INDIO, United States – The second day of Coachella was heavy on alt-rock throwbacks, including a highly anticipated reunion of American rock band No Doubt. But it was American singer Taylor Swift – who was not on the line-up and did not perform – creating buzz on April 13.
Her presence at the mammoth festival in the California desert set the internet alight, after she made a much-speculated appearance as a fan, canoodling and dancing with beau Travis Kelce as rock band Bleachers performed a rollicking set.
Bleachers are fronted by Jack Antonoff, Swift’s friend and long-time producer.
Kelce’s blocking skills came in handy, as the National Football League tight end did well to obscure Swift from view while they were enjoying the show.
Still, an AFP journalist saw the lovebirds twirling and singing along during Antonoff’s performance.
Videos taken by fans started circulating online quickly. Swift’s cameo comes less than a week before her upcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department, drops on April 19.
Shortly after the Bleachers set, Swift and Kelce were caught by fan cameras as they stood in the VIP section for a performance from Ice Spice, the Bronx rapper who collaborated on a remix of Swift’s Karma (2023).
The crowd went berserk when Ice Spice mentioned her megastar pal – but the rapper performed Karma on her own with a backing track.
Swift is on a break from her blockbuster The Eras Tour.
Some fans had speculated that the 34-year-old might join friend and fellow Antonoff associate Lana Del Rey, who headlined the opening night on April 12.
There is always this weekend, which is essentially a repeat of the first three days of the festival, but usually includes a few shake-ups.
Tyler, the Creator was the top-billed act on April 13, bursting onto the stage in flames from inside a camper van that was parked in a set mimicking a desert mountain scene.
The eccentric performer invited a number of special guests, including singer Kali Uchis, singer-actor Childish Gambino and rapper A$AP Rocky.
Coachella started as a rock festival, but in recent years, it has leaned increasingly into pop, rap and the Latino megastars who rule the streaming charts.
But the line-up on April 13 offered a portrait of nostalgia. No Doubt – the group fronted by Gwen Stefani – played together for the first time in 15 years.
Stefani, 54, bounded across the stage boasting the vocals of her youth, leading the crowd in singalongs of the group’s classics, including Just A Girl (1995) and Don’t Speak (1996).
English rockers Blur also took the stage, while stoner reggae rock group Sublime – the 1990s act beloved for hits including Santeria (1997) – drew throngs of fans to the main stage for a sunset performance featuring the late frontman Brad Nowell’s son Jakob.
Vampire Weekend made a last-minute return to the desert, having last performed there more than a decade ago.
The veteran indie rockers, whose hits including Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (2008), were brought in just last week, and frontman Ezra Koenig, who sported a striped Pogues sweatshirt, told cheering fans he had been leaning back sipping ranch water – a cocktail of seltzer, tequila and lime – in Texas when he got a text asking if they would come on board.
The group released their fifth album, Only God Was Above Us, on April 5 and played a mix of fan favourites and new work, including a 15-minute honky tonk mash-up.
They also randomly brought Paris Hilton onstage to play a quick round of cornhole – a popular North American bean bag-based lawn game – as part of a giveaway of chocolate for front-row fans.
“I haven’t played this game since The Simple Life,” the cowboy-hat wearing socialite and reality television icon said, a reference to the cult mid-2000s series she starred in with American TV personality Nicole Richie.
“Make some noise for The Simple Life,“ yelled Koenig to laughter and applause. AFP
