Dijon, Laufey, FKA Twigs, Goose

Annual Coachella live stream on YouTube The best place to experience new and contemporary music on the internet. Over three days, it is filled with career-defining sets from some of the world’s most important, influential and emerging artists, exquisitely choreographed, stage-managed and filmed to be broadcast around the world. It’s essentially a giant Grammy Awards ceremony, but with a full set, seven stages, and three hours of entertainment.

“Couchella” is dramatically different than attending a festival. If you’re most interested in the music (as opposed to the scene or what’s visible), even better. No dust, no wind, no driving and walking distance. No need to wait outside the packed tent. No need to sprint across a crowded field to grab a set (or get in before it gets too crowded). And best of all, you don’t have to try to figure out the annual dark arts to get the coveted “Artist Pass” that guarantees you a good view.

But for legal reasons, these videos can only be viewed for 24 hours (excerpts from some performances are available) before they are essentially gone forever, except in janky clips on social media, deep in the realms of the dark web, and on personal hard drives. here(with very annoying ads). So every year, many of us spend most of the weekend sitting in front of our laptops, scrolling through multiple feeds of amazing performances before they disappear, and then come back on Weekend 2 to catch the sets we missed or that were so good we had to see them again.

Weekend 1 streams are neuroanalyzed by YouTube around noon ET on Mondays, but there’s always Weekend 2! For those of you who go or stay on the couch, we’ve picked the best shows of the first weekend and the must-see (or must-stream) shows of the second weekend.

We’ve already written about headlines. Sabrina Carpenter Friday brought a brand-new creation and a special guest actor to her “Sabrinawood” set. justin bieber Even though he performed primarily solo and with absolutely minimal production, the singing was amazing. and Karol GThe festival concluded Sunday with an incredible celebration of women and Latinx empowerment, showcasing a variety of genres of music. We also covered Huntr/x’s surprise appearance on the set of Katseye Friday and David Byrne’s spectacular show At an earlier date. But here are the best of the dozens of other performances we captured. That’s not to say these were the only great performances, just the ones we caught before the livestream disappeared on Monday.

friday

dijon He was one of the festival’s buzziest acts, and his solo set on Friday didn’t disappoint (he also sang with Bieber on Saturday). With an eight-piece band (meaning he had five people on guitar, including himself at one point), Dijon’s songs take on an extra dimension in a live setting, especially those from his latest album, “Baby,” which go beyond the intentionally lo-fi recorded versions. What’s most unusual is Dijon’s stage presence. He walks around the stage holding a headset microphone and sings as if he’s talking on the phone, barely looking at the audience.

xxTheir moody, electronic-based music may be so subdued that some might find it hard to imagine them being convincing in a live setting, but the reunited group, who first played festivals in 2010, showed just how convincing they can be. The trio, singer/guitarist Romy, singer/bassist TK and master DJ/producer Jamie xx (anchored behind a desk with decks and percussion instruments) took over the stage with a dazzling white light show and a set that combined the best tracks from all three albums along with highlights from solo projects (the most interesting being a medley from Jamie’s excellent 2024 album “In Waves”). The group was visibly overwhelmed by the crowd’s ecstatic response.

For the record, I’m from Missouri. Slater Basically an electro pop artist similar to Charli xcx. But in a live setting, she’s a true rock star, stomping around the stage in cutoff shorts and big boots, belting out her powerful voice (and at one point breaking out into a full-blown death metal roar). She wowed the crowd with a set centered around songs from her latest album, “Wor$t Girl in America,” and it’s safe to say she left the set with many newly converted fans.

Not for radioMaria Zardoya’s solo project from Marias was the perfect late-night set to close out Friday. Her songs have a soft, ethereal feel, not far removed from Marias, but with a more pronounced trip-hop influence (although she did perform the main band’s hit, “No One Notised”). Zardoya, who creates dramatic moments where he is surrounded by a forest-themed stage and transparent curtains and then suddenly falls, is a first-class performer with a presence that you cannot take your eyes off.

