Coachella 2016
Festival guide
One of the essential US musical festivals, California’s Coachella weekender has gone from strength to strength in its 17-year history. This year’s event takes place across over two consecutive weekends in April 15-17 and 22-24, and offers lucky ticket holders the chance to witness the rebirth of the original line-up of Guns N' Roses and to see LCD Soundsystem’s much-hyped revival, plus catch a rare live performance from Australian superstar Sia. Check out our highlights below and visit the official Coachella website for the full line-up.
Top picks
Run The Jewels
Currently working on the follow-up of their incendiary second album, RTJ2, Run The Jewels have been following a gruelling touring schedule for more than a year now. Of course, the upshot of all that hard work is that the duo’s live game is now arguably stronger than it’s ever been. Don’t miss your chance to see Killer Mike and El-P at the peak of their powers; they’ll be unleashing their furious flows and crowd-baiting beats at the Empire Polo Club on Saturday afternoon.
Sufjan Stevens
As rock clichés go, “returns to his roots” is down there with the worst of them. Nevertheless, that’s precisely what Sufjan Stevens did following The Age Of Adz, revisiting both the folk sound of his early career and some emotionally-complex familial relationships. The results were showcased on last year’s spectacularly beautiful, incredibly moving full-length Carrie & Lowell. As Stevens’ Friday night set at Coachella is destined to be packed full of this fantastic material, we suggest you take along a hanky or five.
Ibeyi
The daughters of legendary Cuban percussionist Anga Díaz, Cuban-French twins Lisa-Kainde and Naomi draw on their unique heritage in their work as Ibeyi. Released on XL Recordings last year, their self-titled debut is a soulful fusion of hip hop, electronica and folk, sung variously in English and the West African language Yoruba. Impressively, their piano and cajón-based compositions are arguably even more spellbinding live.
BIG NAMES IN 24-BIT FLAC
More from the line-up
- To be an artist is to declare yourself free; to insist on your freedom and to insist that those pre-existing clichés don’t apply.
- I want to get on stage and go crazy. I’m not ready to sit on a stool and sing ballads.
- When we take a step back and reflect on what has happened this year, it’s been crazy.