Coachella 2022 Re-Cap

Well…I’m back. We did it. Coachella happened and it was as normal as could be. I look back on my time there over the last 4 weeks and feel so grateful for all of it. It’s still as magical as ever. I realized during Coachella how I can be alone on the polo fields and never feel lonely. There’s always something to see and do there. I feel like a lot of festivals are like this, but with Coachella there’s just a comfort for me that doesn’t always exist in other places. The art was great. The fashion was back. The vibes were immaculate and the music was unforgettable. So here’s what I was able to see over the two weekends….

The hype for Weekend 1 lasted from the weekend before I arrived until Day 1 Weekend 1. It was a little chaotic at times on the work front because we had a lack of staff, but my pals and I stepped up to make it work and the team that I did have was amazing. The biggest surprise of Weekend 1 came when the set times were released on Thursday and Arcade Fire was listed for a 6:45 p.m. set at Mojave. I couldn’t even believe it was real! So yes Arcade Fire played Weekend 1 and I missed it because I wasn’t onsite until 8:30 p.m. The “livestream” didn’t air the set until 9 p.m either, when I was vibing at the festival. It was okay though! I was able to see Phoebe Bridgers and Harry Styles including the Shania Twain appearance. I missed Bishop Briggs and Lost Kings as I expected due to the early set times. Lane 8 overlapped Harry Styles so that became a Weekend 2 set for me as the Danimal and I saw the beginning of Lane 8, hopped over to Harry to see who he would bring out (Lizzo!!!), and then returned to see the end of the Lane 8 set.

The music I wanted to see on Saturday was abundant. Saturday Weekend 1 began with seeing Beach Goons with Hailey before she started her shift and then followed up with Wallows on Outdoor at 4 p.m. and Emo Nite at Sahara right after Wallows. There was a bit of overlap between the two but I couldn’t bring myself to leave Wallows. I’m now very into the band with the kid from 13 Reasons Why (he should quit acting and just do music in my opinion now) and am already making plans to see their Philly show in June. They were too good live. After they ended though, I met up with some friends at Emo Nite. It was extremely cool to see the masses singing along to all the emo classics. Tom Higgenson from Plain White T’s made an appearance to play “Hey There Delilah,” which earned a huge sing along from the crowd. My plan was to see girl in red after Emo Nite but I needed to return back to the Safari home base to start on some work for Weekend 2. Girl in red became my Weekend 2 priority and it was one of my favorites after going back to back with Wallows again with the Danimal. Yes, I also decided to see Wallows again Weekend 2. Again I am now VERY into them. L’Imperatrice was another Weekend 2 set for me (super fun and full of dancing) after a recommendation from my buddy Noah. I also caught the Jacoby Shaddix from Papa Roach appearance at Emo Nite Weekend 2 and heard him sing “Last Resort.”

I needed to see Turnstile Weekend 1 as I had to meet up with my long time friend Chelsea to see one set as we usually do. It was Turnover in 2019 and Turnstile in 2022. Hailey also joined halfway through the set and so did my friend Lexi. It was definitely full of hardcore tunes and plenty of moshing. I saw the end of Disclosure both weekends with a little more of the set during Weekend 2. I definitely danced along to “Latch” twice though. I saw Flume both weekends as well, but my highlight of Flume came during Weekend 1 when I saw Dave Bayley aka Wavey Davey from Glass Animals hanging out in the viewing area. Hailey went over to him to say hey and he ended up telling her they were there to make an appearance during Denzel Curry’s set the next day. At that point, my Weekend 1 Sunday night plans changed from Jamie xx to Denzel Curry because Glass Animals are everything.

Late Saturday night I saw Hot Chip Weekend 1 and most of Billie Eilish. Weekend 2 I saw Caribou and made the mistake of leaving early. Billie Eilish brought out Hayley Williams from Paramore. They covered Misery Business and I missed it. I was so upset, but the fact that it was acoustic made it a little better. It was still one of the biggest talking points of Weekend 2.

