COACHELLA DAY 3: EASY BREEZY

Coachella wrapped up its first weekend on Sunday night (4/14), offering just enough festival magic to tide us over until it returns next weekend (4/19-21) for another round of unforgettable moments and inevitable festival fatigue.

Kicking off my Sunday was FLO, whose electrifying cover of “Bootylicious” will live rent-free in my head until I drag my friends back for their must-see set next weekend. Following some VIP-section snacks (I ♥ Spicey Pie is a Coachella must), I shuffled on over to Reneé Rapp at the Outdoor stage. She was joined by Kesha for their take on the latter’s hit “TikTok,” which you might want to peep here.

The scheduling conflicts continued, pitting Bebe Rexha against Victoria Monét. I managed to catch the tail end of Rexha’s set, highlighted by David Guetta’s guest appearance on “I’m Good (Blue).”

Prioritizing DJ Snake—who will likely not be returning to Coachella after this year, as he’s already got his final shows planned for 2025—proved wise, as he debuted a new track with Day 1 standout Peso Pluma.

J Balvin’s set was another weekend highlight. The Colombian star’s space-themed spectacle was a hit parade, including tracks like “Mi Gente,” “UN PESO,” “QUE PRETENDES,” “I LIKE IT” and more. Balvin also had the most unexpected guest this weekend, bringing out Will Smith to perform “Men in Black,” complete with a playful nod to the film’s neuralyzer.

Across the field, Tems reportedly brought out Justin Bieber and Wizkid for “Essence,” continuing Bieber’s streak of surprise Coachella appearances.

But the night belonged to Doja Cat, marking a historic moment as she became the first female rapper to headline Coachella. Her set was a master class in MC precision, showcasing tracks from her 2023 album, Scarlet. Doja enlisted special guest A$AP Rocky to perform a metal rendition of their new song, “URRRGE!!!!!!!!!!” The festival-wrapping set also saw 21 Savage rap alongside Doja on “H. N. I. E.,” while Teezo Touchdown came out for a live debut of “Masc” from Scarlet 2 CLAUDE, the deluxe edition of Scarlet, which dropped last week.

For my Sunday-night finale, I checked out electronic breakout John Summit, who surprised us all with The Temper Trap’s lead vocalist, Dougy Mandagi, for “Sweet Disposition” and a sweet moment with Kaskade; Summit also debuted a new drum-and-bass track that demonstrated his evolving sound palette.

And that’s a wrap on Weekend 1. If you think I missed something, I likely did because there’s only so many sets my legs can run to, but that’s why I call Coachella the April Olympics; it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Rexha photo: J Bernstein