We’re only three days into 2019 and already one of music’s biggest annual talking points has arrived. Go on social media and you’ll see countless takes about how Coachella’s 2019 is its worst ever or its best, with even a few rare evenhanded approaches that paint the latest docket as neither inherently good nor evil. The reality is that your opinion of the Coachella lineup largely depends on your opinion on the state of music in 2019. As is its power and prerogative, Coachella holds up a giant mirror to the cultural zeitgeist every year, reflecting the trends and interests back. If you don’t like what you see, it isn’t the fault of Coachella, it’s more that the music trends of the time aren’t resonating with you.
Few, if any, other festivals can do this because few have Coachella’s reach and vision. Sure, virtually any festival would love to book Lady Gaga following the Super Bowl or LCD Soundsystem’s first large-scale reunion shows or a Beyonce set that felt like it stopped the world from spinning for a couple hours. But no one else can do this, in major part because of the cultural cachet that the festival was worked so hard to build. This year will be the 20th Coachella and no other music event in the world matters in quite the same way. You don’t get there by trying to please everyone, you get there by constantly pushing forward and evolving as unapologetically as the music world at large does.
So while this list of artists that will descend on the gorgeous Southern California desert in April might just look like a list of names, we can break down what it means for the state of music as a whole, starting with a pop star who owned last year thanks to her artistry, her savviness, and a narrative that showed her to be one of the bravest and most resilient public figures to emerge in ages.
— Coachella (@coachella) January 3, 2019
Ariana Grande
https://twitter.com/Philip_Cosores/status/1031644616674574336
There’s no question that Ariana Grande owned 2018, and there is little inclination that she is going to slow down for 2019 thanks to an expected new album, Thank U, Next. But while songs like “No Tears Left To Cry” and the title track for her upcoming record became some of the biggest of her career (enough so that she actually gave the former song a huge live debut at Coachella last year), it felt like the booking that would make the most sense for Coachella couldn’t happen due to Grande’s gnarly tour schedule. But Grande is not going to let her moment pass her up and will complete a travel schedule that is generally unheard of for an artist of her caliber: Friday and Saturday performances in Indianapolis and St. Louis respectively, with Coachella on Sunday and then back to St. Paul for her arena tour again on Monday. For week two, it gets a little easier with her Coachella set sandwiched between stops in Denver and Salt Lake City on the days before and after. With Grande now the youngest ever Coachella headliner, she’s also showing that she might be the hardest working, too, a trait that also applies to Coachella’s second-biggest headliner.
Childish Gambino
Childish Gambino was an easy headliner to predict almost a year out. He scored the biggest musical hit of his career in 2018 with “This Is America,” was nominated for a ton of Emmys for Atlanta, starred in a Star Wars movie, and made a music video that is already an all-timer. For a festival that has long loved (and catered to) the celebrity class of southern California, getting a legitimate Hollywood star to close out a night is a no-brainer. Coupling Donald Glover with Janelle Monae on Friday, another musician/actor that represents something bigger than just a recording output, gives the festival a star quality that it has rarely seen previously.
No Kanye?
By some reports, Tame Impala seems to be the last headliner added thanks to negotiations breaking down late in the game with Kanye West (though others are saying Ariana was last in and Tame replaced Justin Timberlake). But even without Kanye on the lineup, his presence is majorly felt. Why else would Kid Cudi be so high up on the Saturday bill? And with other slots by known Kanye associates like Pusha T and 070 Shake, the stage was set for both an epic West headlining set and possible Kanye guest appearances throughout the weekend. That’s not saying this is off the table. Kanye loves showing up unannounced (and has previously done so at Coachella on numerous occasions with the likes of Jack U and The Weeknd), so we can’t count out a MAGA hat appearance just yet. But this ultimately feels like a gift to anyone that’s a little sick of Kanye’s political ramblings, as well as to rock fans who didn’t have a headliner in their preferred genre in 2018.
