Festival
Coachella 2017 Lineup Breakdown
Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Radiohead and many more are heading to Indio. Here's everything you need to know.
Where: Indio, CA
When: April 14–16; April 21–23
Tickets: On sale now at coachella.com
1. Headliners
This year’s Coachella headliners are Radiohead, Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar.
Radiohead headlined ACL Fest and Lollapalooza last year, so it’s sorta surprising they’re coming back in 2017 to do another biggie. Back then they had just released "A Moon Shaped Pool," their Grammy-nominated ninth album, so there was some excitement about the British band’s stateside appearance after so many years. And now?
After Beyoncé was forced to back out of her headlining slot due to her pregnancy, Lady Gaga has stepped to the plate to headline both Saturdays of the festival. If her recent Super Bowl performance is any indication, it should be quite the spectacle. It'll also be an opportunity to hear Gaga perform tracks off of last year's "Joanne," with hits like "Perfect Illusion" and "Million Reasons."
Kendrick Lamar has been gradually moving up the ranks of the major summer festival hierarchy and so here he is at the top of the Coachella lineup. Last year he released his "To Pimp a Butterfly" outtakes collection, "Untitled Unmastered.," which didn’t technically count as a new album, even though it was great. Now he's promised a release on April 7 — we're not sure exactly what it is, but there's a good chance he could have a new album to his name by the time he takes the center stage at Indio.
2. Other big names
Some of the artists listed just beneath the headliners are rappers Travis Scott, Mac Miller, Schoolboy Q, Future and Gucci Mane; indie artists Future Islands, the xx, Bon Iver and Mac DeMarco; and dance music artists Justice, Porter Robinson, DJ Snake and Martin Garrix.
The most exciting second-tier act, however, is Lorde. The world has been waiting for her follow-up to "Pure Heroine," so the fact that she’s performing at Coachella could be a great sign.
Lorde
© Jeremy Deputat/Red Bull Content Pool
3. Fine print
Squint really hard and you’ll see some interesting names toward the bottom of the Coachella poster, like rapper Denzel Curry, rockers King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, horn blowers the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, indie hero Mitski (who released one of our favorite albums of 2016), electronic experimentalist Four Tet and Solange collaborator Sampha.
Kendrick Lamar
© Joe Gall/Red Bull Content Pool
4. Surprises
Hans Zimmer!
Yes, Hans Zimmer is playing Coachella this year. He’s the German composer responsible for soundtracks to movies such as "The Lion King," "Gladiator," "The Dark Knight" and "Interstellar." Weird.
Nayeli, Keyla and Yuuitza
© Ben Allen
5. Takeaway
Coachella will begin the 2017 festival season with a big bang, especially with Kendrick Lamar likely dropping new music on April 7, just before the festival. The opportunity to hear brand new tracks from arguably the best rapper alive should not be missed.