It’s time to bust out your flower crowns! Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival kicked off this past Friday and many musicians, as well as celebrities were all in attendance. There were even some big surprise appearances that nobody saw coming. Let’s recap what happened during the first weekend of Coachella.
Friday – The first day proved to be an interesting one to say the least. Big name performances of the day included: LCD Soundsystem, Ellie Goulding, A$AP Rocky, Jack U, M83, Of Monsters and Men, Rae Sremmurd, G-Eazy, and many more. High winds were an issue and almost caused some of the shows to be cancelled.
A$AP Rocky’s set was cut short due to a 15 minute delay when a video screen had to be lowered because of the high winds. Kanye West made not one, but two appearances Friday night during A$AP’s and Jack U’s sets.
Kanye went to “perform” a song off of his new album during A$AP’s concert but Kanye’s microphone kept going in and out which made it impossible to hear him. Not long after, both Kanye’s and A$AP’s mics were completely cut off and the show ended.
People chanted for them to come back out and perform but they did not. Kanye then headed over to the stage where Jack U was performing and he came out and literally just stood there silently for 30-seconds and left. Luckily, things got better the next day.
Saturday – Things thankfully turned around on Saturday and this day brought many surprises as well. Performances for the day included: Guns N’ Roses, Zedd, Halsey, Disclosure, Ice Cube, James Bay, and more. Guns N’ Roses concert goers were surprised when AC/DC’s Angus Young came out, in full schoolboy uniform of course, to sing two songs with the band.
The band also performed classic songs like “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine”. It was also announced before the show that Axl Rose will be the replacement lead singer for AC/DC.
Zedd also had some surprises up his sleeve as well. Rumors were swirling that Kesha might make an appearence at the festival and it turned out to be true. During his set, he brought out Kesha and she sang her Zedd collaboration, “True Colors”. Halsey also performed at the festival and towards the end of her set, she brought out Panic! At the Disco’s Brendon Urie.
They both sang a duet to Halsey’s hit, “New Americana” and then they went on to sing Panic’s classic “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”. Sam Smith came out to close Disclosure’s set by singing their popular song, “Latch”. Lorde also performed during Disclosure’s concert to sing their hit, “Magnets”.
Ice Cube brought out Snoop Dogg and Common during his set to perform a few songs. A head scratching moment came when the band, Run The Jewels, was introduced via video message by presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders. Clearly, Saturday at Coachella was one for the books.
Sunday – Day three closed out with some pretty big surprises that no one saw coming. The lineup for Sunday included Calvin Harris, The Chainsmokers, The 1975, Cold War Kids, Alessia Cara, 
Chris Stapleton, Sia and many more. Calvin Harris brought out Rihanna to perform “We Found Love” and rapper Big Sean also came out to perform a song.
Harris’s girlfriend Taylor Swift watched his show from the crowd and she also attracted a bunch of fans. Sia performed with her signature wig on and she brought out Maddie Ziegler, one of the dancers from the show Dance Moms and who was also featured in a few of her music videos, to dance to Sia’s hits “Chandelier” and “Elastic Heart”.
The Chainsmokers also had some surprises in store for the crowd. They brought out Walk the Moon as well as Third-Eye Blind. A little emotional moment came when country superstar Chris Stapleton’s wife (who usually sings backup vocals) sang a rendition of “You Are My Sunshine”. Overall, day three did not disappoint.
Celebrities – Coachella doesn’t just draw your average concertgoers, it is also known for drawing in big name celebrities. Vanessa Hudgens, who has gotten the nickname “Queen of Coachella” because of her great fashion sense, was there as well as Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Tyga, Taylor Swift, Liam Hemsworth, Bella Hadid and her boyfriend The Weeknd, and many others.
Arnold and Patrick Schwarzenegger enjoyed some family time while seeing some of the concerts. Also spotted at the festival were Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom and Bloom’s ex Miranda Kerr was there with her boyfriend Evan Spiegel. Leonardo DiCaprio was seen hanging around with Rihanna and of course those romance rumors about them are starting to flare up again.
Fashion – Coachella is not just about concerts, it is also about the fashion too. People like to get creative and show off their style as they hop around the festival. Lots of floral prints, lace, bandanas, denim and more are always in style here. Bella Hadid and The Weeknd were both seen matching wearing all denim as they walked the festival grounds. Kendall Jenner turned heads with her outfit as well. She wore a sheer crochet dress with a big statement necklace to complete the look.
The “Queen of Coachella” herself Vanessa Hudgens continues to reign supreme as she opted for a chic mint green maxi dress and a gold choker. As for the guys, Orlando Bloom also decided to coordinate with Katy Perry wearing a red shirt and printed pants. Leonardo DiCaprio kept things casual by just wearing a simple blue shirt, jeans and a hat.
There is also a big debate about which weekend at Coachella is better, one or two. It is usually known that a lot of the surprise performances happen during weekend one and then this leads to some high expectations for weekend two, which does not usually happen. Sometimes artists will bring out a completley different surprise guest on weekend two or not have any guests at all.
Many of the celebrities, as well as the regualar crowd, also tend to go to the festival during the first weekend. The most obvious differences between the two weekends are of course the sometimes unpredictable California weather and the grass is pretty much destroyed come weekend two.
Overall, The first weekend of Coachella was a success for the most part. There appeared to be a few hiccups along they way but the first weekend of the popular festival did not dissapoint. The crowds were pleased to see their favorite artists and were treated to some pretty awesome performances as well as some surprise appearences. Weekend two of Coachella begins this Friday and runs through Sunday.
Elizabeth Granato
Features Editor
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