This year’s Coachella prided itself on the amount of original art installations within the festival grounds.
1. The Helix Poeticus:
Coachella Festival Art Director Paul Clemente commissioned art group Poetic Kinetics to build a giant graffiti covered snail that slowly made its way across the grass.
2. 70s flashback:
The search was officially over with the premiere of Searching for Sugarman, the Academy Award winning documentary that chronicled the search for 70’s folk rock artist Rodriguez. The seventy year-old musician made his first Coachella appearance this year, wooing the audience with his dreamy lyrics and catchy tunes.
3. “Mirage” in the desert:
The architectural centerpiece of the festival was “Mirage,” a quintessential Palm Springs structure bathed with lights at night. Festivalgoers stopped in awe at the projected swimming pool on the ground floor.
4. Wu-Tang Clan ain’t nothing to **** with:
Spin Magazine calls their set the ‘Best Headlining Performance from a Non-Headliner’ and we can’t help but agree. Maybe it’s because there wasn’t a flurry of rumors circulating about their performance, but Wu-Tang Clan killed it with all eight members on stage and ending with a full orchestra.
5. R. Kelly’s surprising guest appearance:
Whether you were shocked in a good way or bad, R. Kelly’s short Coachella debut stunned audience members. After a borderline sappy last song by Phoenix, the rapper joined them onstage for a mashup of “1901” and “Ignition.”
What you didn’t miss: Daft Punk. While it was confirmed that they were on the scene, the rising electro music duo was rumored to join Phoenix onstage Saturday night. Needless to say, they were a no show, leaving lots of fans disappointed.