Sunday’s afternoon sets alternated for me on Weekend 1 and Weekend 2. I saw Olivia O’Brien Weekend 1 and part of Hayden James Weekend 2 (a work meeting held me back from the full set). Olivia O’Brien might have brought out Jake Paul at the end of her set after ending it with “Josslyn” and I might have hated it. Then I hit Maggie Rogers set both weekends as well. Maggie Rogers sunset set happened and I was fully immersed in it. On Sunday night, I saw the beginning of Duke Dumont Weekend 1 and the end of the set Weekend 2. Weekend 1 we decided to hit up the tiki bar instead of sticking around for the rest of Duke so I finally got there after 4 years! Then it was Denzel Curry time Weekend 1 and Jamie xx for me Weekend 2. I saw the full sets of both, but the highlight of Denzel Curry was hearing Tokyo Drifting with Glass Animals. The highlight of Jamie xx was hanging and dancing with a bunch of my Safari fam. Both sets were a great time. On Weekend 1, we took in all of Swedish House Mafia and the Weeknd’s combined set and I hung around for the end of it Weekend 2 as well because I wasn’t ready for Coachella to be over (never am). I soaked up my last moments on the polo fields wandering around, listening to music, and taking pictures for the mems of two incredible weekends back in Indio.

After a third weekend, aka Stagecoach weekend, I’m finally back home and experiencing the Coachella Valley withdrawal, but it needed to come to an end at some point. It’s still my favorite place to work and I feel like I could do it every weekend. My body, however, would argue. I realized yesterday that this year has a lot of new music releases from some of my favorite artists so stay tuned for album reviews going forward as I’m already behind on them. That’s it for Coachella though. Three years in the making and we finally got to do it again. Until next time, Coachella forever and always!

Coachella Band Preview: Duke Dumont

Well, here we are. Coachella begins Friday. FINALLY! We made it guys. April 21, 2019 until April 15, 2022. 1,090 days. This feels surreal, but it’s happening. I’m so so happy. There’s a few more artists I wanted to preview, but as always I need to just narrow it down and choose one. This last week of the longest Coachella wait ever, we’ve got an electronic DJ who has been putting out music since 2006, Duke Dumont.

Adam George Dyment, known professionally as Duke Dumont, first started his career in the late 2000’s by remixing pop songs. He hails from Harrow, England which is in the suburbs of London. His first single, “Need U”, came in 2013 and he’s been simultaneously releasing original music and remixes since. His single “I Got U” which was also released in 2013 was even nominated for a Grammy. Despite his lengthy career, his debut album came out in 2020. Up until that, point he only dropped EPs.

Duke Dumont is first and foremost a house artist. Some may say he dabbles in deep house or tech house but honestly, I define him as just pure house. He played his first Coachella in 2015 at the Sahara tent, and even though I might have been there, I definitely did not see him, nor did I step foot in Sahara. Obviously you know that changed by the following spring when I got into Flume, but electronic music at that time for me wasn’t a thing. I’ve definitely progressed and I’ll likely be at Sahara several times this year. I would bet that we’ll see Duke Dumont again at Sahara. He plays Sunday and I would expect another night time set. You might only have a few days left, but here’s what you wanna have on repeat, if you’re planning on seeing him:

1. Ocean Drive
2. I Got U
3. Real Life
4. Red Light Green Light
5. The Power
6. Need U
7. Won’t Look Back
8. Inhale
9. The Giver (Reprise)
10. Therapy

So that’s it for this round of Coachella previews. Hopefully we’re back again next year, but you never really know what can happen as we all learned. I’ve truly been soaking it all in as I’m currently out in Indio hard at work on Weekend 1! So far it’s been incredible to be back here. It’s always been my rule to live every Coachella like your first Coachella, but this time I urge you to live this year like your first Coachella and your last. Basically live it up as best as you can. We finally can and the vibes are gonna be more immaculate than ever. Happy Coachella! We deserve it!

