooning, indie god. -KQ

Best cameo’d performance of the weekend: Gorillaz
Easily one of the most anticipated acts of the weekend, Gorillaz’s Humanz tour made its West Coast debut on Day 1 at OSL. After a six-year hiatus, expectations ran extremely high for this headlining performance. On previous tours, the band’s members had played second fiddle to the cartoon projections of their alter egos onstage, but everyone was visible this time around. Several collaborators from Gorillaz’s previous albums, including Kali Uchis, Yukimi Nagano and Del the Funky Homosapien, came out to join them, and the Damon Albarn-led group still pulled some even bigger surprises with cameos appearances from De la Soul and Pusha T. The two-hour set also saw Little Simz deliver a blistering performance of “Garage Palace” as well as a string of radio hits that included “Feel Good Inc.”, Clint Eastwood” and “Demon Daze”. With longtime fans and a new generation of contemporaries on hand, there was something truly special about seeing a packed crowd sing along with some cartoon legends. -MK

Best reason to sit in Golden Gate Park with your friends and listen to music: Real Estate
Real Estate continue to tour off this year’s stellar LP release, In Mind, and they demonstrated their live prowess at OSL with a sphincter-tight set of jangle pop. “Stained Glass” got the show started for the rather sizable crowd, which only grew over their allotted time. The Sutro Stage has become an ideal locale for mellower acts to play for slightly-more-seated audiences, and this set felt more loungey than others even though fan favorites “It’s Real” and “Green Aisles” punctuated a strong, breezy performance from Martin Courtney, Alex Bleeker and crew. -KQ

Most in need of performance pointers: KAYTRANADA
KAYTRANADA’s debut LP 99.9% was a highlight from 2016, and the Canadian producer has been continuing his victory lap with banner festival sets all around the world. While there’s no denying the infectious nature of his tracks like “Glowed Up” and “Got It Good” in a large-group setting, we yearn to get a little more out KAYTRA when he’s onstage. To be fair, he has loosened up a little and will toss a quick little dance move or hand gesture, but he still really doesn’t engage his audience much, whether it’s in the intimate confines of Mezzanine or in front of 25,000 strong at Outside Lands’ Twin Peaks Stage. Kay, like many others, was pretty stoked for A Tribe Called Quest to follow, but we all know how that ended. -KQ

Outside Lands 2017 - Cage the Elephant


Cage the Elephant

Next “big” rock headliner (TIE): Cage the Elephant and Royal Blood
While the cancellation of Queens of the Stone Age was a blow a week prior to the event, the replacement that was lined up more than delivered a blistering set of rock ‘n’ roll. Cage the Elephant are now being widely considered festival-headliner material, and frontman Matt Shultz is making a strong claim for that accolade as he continues to elevate his stage act to near-Mick Jagger levels of pomp and energy. “Come a Little Closer” and “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” received hearty sing-alongs from a decidedly youthful crowd as Cage have become a favorite of Generation Z.

But Cage did have some competition at OSL, and these guys are moving at a helluva pace for the crown. Royal Blood have been one of the hottest rock acts over the past few years. I mean, their first single wasn’t even released four years ago. Royal Blood quickly rose to fame in the UK, then set their sights on Europe and lately have become the new darlings of alt-rock radio here in the U.S. with one of their newest singles, “Lights Out”. The bass-and-drums duo make a serious racket for only two blokes onstage, but they put on a show that rivals any full-band act with four or five members. Similar to Cage, the kiddos were swirling up a decent little pit in front of the stage while Mike Kerr belted out an impressive setlist with minimal effort and contributed to the low end in a serious manner. -KQ

Best use of Thai funk in a group setting: Khruangbin
Sure, many think K-bin (short for “Khruangbin”) have Thai origins with their Thai name (which means “airplane”) and their Thai funk-infused groove rock. But this rising trio that met and formed in Texas have steadily built a following based around an infectious sound that feels home both on the dance floor and at the lounge. Mark Speer on guitar is a phenom to behold; his playing style, coupled with his tone, has a true lyrical quality that’s perfect for the trio, which opted to not have a lead vocalist. It was clear that the band, like many fans in attendance, were bummed about ATCQ’s sudden cancellation, so they decided to bring one of their classics, “Electric Relaxation”, to life as drummer Donald Johnson delivered the chorus. Many chuckled and grooved to the track before the band jumped back into a set that featured “Mr. White” and “The Infamous Bill”. We can only hope a sophomore LP is not too far off. -KQ

Best use of a festival billing for a greater purpose: Solange
After a weekend marred with schedule changes and cancellations, Solange was the festival’s saving grace on Day 3. Despite starting 15-20 minutes late, she descended upon the glowing stage in a choreographed flight pattern, followed by her backing band and team of dancers, and segued directly into a soulful montage of hits from 2016’s A Seat at the Table, extending each breakdown with some interpretive dance routines. An outstanding cover of Thundercat’s “Heartbreaks + Setbacks” was seamlessly woven midway into her set before leading into an all-out dance party with deep cuts from her 2012 LP True. Solange then took a minute to touch upon the events that were happening concurrently in Charlottesville. As the only artist on the OSL bill to do so, she addressed the tragedy and utilized the stage as a final public platform before deleting her Twitter account the next day. The evening ended in dramatic fashion with the power getting shut off and the performance concluding with the crowd singing the lyrics to “Rise” in the dark. -MK