Coachella 2017: Kendrick Lamar & Lorde Debut New Songs, Pharrell Makes An Appearance & More Day 3 Highlights
With Lorde and Kendrick Lamar spearheading the finale for Weekend 1 of Coachella, Sunday (April 16) was already set to be a great close for the fest. The heavyweights definitely did their duty in providing memorable performances on the Coachella stage at the end of the night, each delivering live debuts of new music as well as visual experiences to supplement their powerful performances.
But the day’s impressive lineup beyond Lamar and Lorde also saw big moments from artists across all stages, from Hans Zimmer on the Outdoor stage, Marshmello in the Sahara tent, and NAO on the Gobi stage. Plus, a handful of surprise guests made Sunday the most eventful day of Coachella 2017 yet — check out some of the exciting happenings and guests from our on-the-ground coverage below.
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3:30 p.m. Buzzy U.K. grime rapper Skepta hit the stage 10 minutes late but strong, somehow not sweltering in a long-sleeve white shirt and red pants. Wild raps about cops were accompanied by old-school looking videos as the rapper shouted out his fans — the Energy Crew — and guest rapper Young Lord made an appearance on “It Ain’t Safe,” hyping into an onstage phone booth. — Jeff Miller
4:09 p.m. “That was a cappella,” Sophie Hawley-Weld of Sofi Tuckker exclaims, after false starting a song. Someone get her a dictionary: she was both playing bass and singing before the restart back into a strong set, which included “Greed,” “A song about someone we hate,” Hawley-Weld says. “We released it on Presidents’ Day.” — Jeff Miller
4:52 p.m. Dabs were in effect for rapper Lil Uzi Vert, an instant favorite on Coachella’s hip-hop menu for Weekend 1’s Day 3. The Philadelphia rhymer brought mixtape cuts to life at the Sahara stage, including the crowd-pleasers “You Was Right,” “Money Longer” and “XO Tour Llif3.” He also tied in his star features like Future’s “Too Much Sauce” and Migos’ “Bad and Boujee.” — Adelle Platon
5:03 p.m. After revealing to Billboard earlier in the day that his next single “Love Gang” is a collaboration with Charli XCX, Whethan played the new tune during his DoLab set. And like any true Coachella artist, the 17-year-old DJ brought out some of his other collaborators, Ashe and Oliver Tree, to sing on their respective tracks. —Taylor Weatherby
5:22 p.m. In 91-degree weather, British songstress NAO sent shivers throughout my body as her sweet and soulful vocals filled the Gobi stage. She delivered her grown and sexy cuts off her 2016 debut For All We Know like “Fool to Love” as well as the Mura Masa collaboration “Firefly” and the Frank Ocean-approved “Bad Blood” (the song appeared on an episode of his Beats 1 radio show Blonded in February). “You guys are so amazing,” she said of her ‘Chella debut. “I didn’t expect to see so many people — this is unreal.” — Adelle Platon
5:30 p.m. Festivalgoers looking to beat the end of day sun and 90 degree heat were actually treated to a pretty groovy rock show by Allah-Las at the Sonora stage. They have this this wavy, echo-y rock sound that’s perfect for the almost dome-like tent, yet lead singer Miles Michaud acknowledged the solid number of people who stopped by to check them out: “There’s a lot of other places to be right now, thank you.” —Taylor Weatherby
6:09 p.m. “I feel so much better than I normally do,” Grouplove’s Hannah Hooper told the Coachella stage crowd in the middle of their upbeat 50-minute set before starting “Welcome to Your Life.” “We all have bad days, we all get in fights, we all lose people we love, but we all go through that s–t…Life can be beautiful, life can be your fantasy, so welcome to your life mother f–kers!” —Taylor Weatherby
6:43 p.m. Jack Garratt showed off his serious musicianship in the Gobi tent, especially during his hit “Worry,” when he hopped between playing a drum pad and an electric guitar. To close the song and his performance, Garratt furthered his proof of artistry with a mean shred on the guitar that had everyone roaring in approval. —Taylor Weatherby
7:00 p.m. Porter Robinson & Madeon started their set with one of their biggest songs, “Shelter,” which meant that the pyro and light show started early too. As the sun began to fade, the duo provided all the right vibes for a sundown dance party. —Taylor Weatherby
7:26 p.m. After Kiiara sang her collaboration with Linkin Park, “Heavy,” she led into her final song, crowd-pleasing hit “Gold” – but first wanted the crowd to know that she was fully prepared for the performance. “I got a gold grill this time so it ain’t a lie.” —Taylor Weatherby
