Coachella Band Preview: MUNA

As we roll into February, we’re a little over two months away from the first weekend of Coachella 2023. If you haven’t already, you should probably book your flights, hotels, airbnbs, rental cars, and whatever else you might need for a weekend in the Coachella Valley. I’ve been thinking about what to wear this year and I’m also trying to listen to some of the bands and artists playing this year’s installment of the festival. One band who I really hope I’m able to catch is indie pop trio, MUNA.

MUNA formed in 2013 while all three members, Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin, and Naomi McPherson were in school together at USC. In 2014, they released their debut EP More Perfect on Bandcamp and SoundCloud. Their success from the EP lead to a record deal with RCA records (US) and Columbia Records (UK). Their first EP under RCA, Loudspeaker, came out in 2016 with their debut album About U following in 2017. It included hits “I Know A Place” and “Winterbreak.” Their early years after signing to a major label brought tours with Grouplove and Harry Styles as well as festival appearances.

Their second album, Saves the World, was released in September 2019 and included a tour in support of the album. In 2021, MUNA signed with Phoebe Bridgers’ record label Saddest Factory. Under their new label they released the single “Silk Chiffron” in collaboration with Phoebe Bridgers and their third full length album MUNA. In addition to Coachella this year, the band is playing spring tour dates around the country.

I tried to get into MUNA several years ago, when there was huge hype over the song “I Know A Place.” It wasn’t hitting for me then but as I’ve been listening to the band the past several days, I’m finally getting more into them. I did fall in love with their Knocks collaboration song “Bodies” in late 2020. It was one of my favorites during that sad, miserable year. Their style is a mix of electro, indie, and synth pop. I feel like I should have been listening to them for years, but I have known about them for quite some time. I’ve attempted to listen to them it just hasn’t worked out. Better late than never!

Now they’re headed to Indio this spring and I’m crossing my fingers I’ll be able to catch their set. Friday sets are always hit or miss for me with my current job at the festival. I can usually only catch sets that happen after 8:30-9 p.m. I have this feeling like MUNA might be on deck for a sunset set though on either Mojave, Gobi, or Outdoor. This will be their first time playing Coachella. I suspect Phoebe Bridgers might make an appearance, given boygenius slated to perform Saturday. Here’s a few songs you need to prep for their Coachella set:

1. I Know A Place
2. Bodies
3. Silk Chiffron
4. Number One Fan
5. Anything But Me
6. Winterbreak
7. Loudspeaker
8. What I Want
9. Stayaway
10. So Special

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: Disclosure

January was a total blur for me being in Mexico. However it’s finally February and I’m home for just under two weeks! Can’t wait to ski for days and think of the hot afternoons and cool evenings on the polo fields. It warms my heart. I have another 2 1/2 weeks in Mexico next month into the beginning of March, but after that it’s full on Coachella prep. I’m crossing my fingers that I get to be there again this year, but after a few discussions over this past month I think I will be. However, we’re 2 1/2 months away from another spring in Indio after a 3 year hiatus and it’s time to preview more bands. This week it’s Disclosure.

In 2020, I anticipated seeing Disclosure at Coachella. I hadn’t yet previewed the band when the festival was first postponed so I figured I should dive into them early this year. Disclosure is a British electronic duo composed of siblings Howard and Guy Lawrence. The brothers first started recording music and posting it to Myspace in 2010, which earned them a record deal. After several hit singles in their first few years, they dropped their first album Settle in June 2013, which was a big year for the duo. They toured worldwide playing shows and festivals. Settle was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Dance Album.

Their second album, Caracal, came in 2015. This album also received a Grammy nomination along with a number one spot on the UK Albums Chart upon release. After a one year hiatus from 2017-2018 and a few other breaks along the way, the band released their third album Energy in August 2020. They likely booked Coachella 2020 in anticipation of this, but unfortunately the event didn’t get to happen. The album released as planned though and the group received a Grammy nomination for it.

Disclosure plays a house/deep house style of electronic music. I always feel like deep house music has such a vibey sound and Disclosure’s music is no different. Their tunes will likely take a late set time spot at the main stage or Outdoor Theatre or even a headlining spot at Sahara.

They last played Coachella in 2016 and played the main stage on Saturday night. They play Saturday this year too and will be bringing plenty of new material to the desert. I hope to be able to be at their set. I’m not a huge Disclosure fan, but I know this is one electronic set not to miss this year. Start prepping your looks and get ready for this non-stop vibe of a dance party by listening to:

1. Latch
2. You & Me (Flume remix)
3. Magnets
4. Know Your Worth
5. You’ve Got to Let Go if You Wanna Be Free
6. Talk
7. Omen
8. Ultimatum
9. Help Me Lose My Mind
10. In My Arms