Ye, the musician-rapper extraordinaire formerly known as Kanye West, has been busy lately. Between news of him yoyoing between trying to win back ex-wife Kim Kardashian and dating actress Julia Fox, putting out “Donda,” a new Netflix documentary, allegations of punching fans and news that he will start a new business venture in Russia, it’s difficult to believe he has time for much else.
But come April, he will be hitting the big stage for many hungry music fans – as a major headliner for world-renowned Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Coachella Announces Festival Headliners
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After a two-year hiatus, Indio, California will again be a hotspot for worldwide music enthusiasts, as hundreds of thousands will gather this April at Empire Polo Grounds for one of the most popular music festivals.
Fans who’ve missed the palm tree and sunset-lined views, the iconic Ferris wheel, and larger-than-life art installations are in luck – they'll get that again, and will be met with an even more whimsical musical spread.
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Ye is just one of the headliners recently announced to perform at the festival, which will take place the weekends of April 15-17 and April 22-14. The accolade-heavy festival headliners include Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Swedish House Mafia. The four music strongholds have won a collective of 30 Grammy awards.
The mid-level acts are just as broad in genre as the headliners, with Louis the Child and Flume adding to the EDM route, and Phoebe Bridgers and Bishop Briggs sporting the alternative and indie rock guise. Megan Thee Stallion, Big Sean and 21 Savage are just a few in the lineup that will empower the hip hop fans.
Coachella’s 2020 Lineup
When Coachella was slated to take place back in 2020, Frank Ocean, Rage Against the Machine and Travis Scott topped the headliner list, but are not part of this year’s lineup. Though, Ocean is already known to be part of the 2023 iteration of the festival.
Coachella’s lineup reveal on Instagram received an explosive response – with nearly 500 thousand likes and 21 thousand comments – both positive and negative. Some fans were met with disappointment when they saw the lineup and hoped that Coachella’s return would mirror its doomed 2020 lineup.
One fan questioned: “boyband dropout, sad girl music, and a rapper who ran for president ?!?”
Conversely, many fans were excited and heart and fire emojis were abound.
Other followers also commented – “see you in the desert” – excited about the festival’s tagline and their future festival-going in a few months.
Bonnaroo Also Announced Its Lineup This Week
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This was a full week for music festival announcements, as the Southeastern version of Coachella – Tennessee-based Bonnaroo also announced its lineup this week, a day before Coachella’s announcement.
Bonnaroo also suffered two years of pandemic down time, but is coming in strong with its 10-headliner artist bill.
Overlapping with Coachella, Flume and 21 Savage will also share Bonnaroo’s stage, with Stevie Nicks and Tool rounding out the rock classics options.
With two huge festivals announcing lineups, and hopefully more on the way, it’s safe to say we all can agree that we’re excited for a prospective gathering and collective love of music, no matter the bands.