And let’s not discount the presence that Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker has had across genres of late, working with the likes of Travis Scott, ASAP Rocky, Zhu, and Lady Gaga. Who knows what the band has in store for 2019, but the possibilities have never felt more open. Still, this does ultimately feel like a lost opportunity for Kanye to do something special and get himself out of the doghouse in many fan’s eyes.
International Acts
Coachella has always acknowledged that it is more than just an LA festival or an American festival, and has booked accordingly throughout its run. If you walk around the polo fields, you’ll find fans traveling in from the far corners of the world just to take in the spectacle, and more and more, the sounds of non-English artists are resonating domestically. This previously manifested in acts from Mexico to serve its Spanish speaking audience and the occasional act from much farther away, like X Japan or Mbongwana Star. But because non-English language music has found its way more and more into American pop music’s consciousness, this year’s Coachella finds artists representing the worlds of Latin trap and K-pop and J-pop and reggaeton, and not just in the tiny font. Bad Bunny, J Balvin, and Blackpink all pop up on the second line and are already proving to be some of the most anticipated artists on the bill, with other acts like Hyukoh, Perfume, Rosalia, and Los Tucanes de Tijuana showing up further down the lineup. Every festival features artists from around the world, but Coachella is actively curating a festival that incorporates a global sound as diverse as the musical tastes of the general population. This really feels like a tipping point in the best possible ways.
The Music From 2019 We’re Excited To Hear
One of the most exciting aspects of festival lineup announcements is the glimpse it gives as to what is to come for the year. With Coachella, that includes someone like Solange, who has already hinted at new music to come and seems primed to make that a reality (and, it should be noted, guested with sister Beyonce last year and has previously had Beyonce guest with her at Coachella). Of course, Tame Impala falls into this category too, if mostly because the band has already played Coachella in support of their most recent album, 2015’s Currents. And in addition to already announced new music from artists like Maggie Rogers, Gesaffelstein, and The 1975, we now know to expect likely new tunes from Beach Fossils, Kaytranada, Four Tet, and others. And of course there is the possibility that headliner Childish Gambino has a record to offer before April.
The Best Music Of 2018
This is an argument I make every year, but I’m going to make it again. When you think of the ideal music festival, wouldn’t it be filled with the very best music that has been created in the last year. Like, isn’t that the hope? And like it does every year, Coachella is filled with just that. Kacey Musgraves, Janelle Monae, The 1975, Soccer Mommy, Ariana Grande, Jon Hopkins, and Pusha T all placed highly on our best albums of the year, while Childish Gambino, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Juice WRLD, Sheck Wes, Ella Mai, Anderson Paak, Zedd, and Chvrches all found their way onto our best songs list. In our genre categories, we featured Playboi Carti, YG, King Princess, Kero Kero Bonito, Smino, Christine And The Queens, Sophie, Turnstile, Hop Along, Blood Orange, Let’s Eat Grandma, and U.S. Girls. And both Rico Nasty and Maggie Rogers were named on our best concerts list. In all, it’s hard to figure how a lineup could better represent the best of what music has to offer in exactly this moment.
And Not To Mention…
And even with all these shout-outs, it feels like Coachella does not run out of talking points. How about a DJ set from Stringer Bell himself, Idris Elba? Or great local artists like Steady Holiday, The Garden, and Ty Segall & White Fence? What about finding out whether Gucci Gang, the collaboration between Gucci Mane, Lil Pump, and Smokepurpp, ends up being any good? Or whether the festival’s resident old dudes, Weezer and Aphex Twin, can attract the young kids? Rising stars like Khalid, Billie Eilish, Tierra Whack, and H.E.R. will have coming out parties in the desert, while buzzy underground artists like Yves Tumor and Khurangbin will have the chance to see if they can make sense in a more pop-oriented environment. In all, this is what music is in 2019, and whether or not that resonates with you depends on how you view the state of music as a whole. Popular music in 2019 is younger, more diverse, possibly not even in English, and cares little about the traditional gatekeepers that decided what was cool. And that’s what Coachella is now, too. It’s not about what Coachella was, it’s about what Coachella will continue to be.
