Coachella 2024 weekend two, day one round-up: ‘Saltburn’, surprise guests but mostly the same as before
Here we go again. Coachella weekend two has officially kicked off for another dusty weekend in the California desert. The second weekend is naturally quieter than the first, clearing away some of the influencers and celebrities to give more space for music fans to enjoy themselves. But still, the stars are out on stage.
Coachella is a strange phenomenon as the two-week-long festival sees the exact same lineup performing again. That means that the moments that were special and exciting last weekend, often get a less receptive round two. Especially with major acts, it’s unlikely that their live shows will have changed dramatically in the last week, meaning that their stage set-up, setlist and performance are often a carbon copy of what came before.
But hopefully, that means that weekend two will be a lot more polished. The opening dates were plagued by tech issues. The Japanese House was forced off stage during her weekend one set due to recurring issues. Luckily, her 4:30pm set on the Mojave stage had no hiccups this time around.
There was one clear missing moment, though. While the lineup generally all comes around again, Vampire Weekend dipped out of weekend two. After a great set last weekend that featured random cameos from Paris Hilton and Abraham Lincoln, the absence of their feel-good indie was desperately felt.
On the main stage, Lana Del Rey’s headline set was a triumph once again. The motorbike gang entrance she debuted last week was back, and the same seamless live show she’s been touring worldwide got another well-received outing. There was a sweet moment in her set where she shouted out her backing band, stating, “We’ve been playing together for 13 years.”
But elsewhere, the Gobi stage seemed to be a crowd favourite. Despite the festival not selling out for the first time this year, Chappell Roan wouldn’t have been able to tell as the tent was packed to the rafters for her 5:30pm set. It was also one of the most engaged crowds as the entire tent got involved with group choreography for her song ‘HOT TO GO!’
As temperatures soared, the shaded stages were naturally flocked to. In the heart of the Indio desert, plenty of artists called out to their crowd to ensure everyone was having a good time, instructing their fans to drink plenty of water to get through the long festival day.
Perhaps as weekend one is the natural destination for the influencers to go and get their photos or for the celebrities to head down to the festival in their droves, weekend two is the one for music fans to enjoy themselves and see some great live music.
Barry Keogan’s Saltburn scene gets a shout-out
Barry Keogan returned to the desert to support his popstar girlfriend, Sabrina Carpenter. Her performance last weekend was a clear standout with a huge crowd there, and the Irish actor was spotted amongst them filming the singer and cheering her on.
This weekend, she repaid the love with a cheeky shoutout. At the end of her song ‘Nonsense’, the singer always adlibs an innuendo-heavy outro, usually specific to whatever city she’s in. For her performance on Friday, she dedicated it to the actor, his role in Saltburn and a certain divisive scene. “Made his knees so weak he had to spread mine / He’s drinking my bath water like it’s red wine / Coachella see you back here when I headline,” she sang, and we could feel Keoghan blushing through the live stream.
Norah Jones makes a surprise appearance
Another noteworthy moment came from Carpenters set again. When she performed at 6pm on the mainstage, it was perfectly timed for golden hour. As the sun began to set above her stage, she paused her bubblegum pop setlist for a moment of calm.
Norah Jones made a surprise appearance and joined her on stage. The two sang Jones’ 2002 track ‘Don’t Know Why’ for a moment of gentle, balladic peace before Carpenter then burst back to energetic life for her new song ‘Espresso’.
Suki Waterhouse brings Britpop to Coachella
Suki Waterhouse, only a month after giving birth to her first child, has had a packed crowd both weekends now. Her setlist has been a spanning tour of her cultishly followed career, including old tracks like ‘Brutally’ and ‘Good Looking Boy’. She also debuted new tracks ‘My Fun’, ‘OMG’ and ‘Faded’.
But for part of her set, she nodded to her England home as she brought Britpop to the desert. While Blur might have felt their reception was disappointing, Waterhouse’s cover of Oasis’ ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ went down a treat with her dedicated fan base.
Lana Del Rey brings out Camilla Cabello
Weekend one’s crowds were treated to a duet with Billie Eilish, meaning that the second round of Lana Del Rey’s headline set was busy with rumours. There were whisperings that Taylor Swift might make an appearance or Father John Misty might emerge to perform ‘Let The Light In’. So when Camilla Cabello was given the stage to perform her new hyperpop track ‘I Luv It’, the reaction was a little confused, with people taking to social media to share shock at the random feature choice.
Elsewhere in her set, Del Rey’s guests made a lot more sense. Jon Batiste came out to perform an extended version of ‘Candy Necklaces’ as a centre point to the set. Jack Antonoff acted as her accompanist again on ‘Hope Is A Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have – but I Have It’. As she then drove off on her motorbike into the night after a length 19-track setlist, the crowd roared with applause, but the lack of a big star guest for weekend two felt a little disappointing.
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