Saturday

It shouldn’t be a surprise anymore. addison ray You’ve fully blossomed into one of pop’s most promising stars. Her Saturday afternoon set in Maine Coachella The stage was full of spectacle and splashes. A meta-textual commentary on the nature of fame and the lengths one must go to to achieve it, all done with a wink and a Colgate smile. Rae has built her persona around the lengths she must go to become a celebrity, from the dollar bill boa she wore around her neck between performances to her delicious closing number, “Fame Is a Gun.” It’s true to the conviction of her ancestor, Britney Spears. want That – not to mention that she looked like she was having an absolute blast while she was doing it. Remember when pop music was fun? — Stephen J. Horowitz

Mainly due to Cameron Winter’s very polarizing song; goose It may be an acquired taste, but the drama surrounding it and the group’s status as the biggest NYC rock band since the Strokes (who played their own set later that night) obscures the fact that they are a very solid, powerful, and innovative rock band. The guitarist grinds, screams and coos as the rhythm section thunders, and Winter’s voice often acts more like another instrument than the focus. The band’s extensive touring for their latest album, “Getting Killed,” has certainly paid off. This set crushed the Brooklyn show last fall.

We’ve been able to witness Sombr on stage over the past year or so, becoming a more confident performer on tour and at award shows like the Grammys and BRITs. That’s why it felt like a fully realized moment to see the 20-year-old, with one toe dipped into the pop world and the other drawing at alt-rock conventions, emerge as the new prototype of the modern rock star. A slew of current hits will ring like bells to the packed audience on the outdoor stage, leaving you to sing along to tracks like “12 to 12,” “Undressed” and the Smashing Pumpkin classic “1979,” joined by Billy Corgan. Sombre himself seemed unable to believe that he had finally reached this point. To the point where you can visibly and perhaps incredulously see that you’ve done it. —Stephen J. Horowitz

“Popular,” Zeon‘s latest album is an ode to the early ’70s soul of Marvin Gaye, Isaac Hayes and Teddy Pendergrass, so it was unclear how his deep baritone and heavily orchestrated arrangements would fare in a festival setting. But he and his exquisite band were great. Dressed in a suit and tie, with a huge band and orchestra arrayed behind him, Giveon brought Coachella to church with an elaborate set that was still human and, relatively speaking, improvised. Kehlani made a special appearance and duetted with him on his Grammy Award-winning hit “Folded.”

sunday

clipsThe Thornton brothers, also known as Pusha T and Malice, have gracefully settled into their role as elder statesmen in hip-hop, a genre where age can often be considered currency. But it was that wisdom and experience that made Coachella’s closing afternoon so moving. Not only do they have a catalog full of songs from across the decades that resonate across generations, but they also know how to deliver them as if they were fresh out of the gate. The flash and bombast is kept to a minimum, with the exception of Travis Barker making a huge appearance on drums in the first few songs, but that’s the power of Clipse. Knowing this means understanding that skill and showmanship are your greatest weapons when nurtured properly. —Stephen J. Horowitz

wet legs‘s near-accidental fame from their 2021 hit ‘Chaise Longue’ seemed to catapult them to one-hit wonder status, but their Coachella set on Sunday proved there’s a lot more to the group than first meets the eye and ears. The new album’s songs are more powerful and versatile than their debut album, and best of all, frontwoman Rhian Teasdale has transformed into a full-blown rock star with a powerful and unapologetically sexy presence. The sight of her marching towards the microphone at the beginning of the set with her arms raised and her biceps flexed clearly conveys what’s coming.

Like Giveon, it was unclear what would happen. Laufey‘s jazzy 1940s songs and songs may have been translated on the Coachella stage, but the singer, one of the brightest talents to emerge in the last five years, was more than up to the task. Performing impeccably with ace jazz groups, string quartets, and dance companies, she moved effortlessly from frontman to piano to guitar. He sang very complex melodies, stripped down complex jazz chords, and even played the cello at one point. She’s not only making old things new again, she’s making them cool and captivating.

finally, FKA twig They delivered one of the longest sets in Coachella history, clocking in at over two hours and extending into Monday morning (on the East Coast, anyway). Listening to her music is half the story, and sometimes less. She is a powerful visual performer, world-class dancer and operatic trained singer. The set featured incredibly complex choreography to almost every song by a small army of dancers. Even a full-fledged trendy segment. But most impressive of all was Twigs herself, who led the dancers through much more complex movements than they did while singing. The set ended with her spinning upside down and split-side on a stripper pole, before she lowered herself and sang the impossibly high melody perfectly. She is a true multidisciplinary artist who must be seen to be understood.