If you only go to one festival in 2019, it should be… Coachella
Editor’s Note: As part of our ongoing Music Journalism Course, our music team was asked to choose from 10 U.S. music festivals and make a case for the best of 2019.
Even in the age of streaming, there is simply no better medium to hear music than on stage. While many music festivals have killer lineups this year, the Coachella Music Festival, which runs from April 12th-21st, will provide the most spellbinding performances of the year.
The first day’s headliners include Childish Gambino and Janelle Monae, two artists whose aesthetic in music videos have been unmatched in recent years. The satire behind Childish Gambino’s “This is America” will be perfectly complimented by Monae’s stage persona, which is an update of Prince’s iconic live presence.
Friday’s lineup also boasts alt-rockers the 1975, who have never disappointed in bringing a hypnotic stage presence via frontman Matty Healy. There are also some contenders on the bottom of Friday’s bill such as the art rock outfit U.S. Girls, along with alt-country singer Kacey Musgraves, who recently took home a Grammy for her album Golden Hour.
Saturday’s lineup features an eclectic mix of talent: from singer-songwriter Mac Demarco to electronic producer Aphex Twin to psychedelic rock band Tame Impala. Other standouts are the indie band Hop Along as well as the festival debut of actor Idris Elba, who will perform as a DJ on Saturday performances.
The artist to look out for on Saturday is Kid Cudi, who had a hell of a 2018, working with Kanye West on the fantastic Kids See Ghosts album.
The final performances on Sunday include acts such as post-hardcore outfit Iceage as well as Pusha T, who dropped one of his better records last year with Daytona. The main attractions of the closing night will be electronic trio Chvrches, R&B newcomer H.E.R, and showstopper Ariana Grande, who has been riding high on last year’s smash single and this year’s album, both entitled “Thank U, Next.”
There are many festivals this year that are focusing primarily on specific genres such as hip-hop, alternative, and electronica, but what makes Coachella better than the rest is its accessibility to a wide range of music fans.
This festival is tailor-made for the all-around music fan who wants to dip their toes into many genres. While other festivals have strong lineups of talented musicians, Coachella’s offerings from genres of all sorts is the one worth paying the most attention to in 2019.