Coachella Band Preview: Wallows

Coachella is next Friday. I repeat. Coachella is NEXT. FRIDAY. Every week that goes by as it gets closer and closer I swear I just can’t believe it. It’s not like I never thought it would happen again. I just got used to waiting and waiting. Finally though we’re almost there. The big news of the week is that Kanye West (Ye) has officially dropped from the lineup. He was supposed to headline Sunday night. After reports of him potentially dropping for weeks, no one is shocked. To be honest, once I saw him on the lineup I thought there’s a chance he’d drop. There always is. He’s Kanye. There’s other bands and artists that will be there though that you can bet on seeing in Indio. One of those is the band Wallows.

Wallows formed in 2011 and went by other band names until 2017 when they solidified the name Wallows. The band is composed of Dylan Minnette, Braeden Lemasters, and Cole Preston. They dropped their first single “Pleaser” 5 years ago. The song ended up in the number two spot on the Spotify Global Viral 50 Chart. They released their second single “Sun Tan” a month later and two other singles that year with “Uncomfortable” and “Pulling Leaves Off Trees.” In early 2018 they signed to Atlantic Records and released their first major label EP Spring. Their debut album Nothing Happens dropped in March 2019. Shortly after, the band played their first Coachella. Now, 3 years later, the band released their second full length album Tell Me That It’s Over and will be playing Coachella once again.

Wallows’ music is mainly that of the alternative/indie rock genre. They would definitely be considered one of the indie bands at the festival this year. I remember trying to get into them in 2019, but it didn’t happen in time for Coachella given all the other music I wanted to see as well. This year they’re billed higher on the lineup and in my heart. I’ve been listening to them for the last few weeks, including trying to get into their new album. I’m definitely enjoying it more this time around. Wallows plays Saturday at Coachella. My guess is that you’ll catch the band on the Outdoor Stage between 3-6 in the afternoon. It just feels like the right time and the right place for them. In 2019, they played Mojave around 1 p.m. so I could see that being their upgrade for Saturday afternoon. If you’re trying to see Wallows again or catch them for the first time like me, here’s some songs you’ll want to listen to first:

1. Scrawny
2. Pleaser
3. Are You Bored Yet?
4. OK
5. These Days
6. Remember When
7. I Don’t Want to Talk
8. Marvelous
9. Especially You
10. Uncomfortable

Coachella Band Preview: Turnstile

Only another 2 weeks before people from all over the world descend upon the fields at the Empire Polo Club. The stages are being built as we speak while all attendees get in any final preparations for their time in the desert. My hype level is high as I leave in just under a week from now. I still can’t believe it. In the last few months, I’ve been consistently listening to bands and artists I want to see at Coachella. This next band is one that I’ve recently been trying to get into in anticipation of seeing them at the festival. Their hardcore punk style of music is a genre I haven’t listened to much since I was in high school and college, but I kind of like it. They’re Turnstile from Baltimore, MD.

The band formed in 2010 and released their debut album Nonstop Feeling in 2015. The band is comprised of Brendan Yates, Franz Lyons, Daniel Fang, Brady Ebert, and Pat McCrory. They released two EPs prior with Pressure to Succeed in 2011 and Step 2 Rhythm in 2013. Their third EP Move Thru Me came out in 2016 followed by their second full length album Time & Space in 2018. Two more EPs Share A View (2020) and Turnstile Love Connection (2021) were released before their latest album Glow On dropped this past September. The album debuted at #30 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart and was listed as #8 on Rolling Stone’s list of Top Albums from 2021. For a hardcore band, that doesn’t happen very often. The hype surrounding the band has built up over the years, and it’s for good reason. They’re putting out great music. They have a much harder sound being a hardcore punk band, but also remind me of Turnover and other modern alternative rock bands.

