Coachella 2024: surprises, technical difficulties and a distinct lack of vibes

The dust has settled on Indio Empire Polo Club after weekend one of Coachella 2024 wrapped up on Sunday with Doja Cat’s five-star performance. The first part of the annual bash brought with it plenty of surprises, technical difficulties and euphoric moments. Join NME as we recap what went down and get prepared for weekend two.

A glimpse into the future

Each year at Coachella, there are a couple of standout performances from smaller artists that make you whip out a metaphorical crystal ball and start predicting future headliners. Former NME Cover star Chappell Roan’s set made her the first candidate for this role in 2024, with the singer turning the Gobi tent into one big huddle of euphoria and joy. The rapturous response, coupled with her infectious, theatrical stage presence, conjured images of a steady climb through the festival’s ranks for Roan to come, hopefully ending at the very summit of the bill.

On Friday night, K-pop boyband ATEEZ also made their bid for future greatness with their debut Coachella performance. The eight-piece group are known for their big production-utilising concerts but didn’t let the constraints of a festival stop them from wowing. There were nods to traditional aspects of Korean culture and world-building sets, like the saloon-like bar that popped up behind them in the middle of their block. Coupled with performances shot through with ferocious energy, ATEEZ suggested their history-making relationship with Coachella likely won’t end at becoming the first male K-pop act to take part in the festival.

A distinct lack of vibes

“Coachella sometimes has crowds that are just dead as hell, but tonight was great,” Tyler, The Creator told the audience during his Saturday headline set. He might have been blessed with an enthusiastic response, but that wasn’t the case for everyone in Indio this weekend. Those gathered for Doja Cat a day later were largely unmoved by the star, even when she brought out a gigantic dinosaur skeleton to slowly creep after her down the runway – if ever there was a time to show even a hint of a reaction, it was then. Blur’s main stage set, too, was greeted with a damp squib of a crowd who chattered through much of the setlist and responded to Damon Albarn’s attempts to connect between songs with bemused silence: “You’re never seeing us again so you might as well fucking sing it”, he shrugged during ‘Girls & Boys’.

It would be easy to chalk this all up to excitement around Coachella dying down, but that wouldn’t strictly be true. There was plenty of energy in certain pockets of the festival, just perhaps not those soundtracked by middle-aged Britpop blokes. Instead, it was the EDM sets that got the crowds the most electrified, while the quieter, more subtle artists like Lana Del Rey were met with scorn. After a year of slow ticket sales, it wouldn’t be surprising if 2025’s line-up features more dance music at the top of the bill.

Coachella is still the best festival for surprises

Despite the lack of energy in the main field, Coachella 2024 upheld its reputation for being the festival for surprise appearances. Billie Eilish and A$AP Rocky took to the stage not once but twice over the weekend, while Childish Gambino, 21 Savage, Will Smith, Paris Hilton, Kesha, Justin Bieber, Mac DeMarco, Lauryn Hill, and countless others all popped up too. Weekend two could be just as big, with rumours still abounding about a certain Miss T Swift. Whether she shows up on stage or not, it’s clear that the desert festival is still the weekender du jour for artists.

’90s heroes returned

This year’s line-up boasted two legendary ‘90s acts making a big return – No Doubt and Sublime. The latter gave a wider unveiling to its new line-up, with late frontman Bradley Nowell’s son Jakob taking his dad’s place in front of the mic. The young Nowell seems to have had no trouble slipping into the role, and looked entirely comfortable on stage, teasing the crowd.

On Saturday night, No Doubt made their first live appearance in nine years, and Coachella-goers packed out the main stage to get a glimpse at their big comeback. Even such a big comeback couldn’t lift the energy levels that high – until Olivia Rodrigo joined the band for ‘Bathwater’ and, later, Gwen Stefani climbed up a piece of scaffolding to get the audience to take part in some call-and-response during ‘Just A Girl’.

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