Coachella 2023: From Frank Ocean to Blackpink, here's what to expect and how to watch
What (and who) to look out for when America's foremost music festival returns to the desert this weekend
The raison d’être of influencer culture, Revolve Clothing’s event horizon, Vanessa Hudgens’ officially-unofficial kingdom… the Coachella Valley Music & Arts festival goes by many names. This Friday, Coachella returns to Indio, California for another two-weekend run (April 14-16 and 21-23) bursting at the seams with performances. For the first time this year, the festival will livestream every single set across six stages on both stages via Coachella’s official YouTube channel.
At the top of the lineup—and likely, most festival-goers’ minds—is Frank Ocean, who is set to grace the main stage on Sunday night with his first Los Angeles show since 2017. Ocean was previously slated to perform at Coachella in 2020, before the festival was cancelled amid the onset of the pandemic; he was announced all the way back in 2021 as a 2023 headliner. Reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny will headline Friday night, while dominant K-pop group Blackpink will return to the main stage on Saturday.
Other highlights from the lineup include elusive songwriter and producer Jai Paul, who is set to perform his first live show ever on Sunday; Boygenius, who will perform fresh off the release of their debut album (and first No. 1) the record; and Grammy favorites Wet Leg. Björk, Rosalía, Snail Mail, Yves Tumor, Pusha T, Soul Glo, Rae Sremmurd, Kali Uchis, Ethel Cain, Kaytranada, Domi & JD Beck, Charli XCX, Burna Boy, Alex G, and Blondie are just a few of the other notable names set to perform.
Last year, Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, The Weeknd, and Swedish House Mafia headlined the festival. The 2022 lineup ushered in Coachella’s first weekend since a forced two-year hiatus—following 2020's cancellation, a 2021 festival was scrapped almost as swiftly as it was announced due to coronavirus concerns (somewhat ironic, given that Coachella 2022's unofficial fourth headliner was a spike in COVID-19 cases.) The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia put on a joint headlining set that replaced initial Sunday closer Kanye West, who dropped out less than ten days before the festival was scheduled to begin.
For the complete list of artists headed to the desert for Coachella 2023, see here.