Shakira, Taylor Swift, Men in Black? Here are Coachella 2024 takeaways

Coachellas first weekend boasted buzzy guest appearances a diverse slate of Latino acts and an indie rock revival along with the premier desert festivals barely there fashion with a heavy dose of AmericanaHeres a rundown of the weekends takeawaysLatino prideShakira Peso Pluma J Balvin this years edition of Coachella 2024 was decidedly dominated by Latin American acts hailing from a wide variety of countries and a diverse spectrum of genresLatin representation has grown significantly in recent years at Coachella and yet another strong showing in 2024 indicated that such bookings are becoming less an anomaly and more so the standard as Latin music continues to dominate global chartsLast years Coachella made history as Bad Bunny became the firstever Spanishlanguage headlinerView this post on InstagramA post shared by Coachella coachellaAnd this year Argentinas star producer Bizarrap surprised fans by bringing out collaborator Shakira for a rager of a performance as Peso Pluma took the main stage with his unique blend of regional Mexican ballads mixed with Latin rap and reggaetonPuerto Ricos Young Miko Cubas Cimafunk Ecuadors Hermanos Gutierrez and a smattering of artists from Mexico including Son Rompe Pera Carin Leon and Girl Ultra were among the lengthy list of Latino performers representing at the festivalAnd Balvin brought out Will Smith who wore dark glasses and a suit to perform the Men In Black themeTaylor Swift spottedAhead of Coachella rumors swirled over a potential Taylor Swift appearance shes collaborated on music with Lana Del Rey Jack Antonoff and Ice Spice and the Swifties thought perhaps one of those acts would invite her onstageShe didnt perform but she did show watching rock band Bleachers her longtime producer Jack Antonoff is the frontman from the corner of backstage and Bronx rapper Ice Spice from the VIP sectionSwift and beau Travis Kelce the NFL tight end who recently won the Super Bowl twirled swayed and kissed as they enjoyed the spectacle for once as fansNext weekend she could always hop onstage to promote her album that drops on April 19 when Coachella will repeat more or less the same lineupAnd while she was the mostdiscussed Swift was far from the only celeb sighting at Coachella a playground for the rich and famousBillie Eilish who joined Del Rey onstage Friday was spotted at Tyler The Creators headlining set the next day also doing her own unscheduled performance at the festivals Do Lab debuting three new tracks from her forthcoming album Hit Me Hard And SoftOlivia Rodrigo dropped in for No Doubt with other cameos including Keha and Katy PerryView this post on InstagramA post shared by Coachella coachella88rising showcaseThe music and media company 88rising which gained prominence as a platform and label geared primarily at promoting Asian American artists held a special showcase for the second time featuring performances from Jpop groups Yoasobi ATARASHII GAKKO and Number_i Japanese hiphop artist Awich KoreanAmerican rapper Tiger JK Chinese pop star Xin Lu and Korean rapper YoonmiraeATARASHII GAKKO and Yoasobi also played their own setsThis year another historymaker took the stage albeit virtually screaming fans turned out for Japans famed singer Hatsune Miku a vocaloid software voicebank whose personification is a teen with turquoise pigtailsIndie rock returnsAlien memory neutraliser Smith was the keystone of the return to the 1990s after Coachellas Saturday lineup offered a blast from the past in the form of altrock recalling the roots it came fromNo Doubt the group fronted by Gwen Stefani played together for the first time in 15 years playing a lengthy show including 1990s hits including Just a Girl and Dont SpeakBlur also took the stage as did Sublime the stoner reggae rock group now fronted by Jakob Nowell son of the bands late frontman BradVampire Weekend whose hits include Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa mdash also returned to the desert for a surprise performance bringing none other than Paris Hilton onstage during a 15minute honky tonk mashupView this post on InstagramA post shared by Coachella coachellaAssless chaps rimless glassesHilton wasnt the only one at Coachella going cowboycore western hats and boots were all the rage along with fringe studs vests and even the occasional assless chapsDenim bigbuckle belts airy white tops and dresses embroidered with lace rounded out the Americana theme that comes as much of pop leans country led by none other than Beyonce whose countrifed album has caused searches for cowboyinspired fashion to spike1990sstyle punk and skater fashion including leather plaid and gothlite lace was also all the rage in line with the alt rock nostalgia evident onstageOf course much of the desert fashion at Coachella involved wearing as little as possible sheer sheaths over bikinis and mesh over nipple covers were common as were string thongs peeking out from lowrise jeans in a vision straight out of Y2KThe throwback to the early 2000s also applied to eyewear Coachella attendees watched the world through rosecolored glasses of the wraparound rectangular and rimless varietiesAlso Read Met Gala 2024 What to expect from fashions biggest night