The story of Coachella 2019 – in photos

Coachella got underway for its 20th year with brilliant blue skies in Indio, California.

Country titan Kacey Musgraves showcased her Grammy-winning latest album ‘Golden Hour’ on the Main Stage, adding a touch of disco glitz with her giant mirror ball and sparkly fringe dress.

During set closer ‘High Horse’, the star welcomed 90-year-old internet sensation Baddie Winkle to join her for the weekend’s first celeb team-up.

Baltimore rapper and producer JPEGMAFIA put on a fiery display at the Outdoor Theatre, freestyling about throwing a huge party when Trump is no longer with us between cuts from his breakthrough album ‘Veteran’.

Jaden Smith didn’t let his early evening slot dilute his big ambitions. During his Sahara Tent set, the young rapper and singer rode a flying car across the stage while shouting out late rapper Nipsey Hussle.

Although not included on the bill, Jaden’s sister Willow was here to show her support for her brother, remaining on stage and on vocals for almost his whole set.

Janelle Monáe brought a blast of futurism, sexual energy, and military styling to her knockout performance, dominating the Main Stage with highlights like ‘Pynk’ and the slinky funk of ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’.

Later, she was joined by Lizzo, who performs on Sunday, for a playful twerk.

Philly up-and-comer Tierra Whack proved why everyone is talking about her right now, bringing her unusual visuals to life on stage as she rattled through a breathless 20-song set.

When festival-goers weren’t busy watching the tons of amazing artists on this year’s line-up, they could feast their eyes (and their Instagrams) on some of the aesthetically-pleasing structures dotted around site, like these giant cacti.

Or they could opt to walk through this rainbow-hued glass cylinder that makes the Empire Polo Club look like a magical, colourful place.

Spanish pop sensation Rosalía made her Coachella debut on the Mojave Stage, bringing her neo-flamenco sound to an audience ready to party.

King Princess might have been one of the first acts to play on Friday, but the New York pop icon-in-waiting won’t be this low down the bill for long. Her set mixed familiar gems like ‘1950’ and ‘Talia’ with sneak previews of her forthcoming debut album – judging by this set, it should be a smash.

SOPHIE turned the Mojave Stage into a space filled with high drama, high fashion, and visionary pop experimentalism.

British R&B singer Ella Mai is blowing up Stateside right now, thanks to her single ‘Boo’d Up’. Taking a break from supporting Ariana Grande on tour, the star showed the Coachella crowd what else she is capable of.

Charlotte Gainsbourg showed exactly why she’s a cult hero during her set on the Gobi stage, filling it with elegance, intensity, and some of the most stunning songs from throughout her back catalogue.

Pop star Selena Gomez made a surprise appearance during DJ Snake’s set, popping up to perform their collaboration ‘Taki Taki’.

Cardi B, who also appears on that track, jetted in to join them too, demanding that Coachella “put [their] hands up”.

Anderson .Paak returned to Coachella to give debut live performances to several tracks from his latest album ‘Ventura’ on the day of the record’s release. He closed his set with a rousing version of ‘Dang!’, his collaboration with Mac Miller, paying tribute to the late rapper and the recently murdered Nipsey Hussle.

Away from the tech possibilities of the arenas they’re currently touring, The 1975 had to make do with less mind-blowing production and let their songs do the talking instead. That proved no problem as they raced through the best bits of their journey so far, including a brief cameo from labelmate No Rome and his banger ‘Narcissist’.

While BTS were busy making history on the East Coast, BLACKPINK were doing the same on the opposite side of the US. The first all-female K-pop group to play Coachella, they put on a dazzling display of dynamic choreography, ferocious raps, and pop hooks hefty enough to win over the whole festival site.

Teen sensation Billie Eilish made her Coachella debut on Saturday (April 13), impressing with supreme confidence and some daring staging, like this bed hung from iron chains, which she danced on top of.

The star was joined by Vince Staples for ‘&Burn’, but the cameo was hit by technical difficulties.

Maggie Rogers brought her stunning debut album ‘Heard It In A Past Life’ to the desert, putting in a performance full of energy and emotion.

British MC Little Simz highlighted her new record ‘GREY Area’ in a set that largely focused on the project.

California’s own Ty Segall was joined by White Fence at the Outdoor Theatre for an unholy, exhilarating garage-rock team-up.

Christine & The Queens stopped by to show off her jealousy-inducing dance moves.

