Desert Diva: My Weekend at Coachella
What actually happened at Coachella this year?
Fourteen of my close friends and I had the pleasure of going to Coachella's first weekend. It was scorching hot, incredibly draining, and one of the best weekends I’ve ever had.
DAY 0
This was my third year attending the festival, but many of my friends’ first times. We stuffed four cars with camping gear, groceries and hidden contraband before heading into the festival. The car camping process this year went as smoothly as possible. Security took no longer than 10 minutes to give us the okay after going through our cars and luggage. We quickly set up camp after forming a square with our cars, eager to get some shade and avoid the heat. Day 0 was the warmest day we experienced, with a high of 88°F, not terrible in comparison to other years where the temperatures hit triple digits. After setting up camp, bottles were pulled out, and the partying began!
After setting up camp, bottles were pulled out, and the partying began! The Thursday of Coachella is a pregame for the weekend, with people playing games, socializing, and drinking. In recent years, a popular DJ gets selected and revealed the same day to do a set for two hours when the sun goes down. This year was Disco Lines, a house DJ who had seen an upsurge in popularity after remixing Tinashe’s “No Broke Boys.” His set was a fun start to the weekend, blending major pop hits with bass and house sounds. I did notice that the DJ set this year was much more packed; it seemed like Coachella figured out a way to fit more campers into the venue. We left early, wanting to hang out at our camp site and call it a night in preparation for Day 1.
DAY 1
Though we woke up dehydrated, uncomfortable, and sleep-deprived, we could not contain our excitement to start the weekend. First thing in the morning, I made my way to the showers on the campground to make sure I was as clean as possible. The showers were in RV-shaped buildings and were much larger than they appeared. There was no line when I went at 8:00 a.m., and the water came out very warm. Emerging shaved, clean, and refreshed, I felt ready for the day! The gates to the festival opened at 1:00 p.m., and we arrived punctually to explore, buy merch, and get a good spot for Slayyyter’s set at 3:00 p.m. Merch took 40 minutes, and I settled on a maroon Pinkpantheress hoodie with blue decals and designs. After that I went out to my first stage of the weekend. Having been to Coachella a few times now, I was familiar with which stages were my favorite. Sahara was the largest and furthest south of the festival, featuring a huge screen and light fixtures that descended from the ceiling. It was my favorite stage because it always included strong visuals and colors. There was no bad view from that stage, and I was always happy with the sets there. My next favorite was the Mojave stage, a smaller one that resembled a cylindrical bunker with open walls. Slayyyter performed at Mojave and did not disappoint. For 45 minutes, it was gay chaos. I’m surprised no one passed out from the heat, the fumes, and the dancing that took place. It was a perfect symbol for how the weekend would go.
From there we got overpriced, yet solid-tasting food in their market. I opted for a katsu sandwich on white bread, and while it could’ve used more sauce, I was satisfied. We went on to see one of my favorite DJs, Ninajirachi, who gave one of the best sets of the weekend. She debuted a new song with Porter Robinson, even bringing her collaborator on stage, much to the crowd’s joy. I would love to say I peaked there, but the weekend only continued to improve.
We ran around the festival’s art displays, including the infamous rainbow tower and a new orange maze made of bouncehouse material. Turnstile, Disclosure, and Sabrina Carpenter all had notable sets. It’s worth noting that Sabrina made a poor joke when she heard a fan’s Zaghrouta (excited Arabic chant). I don’t know how she even heard it from the stage with her ear plugs in, as I didn’t even hear what she was commenting on from the crowd. Hopefully with Weekend 2 she takes an opportunity to properly right that wrong. With that set closing the night, I crawled back to my camp site. I attempted my night time routine and knocked out.
DAY 2
Day 2 was a great change of pace. The initial excitement had turned into a sense of comfort, and we were more leisurely with our time. I didn’t have as many dire must-see sets on Saturday, so I felt comfortable focusing on photos, doing favors for friends who didn’t get to come, and enjoying time with my friends who I split up with Friday.
In my opinion, I find the best photos to be the candids taken in crowds, avoiding the usual photo ops that usually swarm social media feeds. 5-7 p.m. was the perfect time for photos, since the sun seemed to tint everything orange as the day went into the night.
Once the sun went down, it seemed like chaos just erupted that day. The crowd was significantly bigger, probably due to Justin Bieber’s upcoming performance. I was more interested in Pinkpantheress’ set and made the mistake of rushing from Sahara to Mojave 20 minutes before she started. Not only did I end up at the back of the stage, I frustrated my friends by rushing them through thousands of people. The night picked up, thankfully, after my group headed to the Yuma, a massive tent featuring a disco ball where we lost track of time and almost lost each other every 10 feet.
DAY 3
On our final day of the festival, we packed up our camp and prepared for one last day. I was buzzing with excitement because FKA twigs was going to perform that day, and she was my most anticipated for the weekend. Though I didn’t want the weekend to end, I was eager for the day to, since she started at 8:45 p.m. We spent the day getting last-minute photos and running around multiple stages.
Sunday was definitely the busiest day for performances: we got to see Oklou, Jane Remover, Samia, and Mochaak. Coachella does such an excellent job of picking artists who I’d never imagine seeing in the same place. I had such an appreciation for the different genres I got to see, and it only made me want to listen to their music more. 8:00 p.m. rolled around, and we made our way to get a good spot for Twigs – a good decision, since her crowd formed early, but we managed to get a spot a few rows behind the barricade.
She was nothing short of perfect. Her vocals, choreography, and outfits left me absolutely jaw-dropped. I would have paid the $650 alone to see her. I was still buzzing from hers during Karol G’s set, who did incredible as well. When the night ended I felt exhausted but appreciative for one of the best weekends of my life. If you’re ever considering going to Coachella, I can only speak well of it and encourage you to go.
