It’s that time of year again to indulge in Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival offerings at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California that runs on two consecutive weekends – April 12-14 and April 19-21. The extravaganza can also be experienced on a YouTube Livestream of which this reportage is a sampler.The lineup includes musicians of various genres performing on different stage venues such as Blur, J. Balvin, Deftones, Ateez, Justice, Vampire Weekend, Jungle, Sublime and Rose – the expected assortment. Of course, headliners add a spark of excitement due to their creativity and background, which is often just as interesting as their sets – like Lana Del Rey, Peso Pluma, Tyler, the Creator, Jon Batiste and Doja Cat.
These performers/song writers provide a complete onstage show that often resembles the spectacle of Verdi’s Aida in terms of staging, lighting effects, and props. The April 12-14 lineup featured Peso Pluma, née Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija and Lana Del Rey, née Elizabeth Woolridge Grant. While many crossover artists don’t have a connection to traditional Western European classical music or its offshoots, there are exceptions like Winton Marsalis, Fazil Say, Keith Jarrett, Alicia Keys and Yo-Yo Ma. And educational roots can provide insight into the stylistic concept of their music. Del Rey received a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Fordham University and her entrepreneur father Rob Grant even released the debut album Lost At Sea, where the self-taught, can’t read a note of music domain developer cleverly navigates the keyboard in collaboration with the Budapest Art Orchestra, Jack Antonoff, Luke Howard and daughter Lana.
Peso Pluma’s main stage performance in Spanish seemed to tap into a softer side of rap that is infused with mariachi-like upbeat rhythms from Latin America. He apparently remarked in a previous interview that his voice was suited to the corridos or songs about daily life in his native Mexico. The quasi-lyrical tunes were accompanied by a collection of string and brass instruments, lovely violin melodies to open and close the act and aerobic dancers, Pluma’s music seems to have an almost stylistic smoothness that make his vocal inflections easy listening and onstage prancing enjoyable viewing. This is user-friendly rapping of which Bad Bunny is among the enlightened of this genre, although stylistically different – which is like trying to compare the hype of Lang Lang (who recently received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star) with other really talented pianists,
Lana Del Rey’s Friday night closer was an education unto itself. Some grumbling critiques have already been posted regarding the performance and alluding to mic issues, off-pitch singing and disconnect with an audience that was leaving in droves during her sets. Well, this take is quite simple. She appeared in dramatic fashion, riding a motorcycle, dressed in something shiny and flowing and sang with a timbre that doesn’t slam or force each musical moment, while a backdrop of blinking visuals and balletic dancers added a large touch of atmospheric kirsch. Her melodic sequences often unfold with demure and heady overtones, as in Young and Beautiful. A highlight among the festival was an onstage guest appearance by Jon Batiste (more about his Saturday to follow) and Billie Eilish with whom she collaborated in Video Games and Ocean Eyes – the latter given a gentle elusiveness by the duo. Both artists exchanged verbal praise for one another which made the midnight performance worth the wait.
There are probably as many folks who have college degrees as those who don’t and while a collection of alma mater paperwork (and debt) can come in handy, there are many self-made success stories. Tyler, the Creator, née Tylor Gregory Okonma never went to college and now he’s rapping and moonlighting as fashion designer for Louis Vuitton. Jon Batiste, who won a 2022 Grammy award for Album of the Year received a Master of Music degree in jazz studies from The Juilliard School. His performance Saturday night was sheer innovation and energy. He sings it all and plays it all – piano, electric and acoustic guitar, melodica and drums with elegant flair, which includes the tailored crimson suit he wore.
Whether showing his pyrotechnical keyboard skills while sitting and singing at the Steinway, grooving with an outstanding ensemble of freeform dancers or collaborating with Willow (Will Smith’s daughter) in a sentimental tune, Batiste is among the most versatile talents around. While his musical concept is far-reaching there is definitely an influence of New Orleans style jazz idioms, not surprising since he was a youthful member of this city’s well-known Batiste Brothers Band. His performance included snippets from Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone and When the Saints Go Marching In (perhaps as tribute to the Paramount Jubilee Singers and Louis Armstrong) and while his work as songwriter/performer hints at Freddie, Buddy, Stevie, Louis and Nina (Simone), Batiste is a new age rocker with a captivating brilliance all his own. If a brief appearance by Billie Eilish was a Coachella festival highlight, Batiste was frosting on the cake as was a late-hours performance by Tyler, the Creator.
Tyler, the Creator is a creator. From a classical music perspective, his act had the marking of what it’s like to attend a premiere of John Adams’ latest, or the pandemonium that resulted from debuts of Berg’s Wozzeck or Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. He works the stage with ingratiating personality, using gestures that match the musical beat, and a style of spoken singing that combines articulation (with lots of four letter words) and lyrical sonority that doesn’t quit – despite his occasionally use of an inhaler for asthma.
Tyler’s onstage set resembled a rocky landscape from a Star Wars scene of which he climbed, sat, sang to a faux sheep and also held a camping light while background visuals showed a tent with a No Camping sign. Other stunning video effects included a flash Gordon style space craft and a rising moon during his duo at a piano with Charlie Wilson. Other onstage guests included ASAP Rocky, Childish Gambino and Kali Uchs.
Tyler Okonma draws you into a world of progressive musical ideas combined with lyrics that describe a lifestyle without a father, but with love. Besides, how can you not like someone who, for a while worked at Starbucks. The dynamic show ended with his graciously thanking the audience for attending and then diving into a short set where he climbed a ledge of rocks and was whisked away (by a prop) into a cascade of fire that flashed on the visual screen – reminiscent of Brünnhilde’s leap from a rock into flames during the Immolation scene from Wagner’s Gōtterdӓmmerung. It was magical.
On Sunday, the festival included Carin León, née Oscar Armando Diaz de León Huez whose voice is pure añejo – meaning his mellow, golden-toned delivery of sierreño and Latin music styles evokes an operatic tradition of bel canto singing. His performance also showed off his zapateado technique which he tapped out while holding a flag of Mexico. So it’s deserving that this Mexican artist with ensemble that included an accordion and tuba, performed on the main stage to cheering multitudes. Bebe Rexha’s coloratura quality performance on main stage seemed a mismatch with the corps de dancers’ heavy metal choreography and moves. And Ludmilla, née Olivera da Silva’s presentation was intense.
Doja Cat, née Amala Ratna Zandile Diamini who won a 2022 Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group with SZA closed out the weekend festival with a lavish show that was a fantasy of garb (her furry bikini), hair styles (her being draped in long blond locks), mud squiggling and Yetis shaking corps de dancers, props (a faux dinosaur skeleton) and appearances by ASAP Rocky, 21 Savage and Teezo Touchdown. The act was outrageous, provocative and total entertainment, making Stravinsky’s Petrushka ballet seem like a stroll in the park. By the way, Doja Cat’s vocal timbre is cavernously rich and expansive. In other words, she can sing it and strut it a cut above.
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a happening both in person and on Livestream.