When you replicate a lineup of a festival across two weekends, generally there aren’t too many surprises left for punters – especially when that event live streams the first weekend to the world. But Coachella’s diverse lineup proved that they had plenty of tricks up their sleeves with several surprises throughout the day. Arguably biggest of these was Australia’s Troye Sivan, who popped out with Martin Garrix to perform their new track “There For You” live for the first time.
In a tweet to his fans Troye said of the experience:
TONIGHT I PERFORMED 'THERE FOR YOU' WHICH IS A SONG BY @MartinGarrix N ME AT FUCKING COACHELLA AND IT WAS THE BEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE
— 👼🏼 (@troyesivan) April 23, 2017
Earlier in the day, as the crowd was slow to arrive due (in part) to the hotter-than-average temperatures, Local Natives promised “this is going to be a 100 degree rock show”, and were joined by Sofi from Sofi Tukker, who provided guest vocals on their track “Dark Days”. The previous week had seen Sarah from Phantogram accept the honour. Bon Iver also welcomed a few special guests on stage, with the legend Bruce Hornsby joining Justin, the band and Jenny Lewis to perform the seminal “The End of the Innocence”, which Hornsby co-wrote with Don Henley. The band then finished with a cover of “Friends” by Francis and the Lights, joined by the band – a track which originally featured Bon Iver and Kanye. Nao also joined Bon Iver on stage for “Michicant”, which seemed to gain her another famous fan in Lorde.
https://twitter.com/lorde/status/855998658445283332
Elsewhere, in a set dominated by new material, Bon Iver snuck in “Skinny Love” and “Flume”, during which Sylvan Esso’s Amelia Marth added some beautiful vocals. Another surprise was Skrillex, who surprised fans by doing an impromptu DJ set on the small DoLab dance stage at 11.45pm.
And though the event’s surprises are the biggest talking points tonight (and there are no doubt more than the above), the day was filled with an eclectic mix of talents, from DJ Snake‘s intense set, loaded with pyrotechnics, to the night’s headliner – and Beyonce fill in – Lady Gaga, who delivered a pop fan’s dream set with backup dancers and a mix of her best known material, fan favourites and fireworks to top the whole thing off.
Car Seat Headrest delivered a blistering set that included a brand new cover of Devo’s “Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin’)”, Bastille took us to their wild world, and Two Door Cinema Club reminded us of why they’re one of the UK’s hottest exports. Elsewhere: Future, Nicholas Jaar, Schoolboy Q, Warpaint, Royksopp, Arkells, DREAMCAR, Thundercat and more impressed the tens of thousands of punters who descended on the iconic Californian festival this weekend.
Coachella concludes tomorrow in Indio, CA.
Lead image photographed by Julian Bajsel. Image courtesy of Coachella.
The author travelled to Coachella from Australia via Honolulu with Hawaiian Airlines. For bookings and more details head to http://hawaiianair.com/
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