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the first highlights of the Coachella festival

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The famous American festival Coachella, which runs until Sunday, brilliantly kicked off summer festivals in the United States last weekend. On stage were none other than Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish, Shakira and Blur.

France Télévisions – Culture Editorial

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Singer Gwen Stefani of the group No Doubt, Shakira and Lana Del Rey performed on stage at the Coachella festival during the first weekend in California. (MATT WINKELMEYER / ARTURO HOLMES / CHARLES REAGAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

The famous American festival Coachella gave pride of place this weekend to indie rock nostalgia, with the notable return to stage of No Doubt, an anticipated concert by Lana Del Rey and a surprise appearance by Taylor Swift.

Lana Del Rey escorted by roaring motorcycles

The concert by Lana Del Rey, headliner of the American festival Coachella, was one of the highlights of this start of the edition. The singer entered the stage escorted by powerful motorcycles for the opening night of the gigantic musical event, kicking off summer festivals in the United States. Lana Del Rey captivated the crowd with her soaring and ethereal pop, a style that she masters like no one else. In sparkling knee-high boots and a mini-dress, she alternated dreams and sensuality, hits and deeper pieces, while the dancers writhed on stage. Singer Billie Eilish joined him for a duet on the famous hit Video Games.

Shakira’s surprise appearance

In terms of surprises, it was Shakira who burst onto the stage of the Californian desert to further electrify the set of her sidekick, the Argentinian producer and DJ Bizarrap. Dressed in a short fire-colored dress, she offered a powerful and dancing performance, notably on the duo’s joint hit where she takes revenge on her ex, former footballer Gerard Piqué. “Arriba Coachella“, shouted Bizarrap, to the explosive cheers of the crowd, while the singer took the opportunity to announce a world tour.

The surprise duo completed a very Latino first day, signaling the increasingly strong domination of Hispanic artists on streaming platforms. Last year, Puerto Rican Bad Bunny made history by becoming the first Spanish-speaking singer to headline the major musical event.

Japanese virtual singer and “narcocorrido”

This year, it was Peso Pluma – the fifth most listened to artist in the world on Spotify in 2023 – who attracted a huge crowd with his unique style, a fusion of traditional regional Mexican music, Latin rap and reggaeton. While many Mexican flags were flying in the crowd, the 24-year-old singer had the headlines of press articles projected alluding to the controversies surrounding his musical genre, “narcocorrido”, accused of glorifying drug cartels. Peso Pluma claims to speak about reality.

And it wasn’t over at the foot of the San Jacinto Mountains. Puerto Rican Young Miko unleashed a wild set on the main stage, with her Latin trap reminiscent of American West Coast rap from the 1990s, while Cimafunk became the first Cuban-born artist to perform at Coachella, with its Afro-Cuban funk tinged with brass inspired by New Orleans. Fans also enjoyed the famous Japanese virtual singer Hatsune Miku, a voice synthesis software personified by the hologram of the teenager with turquoise braids. On stage, the virtual artist was accompanied by a group of live musicians.

Return of No Doubt

The second day of concerts, Saturday April 13, especially plunged Coachella back into the nostalgia of the indie rock years, which recalled the beginnings of the festival. First of all with the group No Doubt, reformed for the first time in fifteen years. At 54, Gwen Stefani took the stage with the voice of her youth, leading the crowd in singing classics such as Just A Girl And Don’t Speak.

English rockers Blur also took the stage. And the stoner reggae rock band Sublime – known for their hit Santeria –– drew crowds of fans to the main stage for a sunset concert, with late frontman Brad Nowell’s son Jakob leading the way. Another return, Vampire Weekend, who last performed more than ten years ago at Coachella.

The New Yorkers, who have just released their fifth album Only God Was Above Us, alternated fan favorites with new compositions, including a honky tonk mashup that lasted 15 minutes. And, in an unlikely sequence, they brought star Paris Hilton on stage to play a game of “cornhole”, a typically North American game of skill where you have to throw bean bags into a hole.

Taylor Swift steals the show

But it was Taylor Swift, always her, who stole the show without even performing on stage. The gigantic musical event was buzzing with rumors about the presence of the American pop mega star, on break from his tour The Eras Tour. Finally, the singer appeared as a spectator, from the right of the stage, singing and twirling on the arm of her companion, American football player Travis Kelce, during the Bleachers set.

The rock group is led by producer Jack Antoniff, who co-wrote and produced several Taylor Swift albums. The star’s presence was immortalized in videos from fans on social networks, who also surprised him in the VIP section at Bronx rapper Ice Spice’s show. But the crowds were there for the music, especially for headliner Tyler, The Creator, who burst onto a burning stage inside a camper van parked in a mountainous desert setting. His set was enriched by guests such as Kali Uchis, Childish Gambino and A$AP Rocky.

“My name is Saint Levant, I was born in Jerusalem and raised in Gaza”

Saint Levant, a rapper of Palestinian, French, Algerian and Serbian origins who gained his notoriety online, brought his dancing rhythms and a message of solidarity with the Palestinians to the stage of the American Coachella festival this weekend. The 23-year-old performed his hits and new songs in front of a crowd of fans, many of whom waved Palestinian flags and wore kaffiyehs. “Coachella, my name is Saint Levant, I was born in Jerusalem and raised in Gaza“, launched the artist, to cheers.

“As I hope you all know, the people of Gaza have been suffering a brutal genocide for six months. And the people of Palestine have suffered brutal occupation for 75 years“, he added. “It’s not just me on stage – it’s the whole Arab world on stage“. Israel is waging a war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in response to the bloody attack carried out by the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7 on its soil. More than half of the 2.4 million Gazans had to leave their home and take refuge ever further south.

Saint Levant, whose real name is Marwan Abdelhamid, spent his childhood in Gaza before his family was forced to flee to Jordan. He now lives in the United States, in Los Angeles. His rap title in three languages, Very Few Friendswent viral after its release in November 2022. His EP From Gaza With Lovereleased in 2023, was also successful.

The Coachella festival takes place over two weekends, until April 21.


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