COACHELLA, FINALLY (PART ONE)

It took two years, but we finally returned to the Coachella Valley for the most-anticipated festival of the season.

Friday highlights

Having only managed to get just outside the festival (thanks, car trouble), I can’t comment from personal experience—beyond saying that I heard the screams trickling past the street barricades—but those I’ve spoken to who had the pleasure of experiencing the entirety of Friday’s lineup had high praise.

Just days after dropping her new album, Versions of Me, Anitta (pictured)—who was introduced by Snoop Dogg—hit the main stage, where she performed her latest hit, “Envolver,” TikTok dance and all. She was joined by Saweetie and Diplo.

Arcade Fire kicked off their set with “The Lightning I, II,” then played other songs from WE, due 5/6, as well as favorites like “The Suburbs,” “Neighborhood” and “Wake Up.” Frontman Win Butler gave a shout-out to Coachella founder Paul Tollett and thanked Pearl Jam, whose 1993 Ticketmaster boycott led to the creation of the festival. As of now, there’s no word on whether Arcade Fire will hit weekend two.

Phoebe Bridgers—who casually thanked her mom for driving her to the fest seven years in a row—rocked her crowd in more ways than one; entering to heavy metal, the songstress performed tracks from 2020’s Grammy-nominated Punisher, brought out special guest Arlo Parks and played her new song, “Sidelines,” from Hulu’s Conversations With Friends.

Daniel Caesar’s set was peachy, especially after he brought out Justin Bieber for an impromptu performance of “Peaches” (sans GIVĒON, who played on Saturday). Caesar teased a new song, “PDNL,” which will serve as the lead single from his forthcoming third studio album. On the other side of the field, Big Sean welcomed YG and Jhené Aiko to the stage.

Harry Styles not only delivered music from Harry’s House, his third solo album (out 5/20), which we expected, but was joined by Shania Twain for her hits “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” and “You’re Still the One.” Could he bring out Stevie Nicks next week?

Thereafter, Spotify hosted a first-of-its-kind event with Swedish House Mafia. The album-release party (which started at midnight) was the setting for a performance and livestream of the trio’s new album, Paradise Again. Available for viewing on Spotify Live, the one-time-only affair gave fans a taste of what to expect from SHM’s first tour in 10 years.

Stay tuned for the Saturday recap: less car trouble, more tequila soda!