Coachella's much anticipated lineup for 2017 has officially been revealed... Get your outfits and your Instagrams ready! Despite some jaded opinions I harbor regarding the festival's overt commercialization (and the attendees this attracts), the folks at Goldenvoice deserve high marks for their headliners. Scroll through those bands in the tiny fonts too, and there are some gems to be found. For those of you braving the desert heat this spring, these are the 8 acts you can't miss.
Beyonce
Question: If you run a music festival, how do you respond when an artist releases one of the most important albums of the past quarter century? Answer: You snag them as a headliner. Coachella has never had a pop act top their billing. In fact, bookings like this at any major festival bring to mind only Lady Gaga at Lollapalooza circa 2010, and pretty much nothing else. Beyonce will command the main stage quite unlike anyone before her, putting on a show without precedent. It will be a performance as much for Coachella's first-time teenagers as it will be for the festival’s hardened music veterans. Only someone like Beyonce can bridge those gaps, bringing legitimacy to pop music on the summer's biggest stage.
Father John Misty
Two summers ago, Father John Misty's I Love You, Honeybear was the album to fall in love to. In the last year he's written for Beyonce; he's acted bizarrely on stage and he's released little new music. All of this put together, and Father John Misty's legend has grown big enough to receive high billing at Coachella. Josh Tillman is extremely self-aware — he knows how important a big slot at Coachella is, understanding the festival's ability to live outside of its grounds. He will put on the type of heart-sweltering performance he's known for, sure not to disappoint those who fell in love to his record; those who know him only because of "Hold Up;" those who know him simply because they've seen his weird stage antics on the internet and those who don't even know him at all.
Car Seat Headrest
By my own account, Car Seat Headrest's Teens of Denial was the best album of 2016. The record permeates with early 20s angst, layered with deceptively pop-ish sensibilities. Though found lower on Saturday's billing, Will Toledo deserves to play here. Several years worth of churning out records in his basement has finally paid off, so don't doubt the grit of this group, nor the type of performance that it will lead to.
Hans Zimmer
I honestly don't know what a Hans Zimmer set is going to look like, and I have my doubts about how attendance here will pan out. But the man has written music for The Lion King, for Inception and for The Dark Night, so I give him serious benefit of the doubt. This is the type of booking that gives me faith in Coachella — it's a risk at any major music festival to have a guy who writes film scores, no matter what — but despite some relatively safe bookings over the past few years, it shows that Coachella isn't completely risk-averse.
Justice
Riding a wave of cultural resurgence, Justice is probably the most anticipated electric group Coachella could book that's not Daft Punk. Festival-goers will surely flock to their set and with good reason — Justice's sounds are matched only by their on stage aesthetic, creating an unparalleled live experience for electronic fans. I suspect though that they'll be billed at the same time as Lorde, so as to split the crowds, which is undoubtedly a shame.
Kendrick Lamar
This list just wouldn't feel right without including Kendrick Lamar, although telling you to go see him feels like something too obvious to waste my character length restrictions on. But I have to say it: Do not underestimate the fact that Kendrick Lamar is essentially returning back to California to headline his hometown festival. His connections with his city and with his community are what define him. With these at his back, Kendrick Lamar will deliver Coachella's most aggressive, most impactful and most magnificent performance of 2017.
Radiohead
One of the few rock bands left of true headlining caliber, Coachella needs Radiohead. Music needs Radiohead. Sure, Coachella could fill their rock quota by booking Arcade Fire or Black Keys, they could even snag Pearl Jam or David Gilmour. But grabbing these acts feels stale. Radiohead is arguably the most influential and the most important band still making popular music today. Do they have the name recognition amongst a younger generation, one which typically fills up these festivals? Maybe not. But would they bring a most forceful and stunning performance? Without a doubt.
Whitney
Whitney's music was made for California's sunny days; Everything about them is simple, their music's lack of complexity often its most endearing quality. Whitney sounds like air, light and breezy, capable of lifting your mood and of infusing it with life. Don't miss their set if you're in need of a good time. Or if you want to show off to your friends this cool indie band you discovered. Either way works.
See what else made it into our Top 8 by visiting its official page.
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