THE lineup for this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has finally been announced, revealing the most diverse lineup to date since the festival launched in 1999, with a Latin music artiste and a K-pop act headlining the event.
Puerto Rican trap/reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny will be headlining on Friday April 14 & 21, while girl group BLACKPINK, will headline Saturday, April 15 & 22.
For Sunday, reclusive rapper Frank Ocean – who was supposed to play Coachella 2020 before it was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic – returns to headline on April 16 & 23.
Ocean has not released an album since 2016’s Blonde and Endless, so fans are hoping that he will debut new material at the festival, or drop an album before then.
In 2019, BLACKPINK’s Coachella show was their first full US public performance, and marked the first time that any Coachella set had been simultaneously broadcast in New York City’s Times Square.
As for Bad Bunny, aka Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, he will be the first Spanish-language artist to headline Coachella, given that he was Spotify’s overall most-streamed artist in 2022.
With Ocean’s booking completing the trifecta, this makes 2023 the first year that Coachella will be headlined entirely by people of colour. Other international acts further diversifying the lineup include Spanish pop sensation Rosalía, British-Indian electronic artiste Jai Paul, and Nigerian Afrobeat star Burna Boy.
Another Coachella regular, DJ Calvin Harris, appears at the bottom of this year’s poster with an unannounced slot, similar to how Swedish House Mafia were suspiciously booked last year, before they were moved to Sunday’s main stage after Ye abruptly cancelled. It’s speculated that Harris’s booking serves a similar purpose, in case the unpredictable Ocean (who suddenly pulled out of the 2015 FYF Festival with just a few days’ notice) bails this year.
The 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival will take place at Indio’s Empire Polo Grounds, with YouTube returning as the exclusive livestream partner for both weekends.
