Shakira, Taylor Swift, Men in Black? Coachella 2024 takeaways

Indio (United States) (AFP) – Coachella’s first weekend boasted buzzy guest appearances, a diverse slate of Latino acts and an indie rock revival, along with the premier desert festival’s barely there fashion with a heavy dose of Americana.

Shakira, Peso Pluma, J Balvin…this year’s edition of Coachella was decidedly dominated by Latin American acts hailing from a wide variety of countries and a diverse spectrum of genre.

Latin representation has grown significantly in recent years at Coachella, and yet another strong showing in 2024 indicated that such bookings are becoming less an anomaly and more so the standard as Latin music continues to dominate global charts.

Last year’s Coachella made history as Bad Bunny became the first-ever Spanish-language headliner.

stage with his unique blend of regional Mexican ballads mixed with Latin rap and reggaeton.

Puerto Rico’s Young Miko, Cuba’s Cimafunk, Ecuador’s Hermanos Gutierrez, and a smattering of artists from Mexico including Son Rompe Pera, Carin Leon and Girl Ultra were among the lengthy list of Latino performers representing at the festival.

And Balvin brought out…Will Smith, who wore dark glasses and a suit to perform, you guessed it, the “Men In Black” them

Swift spotted
Ahead of Coachella rumors swirled over a potential Taylor Swift appearance — she’s collaborated on music with Lana Del Rey, Jack Antonoff and Ice Spice, and the Swifties thought perhaps one of those acts would invite her onstage.

She didn’t perform but she did show, watching rock band Bleachers — her longtime producer Jack Antonoff is the frontman — from the corner of backstage and Bronx rapper Ice Spice from the VIP section.

Swift and beau Travis Kelce, the NFL tight end who recently won the Super Bowl, twirled, swayed and kissed as they enjoyed the spectacle, for once, as fans.

France
Africa
Middle East
Americas
Europe
Asia-Pacific
Back to homepage / Live news
Shakira, Taylor Swift, Men in Black? Coachella 2024 takeaways
Indio (United States) (AFP) – Coachella’s first weekend boasted buzzy guest appearances, a diverse slate of Latino acts and an indie rock revival, along with the premier desert festival’s barely there fashion with a heavy dose of Americana.

Issued on: 15/04/2024 – 11:31
Modified: 15/04/2024 – 11:29

5 min
Coachella weekend one was a mash-up of indie rock, Latin pride and the brightly colored sculptures — shown here is “Monarchs: A House in Six Parts” by Hannah — the desert music festival is known for
Coachella weekend one was a mash-up of indie rock, Latin pride and the brightly colored sculptures — shown here is “Monarchs: A House in Six Parts” by Hannah — the desert music festival is known for © VALERIE MACON / AFP
ADVERTISING

Here’s a rundown of the weekend’s takeaways:

Latino pride
Shakira, Peso Pluma, J Balvin…this year’s edition of Coachella was decidedly dominated by Latin American acts hailing from a wide variety of countries and a diverse spectrum of genre.

Latin representation has grown significantly in recent years at Coachella, and yet another strong showing in 2024 indicated that such bookings are becoming less an anomaly and more so the standard as Latin music continues to dominate global charts.

Last year’s Coachella made history as Bad Bunny became the first-ever Spanish-language headliner.

Colombian singer Shakira made a surprise appearance with Argentine producer Bizarrap during an explosive set on Coachella day one
Colombian singer Shakira made a surprise appearance with Argentine producer Bizarrap during an explosive set on Coachella day one © VALERIE MACON / AFP
And this year Argentina’s star producer Bizarrap surprised fans by bringing out collaborator Shakira for a rager of a performance, as Peso Pluma took the main stage with his unique blend of regional Mexican ballads mixed with Latin rap and reggaeton.

Puerto Rico’s Young Miko, Cuba’s Cimafunk, Ecuador’s Hermanos Gutierrez, and a smattering of artists from Mexico including Son Rompe Pera, Carin Leon and Girl Ultra were among the lengthy list of Latino performers representing at the festival.

And Balvin brought out…Will Smith, who wore dark glasses and a suit to perform, you guessed it, the “Men In Black” theme.

Swift spotted
Ahead of Coachella rumors swirled over a potential Taylor Swift appearance — she’s collaborated on music with Lana Del Rey, Jack Antonoff and Ice Spice, and the Swifties thought perhaps one of those acts would invite her onstage.

She didn’t perform but she did show, watching rock band Bleachers — her longtime producer Jack Antonoff is the frontman — from the corner of backstage and Bronx rapper Ice Spice from the VIP section.

Swift and beau Travis Kelce, the NFL tight end who recently won the Super Bowl, twirled, swayed and kissed as they enjoyed the spectacle, for once, as fans.

Coachella’s first weekend boasted buzzy guest appearances, a diverse slate of Latino acts and an indie rock revival, along with the premier desert festival’s barely there fashion with a heavy dose of Americana
Coachella’s first weekend boasted buzzy guest appearances, a diverse slate of Latino acts and an indie rock revival, along with the premier desert festival’s barely there fashion with a heavy dose of Americana © VALERIE MACON / AFP
Next weekend she could always hop onstage to promote her album that drops on April 19, when Coachella will repeat more or less the same line-up.

And while she was the most-discussed, Swift was far from the only celeb sighting at Coachella, a playground for the rich and famous.

Billie Eilish — who joined Del Rey onstage Friday — was spotted at Tyler, The Creator’s headlining set the next day, also doing her own unscheduled performance at the festival’s Do Lab, debuting three new tracks from her forthcoming album “Hit Me Hard And Soft.”

Olivia Rodrigo dropped in for No Doubt, with other cameos including Ke$ha and Katy Perry.