The annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival kicked off on April 11, 2024. This year, the festival welcomed notable music artists such as Doja Cat, Lana Del Rey, Tyler the Creator and more.
Coachella also welcomed very popular overseas artists such as Hatsune Miku, a virtual Japanese voicebank that has taken Asian and Western audiences by storm.
Also coming from Japan was the music duo Yoasobi, famous for their song “Idol” from the new anime series, Oshi no Ko.
Coachella also introduced its first K-POP boy group, ATEEZ, who are the first of their kind to perform at Coachella.
This year, many returning and new artists came together for another memorable weekend to celebrate music.
However, Coachella also came with many difficulties, such as Grimes’ setup malfunctioning during her show. Many fans dubbed this incident as one of the worst Coachella performances to date.
Coachella also downgraded Hatsune Miku’s signature performance by showing it on a TV screen, instead of her famous hologram live performances. This upset many Miku fans, as they did not pay for this kind of performance.
“I think it’s good! A lot of videos blew up on TikTok about it, therefore promoting Coachella more, and many good music artists played this year,” said Sophmore Sadia Angle.
The viral social media app TikTok has been incredibly successful in promoting events like these. However, other students weren’t as fond of the event.
“More people go as influencers than for the festival itself,” said a student who wished to remain anonymous, referencing the fact is often just seen as a way to gain views.
Other students concurred with the idea that Coachella has worsened over the past years.
“I think Coachella was pretty good this year in terms of its lineup, but was definitely under-hyped and underwhelming in comparison to other festivals we’ve seen recently,” said sophomore Malia Major.
Students also have a very wide range of artists they’d go to Coachella for.
“[I’d go for] Deftones, Narrow Head, Bones, Ken Carson because they are the artists I enjoy that were on the lineup this year,” said Angle.
Major gave a different set of artists, “If I went to Coachella this year I would’ve wanted to see Lana Del Rey, Sabrina, Carpenter, ATEEZ, or Yoasobi,” she said.
Ultimately, Coachella has proved to be a festival where music artists from around the globe, no matter the genre, can come together to put on spectacular performances. And despite some issues, the event’s global fan base will continue to enjoy the event.
