Colin Mullaney / Editor-in-Chief

Lana Del Rey headlined the Coachella music festival on Friday April 12, 2024, at the Empire Polo Club, followed by Tyler, The Creator on Saturday April 13, and Doja Cat on April 14. About 125,000 people attend the event each day of the festival. Slower ticket sales in January of 2024, as well as a decrease in Airbnb rentals, prompted some on the internet to speculate that the festival would be underwhelming, which they attributed to a lackluster lineup.

However, Lana Del Rey dispelled that perception when she rode into her Friday night set in a sparkling blue dress on the back of a motorcycle, with an entire motorcade. The roar of “Lana, Lana, Lana,” was dizzying, especially because some fans spent hours standing to get a front-row view, including several who passed out waiting, or mid-performance. Del Rey mounted the Coachella Main Stage to the song “Jealous Girl,” recognizable on TikTok by its distinct hook: “Baby, I’m a gangsta’ too, and it takes two to tango.”

From there, Del Rey swept through her set with hit songs, “West Coast,” “Summertime Sadness,” “Cherry” and “Ride,” the last of which she delivered from a swing, adorned with leaves, and acrobatic tricks from accompanying performers. Imagery from the “Ride” music video in the background, Del Rey sang: “I hear the birds on the summer breeze, I drive fast, I am alone at midnight. Been trying hard not to get into trouble, but I’ve got a war in my mind.”

However, Del Rey was not actually “alone at midnight,” because she performed a duet of “Candy Necklace” with Jon Batiste, from atop his piano. Then,   Del Rey was joined by Billie Eilish, whom Del Rey called, “the voice of our generation, the voice of your generation.” In return, Eilish stated on stage about Del Rey, “this is the reason for half you b**** existence, including mine.” Together, they sang Eilish’s song “Ocean Eyes,” and Del Rey’s breakout hit “Video Games.”

Del Rey later appeared in hologram form, alongside Jack Antonoff of Bleachers: a singer and producer who frequently works with Del Rey and other major singer-songwriters. As a hologram, Del Rey wore the same dress from her infamous and criticized “SNL appearance:” an allusion — or illusion — to that event, from her past. 

Friday night ended with a fireworks finale, to end the hour-and-forty-minute party with a Gatsby-esque display. The performance was a highlight of the festival for USD senior Angela Amaro. 

“I’m a bigtime fan of [Lana Del Rey] for a long time, since middle school. Being able to see her was really exciting. The grandness of it all, her entrance, she executed it very well. She used up a lot of space at the festival. The outro really brought it all together with the fireworks and the [live] band, and the whole thing was very well constructed,” Amaro shared.

More performances from Friday included Peso Pluma on the Coachella Main Stage, and also Sabrina Carpenter with her new song, “Espresso,” and also “Nonsense” as an encore. Chappell Roan stirred up the audience with her hit “Casual” and an interactive dance for “HOT TO GO!”

On Saturday, Paris Hilton appeared onstage with Vampire Weekend to play cornhole, while Kevin Abstract was joined by Dominic Fike. RAYE also performed her set, which was a favorite of USD senior Marco Jimenez.

“I especially loved RAYE, No Doubt, Barry Can’t Swim and more. A lot of people didn’t like the lineup, but I thought it was great,” Jimenez stated. 

Olivia Rodrigo accompanied Gwen Stefani from No Doubt, to sing “Bathwater.” The band No Doubt had an energetic show, with Stefani reminding the crowd that this was their first performance together in nine years. Both “Underneath It All” and “Just a Girl” were crowd favorites, with Stefani extending her hit songs by several minutes, interacting with the audience.

“No Doubt [was a highlight], because they hadn’t performed together in forever and they hadn’t made music,” Amaro said. “My dad used to play them all the time, so it was kind of very nostalgic for me.”

Taylor Swift was present with Travis Kelce at performances by Bleachers and Ice Spice, as an observer — but she did not join in any of the acts. 

A DJ set by Grimes at the Sahara stage was afflicted by “major technical difficulties” which caused the performer to shriek with rage while performing. On X, she promised to have the issues resolved before Coachella weekend two, April 19-21. 

Saturday night’s headline act, Tyler, The Creator, was joined by Donald Glover and A$AP Rocky. Tyler, The Creator performed an extensive set of 21 tracks and reserved hit songs “EARFQUAKE” and “See You Again” until nearly the end of the show.

On Sunday, Kesha performed at Reneé Rapp’s set, where the duo sang Kesha’s hit: “Tik Tok.” The song’s lyrical mention of P. Diddy was revised to, “wake up in the morning, like f*** P. Diddy”: an apparent reference to the recent raid on P. Diddy’s LA and Miami homes by Homeland Security, as part of an ongoing investigation. Reneé Rapp belted out song after song, including fan favorites “Tummy Hurts” and “I Hate Boston,” and concluded her set to resounding applause.   

Also on Sunday, Bebe Rexha brought out David Guetta, and J. Balvin performed a space-alien-themed laser show, culminating with Will Smith on stage to sing “Men In Black,” and pretending to wipe the audience’s memory like his character Agent J.

Doja Cat’s headline act on Sunday night was widely attended, but the crowd began to whittle down early, due to the cold and windy desert conditions, while — in contrast — her stage design incorporated pyrotechnics and mud wrestling. 

Doja Cat also saved her hit songs for the end and ditched her biggest pop songs altogether, leading some to call it a “rebrand effort.” By the time she performed “Paint The Town Red,” and mud wrestling to “Wet V*****,” some of the audience had already departed, because it was the final night of three, intensive days of festival attendance.

“It did get super cold at night, though, which I was definitely not prepared for… the walk back to the lot was rough after a day of dancing,” Jimenez said.

Amaro seconded the impact of the weather on her experience.

“Our tent [canopy] flew away because of the high winds. Our neighbor’s tent kind of collapsed.”

The temperature and long walks weren’t the only challenges, especially if attendees decided to car camp, like Amaro. On the final night, she discovered that the car battery had died.

“The battery kind of went out, but luckily the people who organized it kind of expected it… there was a tow truck there on site to help us with the charge,” Amaro said. 

Overall, the experience was not hampered by the setback.

“For the most part camping wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Safety was one of my concerns, like theft, but as the days went by I got more comfortable.”

Weekend two of Coachella, begins this Friday, April 19 through Sunday, April 21.

Lana Del Rey brought out Billie Eilish for her set on Day 1 of Coachella. Photo courtesy of @lanagoddestr/Instagram