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: Gryffin

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we’re a little over a month away from Coachella. One month. 30 some days. Can you feel the hype?! The time flies so fast once that lineup drops. That means there’s only a few more band previews left and limited time to listen to all your favorites in preparation for the festival. I’ve wanted to write this preview since January, but I’ve purposely held off so I’d have something to write about as the festival got closer. Out of the group of electronic artists performing at Coachella this year, there were two I was most stoked about. The first was Kungs, who I wrote about back in January (I was too stoked to save Kungs until now). The second is an artist known as Gryffin.

Gryffin, whose real name is Dan Griffith, is an EDM DJ from New York City. He’s also a talented instrumentalist. He started piano lessons at the age of 7 and played through high school, while picking up guitar along the way.  Gryffin attended college at USC and studied electrical engineering, but devoted his free time to making music. His intent was to make music for his friends to play at parties. He never expected to be making it for a career, yet here he is selling out tours and playing Coachella 2017.

Unlike most of the artists I preview, Gryffin has yet to release his first album. He is most known for his remixes and a few chart-making singles. There’s no doubt an album release is in the works for him especially with the original tracks he has dropped over the last year. One of his most well known hits and debut single, “Heading Home” ft. Josef Salvat, was released a little over a year ago. The song hit #1 on the Spotify Viral 50 Chart and also made the list of Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and Dance/Electronic Digital Songs chart. Last spring, he embarked on his first North American tour and sold out every show. He dropped a second single, “Whole Heart” ft. Bipolar Sunshine, on August 26th, which also hit Billboard’s electronic charts. It sparked another 10 show North American tour this past fall. A week ago, Gryffin released his third single, “Feel Good” with Illenium ft. Daya, and it already has almost 3 million plays on Spotify.

Gryffin classifies his style of electronic music as melodic house because he likes to incorporate piano and guitar into his music. It makes sense given his musical background. That’s the cool thing about his live sets though. It’s a blend between electronic and instrumental performance. Along with DJ-ing at his shows, he plays parts of songs on guitar and piano. It adds new elements to the music that you don’t necessarily get listening to a recording. This is something that takes his live performances to a whole new level in the electronic music genre making his Coachella performance one that you don’t want to miss.

I first heard of Gryffin within the last year and a half or so. I would see his name listed on song remixes, but I never listed to any of them because I typically don’t listen to remixes (except the Matoma remix of “Old Thing Back” because #fave). It’s mostly because I prefer the original version of songs, or the ones I was first exposed to, which I guess is strange when I think about it because I love covers. I think that it’s more so with remixes where you can have a non-electronic song that is electronically enhanced. That’s what I don’t really like since I was never big on electronic music. I guess you can say that’s changed now, but I still prefer original songs. Just this past fall, I heard Gryffin’s original song “Whole Heart” playing in the background of an end of the season highlight reel video for the Washington Spirit of the NWSL. I really liked the song and added it to my Spotify playlists as well as to my iTunes. About a month later, I heard “Heading Home” and added it just the same. Just a few days ago I heard “Feel Good” for the first time and I’ve been so hooked on it all week. I had it stuck in my head yesterday. It’s a great song, and I believe it has a ton of potential to surpass the success of Gryffin’s previous singles.

Gryffin plays Saturday at Coachella. It’s his first Coachella appearance too. I expect he’ll play the Sahara Tent, but I don’t expect his set to be super late. As I said, his performance will be one you don’t wanna skip especially if you’re into electronic music. Even if you’re not, his hybrid live performance style might be something transitional for you. I’d love to catch his set if I had the chance. Gryffin doesn’t have many original tracks you’ll need to prep with, so I’ll include some remixes as well. Here they are:

1. Heading Home
2. Whole Heart
3. Feel Good
4. Desire (Years & Years) Remix
5. Animals (Maroon 5) Remix
6. Youth (Troye Sivan) Remix
7. Talking Body (Tove Lo) Remix
8. Clearest Blue (CHVRCHES) Remix
9. Beggin’ For Thread (BANKS) Remix