Coachella 2013

April 15th, 2013 | 5:00 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

Jessie Ware Performs Double Duty At Coachella While Looking And Sounding Flawless

2013 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival - Day 3

Music fans and MDMA enthusiasts alike converged in Indio, California over the last few days for the first weekend of the 2013 Coachella Festival. Sadly, we were stuck on our couches here in New York City and not in attendance, but thanks to the magic of YouTube, we spent a considerable amount of time over the weekend watching the myriad acts on the lineup delight both the sober and not-so-sober members of the audience (we’re talking to you, denizens of the Sahara Tent). Of course, one of our favorite acts of the weekend was our April You Oughta Know artist, Jessie Ware, who performed not once but TWICE over the weekend.

INTERVIEW: Phoenix Compares Their Coachella Headlining Gig To The Olympic Games

With the one-two punch that was “Lisztomania” and “1901,” the first two tracks off of Phoenix‘s 2009 LP Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix turned them from a band that was well-respected in music geek circles into an international phenomenon. Released in May of that year, the band spent the next two years on the road, winning fans over with their propulsive live sets that doubled as all-out dance parties. The band has been quiet for the last two years or so, as they’ve been primarily holed up in the studio making Bankrupt! (out on April 23), but they’re starting to take their new material on the road. Last night, they were the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, and next weekend, they’ll be headlining Coachella.

Coachella 2013: Blur, Phoenix, Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Stone Roses To Headline This Year’s Festival

After lots of speculation and one cruise, the lineup for this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has been announced. Blur, the Stone Roses, Phoenix and Red Hot Chili Peppers are set to headline the three-day fest that spans two weekends (April 12-14 and April 19-21) for the second consecutive year, which is very exciting but also a little underwhelming. Don’t get us wrong, the top of the lineup is an interesting combination of legendary acts and artists with upcoming release we can’t wait to hear, but after l2012′s even greater mix of genres closing out each sweltering day, we can’t help but feel this year’s fest is dominated by the WGWGs.

That’s not to say that the second and third (and fourth and fifth) tier acts aren’t fabulous: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend, and, oh yeah, Wu-Tang Clan, plus the return of the Postal Service (!) and VH1 favorites like Tegan and Sara, Jessie Ware and our January You Oughta Know artist, Allen Stone. Well done, friends!