The musician also took the time to cover David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ between airing her own exquisite tracks.

A gigantic astronaut loomed large over festival-goes this weekend as they made their way from stage to stage.

The site was also filled with colour, including these pretty structures.

Weezer kicked off their set with a barbershop quartet version of ‘Beverly Hills’ before later inviting TLC’s Chilli and Tears For Fears to join them for covers of ‘No Scrubs’ and ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World’ respectively.

After performing on Friday, Rosalía stuck around for another day to pop up in J Balvin’s set for their new track ‘Con Altura’.

When he’s not acting and denying rumours that he’s the next James Bond, Idris Elba is also a pretty sick DJ. He showed off his skills behind the decks in a two-hour set on Saturday.

Shame brought some of their typical chaos to the desert as they made their mark on the Sonora tent.

Fresh from supporting Nicki Minaj, emo rapper Juice Wrld filled his set with his own standalone tracks as well as some of his collabs with the likes of Travis Scott and Ski Mask The Slump God.

After entering the stage to the strains of Phil Collins’ ‘In The Air Tonight’, Wiz invited Ty Dolla $ign to join him on the Sahara stage for an energetic and vibrant set.

Mac DeMarco previewed his much chiller upcoming album ‘Here Comes The Cowboy’ alongside fan favourites like ‘Freaking Out The Neighbourhood’ and ‘Ode To Viceroy’.

Aussie psych heroes Tame Impala headlined the Main Stage on Saturday night, bringing two new songs along with them.

The first weekend of Coachella 2019 finishes today (April 14) with a headline set from Ariana Grande, plus appearances by Lizzo, Khalid, Bad Bunny, Chvrches, H.E.R., and more.

Puerto Rican trap star Bad Bunny slayed his set on the main stage, dishing out Latin-fuelled bangers like Cardi B collaboration ‘I Like It’ and ‘La Romana’.

Sofi Tukker got wild, with singer Sophie Hawley-Weld ditching Coachella’s attitude of cool to launch herself into the duo’s swarming crowd.

Khalid was joined by a number of big name guests for his set, including Billie Eilish, Normani, Marshmello, and, as pictured here, Halsey.

Maryland rapper Rico Nasty’s set was one of the most party-filled of the weekend, with the star ripping through the likes of ‘Trust Issues’ and ‘Bitch, I’m Nasty’ as if the world’s future depended on her showing everyone a good time.

After dominating the Grammys earlier this year, H.E.R. came for Coachella too. During her stunning set, she paid tribute to Nipsey Hussle and shared a new song with an audience swept up in adoration.

Perfume were one of a number of global artists to appear at Coachella 2019. The trio did a superb job of representing the J-pop scene, turning the Gobi stage into a dance-pop frenzy.

Chvrches got their festival season underway with a set on the Mojave stage. They were joined on guitar at one point by Marshmello, who they recently collaborated with on the single ‘Here With Me’.

Coachella is known for its attendees making big fashion statements but no one pulled it off quite like Gesaffelstein. The French producer and DJ showed up to his set clad entirely in silver, including a steely mask on his head.

Festival veteran Blood Orange – aka Dev Hynes – knows that any good festival set offers up a surprise for the audience. His Coachella performance delivered one such thing when he dropped a gorgeous cover of Neil Young’s ‘Heart Of Gold’.

Despite struggling with sound issues, Lizzo continued her ascent to superstardom with a confident, fun, and celebratory Coachella debut. She had a word of warning for the technical crew, though: “When I’m headlining next time, I’m gonna need my motherfucking ears to work.”

Pusha T’s set was punctuated by chants of “King Push” as he ran through a stacked setlist that featured a Clipse track, collabs with Kanye West and Chief Keef, and, of course, all the best bits of last year’s killer ‘Daytona’.

As the festival began to wind down on Sunday, there was still time for one more secret guest. After spending the weekend enjoying herself, Katy Perry made a quick cameo to sing during Zedd’s set, telling the crowd she “used to sneak in” to the festival back in the day.

Weekend one came to a close in spectacular fashion with a headline set from Ariana Grande. As teased in the days leading up to the performance, she was joined by NSYNC (minus Justin Timberlake) for a glorious throwback.

The singer was also joined by collaborator Nicki Minaj and, later, Diddy and Mase for a quick cover of ‘Mo Money Mo Problems’.

But it was on her own that Ariana really shone, delivering a flawless set that cemented her status as the pop star to beat right now.