Turnstile plays on Saturday during Coachella. I expect them to play in the heat of the afternoon sun. I would guess you might catch them at Mojave, Outdoor, or the Main stage depending on what time they play. I would love to see them at Sonora, similar to Turnover’s 2019 set, but I think they’re a little more popular than Turnover and will likely draw a bigger crowd. The only requirement for their set is that there needs to be enough room for a mosh pit. Their set will likely have the sweatiest and hardest dancing crowd. Sahara and Yuma aren’t even a competition. If you’re trying to mosh at Coachella, here are the Turnstile songs you should be listening to:

1. MYSTERY
2. BLACKOUT
3. Real Thing
4. HOLIDAY
5. Gravity
6. Generator
7. I Don’t Wanna Be Blind
8. ALIEN LOVE CALL
9. UNDERWATER BOI
10. Keep It Moving

Coachella Band Preview: Lane 8

We’re just under 4 weeks away from Day One Weekend One. I hope you’ve been fine tuning all the details for your Coachella plans and have also been listening to the bands and artists you want to see nonstop. I definitely have. I leave for Coachella exactly one week before the first day of Weekend One and I’m feeling the excitement build with each passing day. I have a few other fun plans in the works beforehand too which helps pass the time. This week I’m previewing a deejay who was scheduled for Friday in 2020 and now scheduled for the same day in 2022, Lane 8.

Lane 8, also known as Daniel Goldstein, from Denver, Colorado started producing music around 2012 when he caught the attention of an A&R executive from the record label Anjunadeep, a sub-label of Above & Beyond founded trance label Anjunabeats. He released his first record, Rise, in 2015 under the label. He then began releasing music under his own label This Never Happened. He created the label following his Little By Little tour to build an independent label presence in the deep house genre. Many artists on the label have toured with or opened for Lane 8.

His 2018 record Little By Little was the first album to be released under his own label, followed by Brightest Lights in 2020 and most recently Reviver in January 2022. His music falls into the deep house/progressive house genres, but I feel like his music is also comparable to the dreamier electropop Odesza style of electronic music. I think it kind of bridges both genres at times rather than being straight deep/progressive house. It’s the beats that surely designate him into the house category.

As I mentioned, Lane 8 helps to kick off both weekends with Friday sets. Expect to see him at the Sahara tent. I’d anticipate a late set from Lane 8. I would even anticipate there being some overlap with main stage headliners for his set. Nonetheless, I think it’ll be a great performance. It’ll be his first time back at the festival since his Do Lab performance in 2015. Safe to say the Sahara tent is definitely a step up from Do Lab. Here’s a few songs you’ll want to know before you vibe out at his set:

1. Road
2. Fingerprint
3. The Rope
4. Run
5. Survive
6. Oh, Miles
7. Little By Little
8. Atlas
9. Brightest Lights
10. Don’t Let Me Go

Coachella Band Preview: Lost Kings, Flume, Emo Nite, Maggie Rogers, & Hayden James

In exactly one month, the 21st installment of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival begins in Indio, California at the Empire Polo Club, 81-800 Avenue 51. It’s all come down to this. One month left in the almost 36 month wait, once all is said and done. Since I returned from Mexico, I’ve been listening to my Coachella 2022 playlist almost every day. Over the last several Coachellas since I attended in 2015, the lineup has strayed away from my music interests. What was once a largely indie rock festival now spans across genres. My music interests have developed as well. I mean I was someone who never step foot in the Sahara tent in 2015. Coachella has become a festival of music discovery for me. There’s usually a good handful of artists I know and at least listen to on the lineup, but in recent years I’ve felt like I’ve used Coachella to become more interested in artists I don’t listen to as much or to discover new artists entirely. It’s broadened my interest in Arkells, Kungs, Maggie Rogers, and Petit Biscuit, and has helped me to discover artists like Dermot Kennedy, Daft Punk (Couchella 2020 was a thing!), and Dillon Francis. This week though I’m highlighting a bunch of artists and one style of music I’ve known and have liked for a while.

