Calvin Harris disappoints in 2023 Coachella return, even with Ellie Goulding as guest
INDIO, Calif. – When I saw Calvin Harris’ weighty name on the 2023 Coachella lineup, I had two immediate thoughts. The first was that this would be an amazing chance to hear perhaps the preeminent pop DJ who has already made a spot for himself in festival history.
The second was that, given Harris’ bountiful catalogue of collaborations, there would probably be a heck of a lot of guests.
Well, I was right on exactly one of these counts, and it wasn’t the latter. The DJ spent nearly all of the late-night set alone onstage, only occasionally accompanied by a guest absolutely no one would’ve predicted: us.
That’s right, there was no Rihanna, no Florence sans machine, not even someone more on the fame level of, say, Future or Khalid.
Surprise! Rosalía brings out fiancé Rauw Alejandro for her Coachella performance
What there was, though, was an absolutely hyped (or maybe just delirious, given this set started at around midnight) crowd who gleefully belted out the lyrics to Calvin classics like "Summer" and "This Is What You Came For." But while a cast of thousands can’t exactly match the singular voice of a talent like Katy Perry or Florence Welch, it almost didn’t matter.
Because on this relatively warm desert night, Harris gave the Coachella Valley one of the greatest parties of its life (since Frank Sinatra went up to that big club in the sky, anyway). Or at least he started to. And whenever Harris would suddenly cut the music causing the crowd to roar the missing lyrics in unison, it was like he had just poured everyone another heavy drink.
You know those Coachella sets where the music is great but the crowd sucks because half the people don’t know the songs and are just here for the ‘gram and the other half are probably too, well, hungover? The start of this set was basically the exact opposite.
Nearly everyone in sight was not only belting the lyrics, but rapturously throwing up their hands at every opportunity. But here’s the thing.
Even at Coachella, the raw enthusiasm and goodwill of the crowd can only get you so far. And as the set dragged on without any fresh faces and only the occasional command from Harris, what had once seemed like boundless enthusiasm began to sap.
Bad Bunny makes Coachella history: He's the first Latin solo artist headliner, Post Malone joins stage
By the time the set neared the one-hour mark, some of those once-so-enthusiastic faces started heading for the exits. Eventually, I too made my way farther back and realized what started as a trickle was now a flood, as if everyone had collectively realized that while it was awesome that Harris had played so many bangers at the front, it also seemed to signal that he had eliminated several potential guests. Except apparently, he hadn’t.
Because at the end of the set, long after he had already played mixes of "I Need Your Love" and "Outside," Harris suddenly welcomed Ellie Goulding to the stage to perform the pair's latest single, "Miracle." And while the star sounded great, the feel was still “too little too late.”
Harris’ set started with some audio about “reverse brainwashing.” But if this was his attempt to do that, he seems to have succeeded only in somewhat reversing the brainwashing that he is a Coachella can’t-miss artist.
More from Coachella 2023:
Surprise! Rosalía brings out fiancé Rauw Alejandro for her Coachella performance
Rosalía and Rauw Alejandro 'don't limit each other': How music's power couple balances love, work
Blackpink to perform historic Coachella gig: Everything to know about the alluring group
Review: Blackpink makes Coachella history at 2023 festival, holds own without guests
See full Coachella 2023 lineup: Bad Bunny, Blackpink and Frank Ocean set to headline
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella 2023: Calvin Harris disappoints, Ellie Goulding guests