7:27 p.m. DJ Khaled vowed to remix the Coachella 2017 headliners with his guest-filled set at the Sahara stage. Naturally, he began with a familiar catchphrase. “They don’t want us to win so we gon’ win more,” he said before envisioning himself as the festival’s headlining act. “It’s gonna say DJ Khaled takes Coachella.” Running through a soundtrack of club favorites like Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison,” Tupac’s “California Love” and Jay Z’s “U Don’t Know,” Khaled’s 52-minute set included rap’s VIPs including 2 Chainz, Rae Sremmurd’s Swae Lee, French Montana, Migos (who appeared for a fourth time at this festival), Rick Ross and Wale. French Montana and Rozay dove into new material like “Unforgettable” and “Trap Trap Trap,” respectively. After a high-octane performance of “I’ma Boss,” Khaled was cut off after his set ran four minutes past his 8:15 p.m. stop.— Adelle Platon
?8:09 p.m. Playing medleys of selections from soundtracks including the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and The Dark Knight, Hans Zimmer — and a massive orchestra — got an insane crowd response for everything from the opening moments of The Lion King to an instrumental solo (“F–k me, I didn’t think anyone ever got that type of applause for a cello concerto,” Zimmer, who mostly played guitar, quipped). — Jeff Miller
8:44 p.m. Although his scores don’t have guest singers, even Zimmer wanted to join in the Coachella surprise guest fun — he brought out the one and only Pharrell Williams. Wearing white shades and a pastel yellow sweatshirt to perform “Freedom,” Pharrell concluded his cameo by bowing down in admiration for Zimmer, who then took to the mic to do the same for Williams: “This guy is the most gracious brother I have ever had. This guy lights up the world with peace and love and freedom.” — Matt Medved
8:13 p.m. Pelvic thrusting her way through hits like “Talking Body” and “Cool Girl,” Tove Lo gave the crowd an idea of what she was hoping for out of her set. “I want this to be an emotional dance party, whatever you’re feeling just dance it out okay?” If people weren’t feeling the dance party, they were most certainly excited when Tove Lo brought out Wiz Khalifa for “Influence.” —Taylor Weatherby
8:42 p.m. “We’re about to go on a journey, are you ready?” Jai Wolf tells the Gobi crowd before starting his second song. He wasn’t kidding, either — the DJ’s entrancing electronic sounds combined with his glowing podium and light show made for an otherworldly experience. —Taylor Weatherby
9:11 p.m. Lorde followed through on a promise of “surprises” when she debuted a brand new song from her upcoming album, Melodrama, called “Homemade Dynamite.” “I want you to give this song the biggest f–king birthday.” She also snuck in another live debut of the album’s title track. One more “surprise” came before she sang her ballad “Liability,” when she busted into a clip of Kanye West’s “Runaway” during her intro. —Taylor Weatherby
?9:40 p.m. Galantis brought their high-octane performance style to the Sahara Tent, finishing their set in a fit of glory with crowd-pleaser “Runaway (U&I).” “Coachella make some f–king noise!” hollered the DJ duo’s Christian Karlsson. — Matt Medved
9:48 p.m. Despite an overlapping set time with Lorde, Kehlani still managed a great turnout at the Mojave tent. And even though the heat had gone away, she closed her set by reminding Coachellagoers to drink water. —Taylor Weatherby
10:16 p.m. In the middle of his Sahara tent set, Marshmello brought out Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker to assist on a couple of tracks — and couldn’t resist the urge to challenge the drum master to a drum battle. Unsurprisingly, there was no touching Barker’s skills. —Taylor Weatherby
10:34 p.m. A little over 48 hours since he dropped his latest studio album DAMN., Kendrick Lamar turned Coachella into Churchella with his performance. Sprinkling in a mixture of good kid, m.A.A.d city, To Pimp a Butterfly and untitled unmastered cuts, the nearly hour-and-20-minute set included the DAMN. good offerings “DNA.”, “ELEMENT.”, “XXX.”, (sans U2), “GOD.”, “PRIDE.” and “HUMBLE” before delivering the finale with the melodic number “LOVE.” Beyond his new material, he invited ScHoolboy Q, Future and Travis Scott to crash the set. The main Coachella stage also transformed into a movie theater as the Compton rapper previewed a karate film featuring his martial arts-inclined alter ego, Kung Fu Kenny. — Adelle Platon
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