The first artists on this list are Lost Kings, the electronic music duo who have been releasing music since 2014. I previewed them as part of the 2020 lineup before shit hit the fan, so you can check out that blog here for more info about the electronic deejays. Since 2020, they released a new EP It’s Not You, It’s Me in December 2021. The EP contains all of their singles released over 2020 & 2021. Lost Kings play Friday to kick off the weekend and I’ll bet you’ll catch them and their progressive house style music sometime in the afternoon at the Sahara tent. These are some of the songs you’ll wanna know before you catch their set:

1. Phone Down
2. Oops (I’m Sorry)
3. When We Were Young
4. Don’t Kill My High
5. First Love
6. Anti-Everything
7. You
8. Stuck
9. Look At Us Now
10. Don’t Call

Flume is no stranger to this blog. Since 2016, I’ve considered Flume one of my favorite electronic artists. In fact, Flume, also known as Harley Streton, was the first deejay to get me into electronic music. I may have liked a song or two before that point, but I really found an interest in most of Flume’s music after listening to some of his tracks before volunteering at and attending Sweetlife Music Festival in 2016. Flume was also supposed to play Coachella in 2020. Read that preview here. It would have been his third appearance, but thankfully he’s back on the lineup in 2022 and will be making his third appearance this year instead. Prior to what would have been Coachella 2020, Flume released his track “The Difference” ft. Toro y Moi. He’s dropped a few remixes since, but released a brand new single, “Say Nothing” ft. MAY-A, a few weeks ago. Flume will be dropping a new album, Palaces, in May and I anticipate Coachella will probably get some new tunes as a result. Flume plays Saturday night and I would suspect he’ll be moving to the Main Stage this time around. His 2016 set was at Outdoor Theatre. These are the Flume songs you should be listening to so you’re ready for Saturday night in Indio:

1. The Difference
2. Say Nothing
3. Rushing Back
4. Never Be Like You
5. Say It
6. Holdin’ On
7. Sleepless
8. Drop the Game
9. Insane
10. Smoke & Retribution

When the 2020 lineup came out, I was both stoked and intrigued to see Emo Nite listed as an act for the festival. For someone who grew up listening to emo bands and who has attended a few emo nights, I’ve never actually been to the official Emo Nite that started them all. I’m excited to finally see what this is all about at Coachella and who makes an appearance at the festival. Here is the Emo Nite preview I wrote in 2020. Emo Nite is slated for Saturday at Coachella 2022. I would anticipate it to be at one of the smaller stages like Gobi or Mojave. It may even be at Sonora, which would would be the perfect setting for Emo Nite as an all enclosed air conditioned space where everyone can mosh freely. Although it’s kind of tough to prepare for Emo Nite because there’s tons of emo music, here are a few staples that have a good chance of being played:

1. I’m Not Okay (I Promise) -My Chemical Romance
2. Dear Maria, Count Me In -All Time Low
3. Misery Business -Paramore
4. I Write Sins Not Tragedies -Panic! At the Disco
5. Sugar We’re Going Down -Fall Out Boy
6. The Best of Me -The Starting Line
7. Ocean Avenue -Yellowcard
8. MakeDamnSure -Taking Back Sunday
9. Hands Down -Dashboard Confessional
10. The Great Escape -Boys Like Girls

Coachella 2019 was the first time I saw Maggie Rogers perform. Honestly, I haven’t seen her since, but I’ve continued to listen to her since the last Coachella, one of my favorite festival experiences to date. Maggie Rogers was a small part of that because of her song “Back in My Body.” I became obsessed with the song while I was in Indio for three weeks and it was so cool to see her perform it live. The song now reminds me of that time in my life and working/being at Coachella. Since my preview of Maggie Rogers for the 2019 festival, she has released a new single, “Loved You For A Long Time,” and an album of old recordings, Notes from the Archives: Recordings 2011-2016. She’s recently been dropping mixtape EP’s with songs from both albums. A few weeks ago she reported that her latest album is done, but there’s no set release date as of yet. This makes me think she’ll be debuting a new song or two at Coachella. Maggie Rogers plays Sunday and I’ll be damned if she doesn’t play a sunset set at Main Stage or Outdoor Theatre. She played the Mojave tent in 2019 and it was far too small. I expect her to move up to a bigger stage just as her name moved up on the lineup. Here’s some Maggie Rogers songs you’ll want to know beforehand:

1. Alaska
2. Love You For A Long Time
3. Light On
4. Fallingwater
5. Back in My Body
6. Celadon & Gold
7. Burning
8. Give A Little
9. Say It
10. On + Off

