Coachella lineup 2023: Yay or nay?

Photo Credit: "Coachella 2013 -- Indio, CA" by Thomas Hawk is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

The unforgettable Coachella Music and Arts festival returns this year to the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif. with a trailblazing, diverse lineup.

A mixture of reggaeton, K-pop and alternative r&b will perform at the two-weekend festival. Artists like Bad Bunny, Blackpink and Frank Ocean are among a group of performers from ground-breaking musical genres. Fans of all music will enjoy it in spite of the language they speak, the country they’re from or their favorite genres to listen to.

Some UM students have the chance to experience Coachella’s exhilarating music. Ming Hu, a second-year music industry graduate student, looks forward to attending the festival.

“I’m going. I’m excited to see Blackpink and Jackson Wang since I like K-pop and Jackson is Chinese,” Hu said.

Other students like Asheka Newman, a senior majoring in industrial engineering, pointed out the familiar, but diverse line-up.

Embed from Getty Images

“I like the lineup for April 16 and 23 because I recognize the names and listen to their music,” Newman said. “I also think the headliners are versatile for the most part.”

So far, this year’s line-up will deliver us quality musicians, with some GRAMMY award winning artists who are already making waves for fans all over the world.

Friday’s set will include performances by the world’s most streamed artist, Bad Bunny and an iconic return to live performances by Gorillaz, who are known for their 2005 hit “ Feel Good Inc.” Metro Boomin, a winner of multiple BET R&B/Hip Hop Awards, including “Producer of the Year,” will also take the Friday stage.

Saturday will bring BlackPink, Latin Grammy-winner Rosalía, young star Kid Laroi and rising American singer/songwriter 070 Shake, among others.

The festival concludes on Sunday with singers like Frank Ocean, Kali Uchis, Dominic Fike and Rae Sremmurd, a UM favorite from their performance last year at the Watsco Center.

Embed from Getty Images

While Scottish DJ Calvin Harris will make his “return to the desert,” his performance date is still unknown. “When I met you in the summer / to my heartbeat’s sound / we fell in love / as the leaves turned brown” from Harris’ song “Summer,” one of the many songs by Harris that college students now enjoyed in middle and high school.

Art installations have been another part of the music festival where festival goers can take their best selfies and evocative photography of artwork. This year, there will be large-scale art installations by Maggie West, Robert Bose, Raices Cultura and more.

If you don’t have the funds to attend Coachella in person, no worries — YouTube Music has your back and will be livestreaming the festival virtually.

For more information and admission, check out the official Coachella website.