Out in the desert, with all the dust, heat, and nothing around, the Coachella Valley Music Festival took place for the first time since Covid this past weekend. Held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, the festival featured almost 200 artists across 8 stages, including the main and outdoor stages. While it is impossible to see all the artists since set times overlap, people who attend the festival definitely can get their money’s worth of concerts, they just need to be prepared to walk a lot. With the stages so far apart, and the drop-off location being around a 20-minute walk from the entrance, festival-goers must be prepared to walk 20-30 miles total over the weekend. But it is worth it. Each performance is unique and artists often bring out special guests, some highlights this past weekend were Baby Keem bringing out Kendrick Lamar and Billie Ellish bringing out Hayley Williams to sing “Misery Business.”

This year, the headliners included Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, and Swedish House Mafia x The Weeknd, but they weren’t the only special performances. The hip hop boy band, BROCKHAMPTON, had their very final concert on Saturday and took their final bow at the end of their set. Their outfits included jackets with the text “All Good Things Must Come To An End!” Despite it being bitter-sweet, the performance was full of energy.

Senior Mikayla Shaffer, who went to see their performance and many other artists, reflected on her first Coachella experience as a whole, saying “It was super super fun, obviously it was dry and hot but the weather didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. Getting to see so many of my favorite artists in such a small time frame was such a cool experience. My favorite performances were from Doja Cat, FINNEAS, The Regrettes, Girl in Red, Billie Eilish, and Harry Styles.” She loved the lineup this year and also had a great time seeing Beach Bunny and ROLE MODEL. Another senior, Kate Galvin, said “My favorite artists at Coachella were Wallows, the Marías, and Orville Peck. I got to be really close to the stage when they were performing and they all had great stage presence. The crowd’s energy was really fun and you could see how much they loved performing.” Overall, the weekend was a fun one for most people who went and was arguably much better than weekend one.