My first exposure to Hayden James came in 2018 during EDC Las Vegas. If you’ve following my blog in the past few years, you’d know his song “Numb” became my top listened to song of 2018 too. Like many of the artists I mentioned before, he was slated to play Coachella in 2020 and now returns for 2022. I had the chance to preview him two years ago, since I was just as stoked to see him perform again then as I am now. Since 2020, the Australian deejay has released a handful of singles and a DJ mix. He’s also put out so much more music since I last saw him perform in 2018 at Electric Forest. I can’t wait to have the chance to watch him again. He plays Sunday at Coachella, and I can bet you’ll catch him at the Sahara tent. I’m predicting a late afternoon, early evening set. It might even be a sunset set. Here’s some old and new songs you’ll wanna check out before heading to his Sunday show:

1. Something About You
2. Numb
3. Just Friends
4. Foolproof
5. Rather Be With You
6. Hold Tight
7. On Your Own
8. Waiting For Nothing
9. Better Together
10. Just A Lover

These five Coachella 2022 acts have all been part of this blog at one point or another, whether they were previewed for 2020 or played in the past. The thing they all have in common though is that if I already previewed them once, then I like them and I’m hyped to see them play. I’ve been listening to all these artists for the past week, along with many others I’ve already previewed. Time is winding down. Dust off your flower crowns because before you know it, we’ll be back. Coachella will be back. The vibes, the tunes, the fashion, the art, the food, the sunsets, the views, and everything else you love about Coachella will be here before you know it. Get ready and keep listening. We’re almost there!

Coachella Band Preview: FINNEAS

From the day after the last Coachella ended in April 2019 until now, I’ve been waiting to go back. Obviously March 2020 put a huge damper on the yearly spring tradition, and since then it’s just been a waiting game. I spent so many times thinking about Coachella, looking at pictures, and wondering what the day would be like when I finally get to go back and hoping by then it would be a normal Coachella. Now here we are, I leave for Coachella in just under a month and the festival begins in 5 weeks tomorrow. 1,090 days since the last Coachella once Day 1 Weekend 1 2022 hits. It’s unreal. I still keep holding my breath as I prep by listening to acts playing the festival this year, watching the Coachella Documentary from 2020, booking my travel, and planning out what I want to wear. With plenty of festivals now happening and three years since the last installment, Coachella seems imminent. I truly can’t believe we’ve made it this far. With the amount of time left, it’s really time to intensify the prep so this week I’m previewing an artist I’ve known about for a few years who, in my opinion, doesn’t get enough credit.

Finneas Baird O’Connell really has his claim to fame through his sister, Billie Eilish. He writes and produces a ton of her music along with other artists. He also writes and records his own music under the name FINNEAS. Before taking on his own project, he was the lead singer in the band, The Slightlys and took on some acting projects in the early 2010’s, including having a few appearances on the musical based TV show Glee. Since 2016, he has been recording and releasing his own music though. He released his first EP Blood Harmony in 2019 and his first studio album Optimist just last year. His music style is considered pop/alternative. After listening to FINNEAS for the first time in 2019, I would definitely consider him a pop artist. Also, despite the fact that he writes Billie’s music, I really do prefer his stuff over his sister’s. I knew once I discovered this that I wanted to listen to him more, but never really made the effort to do so. I guess there’s no better time than the present and no better festival to do it for than Coachella.

Billie Eilish is Saturday night’s headliner and usually a Billie festival appearance equates a FINNEAS festival appearance (sans Coachella 2019 when Billie made her first Polo Fields appearance). He plays a Sunday set. I’d expect a Sunday afternoon appearance from the older O’Connell sibling. I would also expect a Gobi or Mojave set from him. His set will likely be far less crowded than the set he’ll be a part of on Saturday night, but nonetheless, will be just as good. Here’s what you should be listening to in preparation for FINNEAS:

1. Let’s Fall in Love for the Night
2. Break My Heart Again
3. I Lost A Friend
4. Till Forever Falls Apart
5. What They’ll Say About Us
6. Angel
7. A Concert Six Months From Now
8. I Don’t Miss You At All
9. Claudia
10. New Girl