Coachella 2024: J Balvin, Victoria Monét and Y.G. Marley among Day 3 highlights (2024)

Notable sets from day three of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, on Sunday, April 14.

Notable sets from Day 3 of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Sunday, April 14.

J Balvin

The Colombian singer’s performance began with a 1950s-style black-and-white segment broadcast on the stage’s screens that relayed a message of imminent invasion by a UFO headed to the Indio festival. That alien turned out to be J Balvin, who broke out into “Mi Gente,” an anthem that advocates for bringing people from all over together.

The sentiment turned out to be aimed at more than humans, with a performance that featured alien dancers and a giant silver alien aircraft hanging over the center of the stage.

Although Balvin invited Puerto Rican reggaeton duo Jowell & Randy as surprise guests for their collaboration of “Colmillo,” the highlight among guests was taken by Will Smith, who performed “Men in Black,” the song from the ’90s movie of the same name.The conclusion of the performance showed Balvin dragged off by black-suit-clad dancers as Smith used a “Neuralyzer,” the famous memory-eraser device from the film. Despite the device’s intention, the performance will not be forgotten by fans.

— Charlie Vargas

Atarashii Gakko!

For sheer smile-on-your-face fun it was hard to beat Atarashii Gakko! at Coachella on Sunday. The Japanese girl group embraces a joyfully askew sensibility in performance that had the Gobi tent jumping all through the quartet’s late-night set.

They arrived on stage in kimono-like robes as a taiko drummer pounded out the beat for the group’s first song. But tradition ain’t what these early twenty-somethings are about. The group’s mission statement is to encourage fans to break free of the narrowmindedness of traditional cultures, and once they slipped out of their robes to reveal the school uniforms they prefer, Gobi turned into an electro-pop dance party.

The songs are catchy, the outfits cleverly chic, but what makes AG stand out most is the incredibly crisp choreographed routines, and occasional acrobatics, they perform at high speed through every song. In Gobi, they brought out a large contingent of the University of Southern California Marching Band for one song. Earlier, during a separate showcase featuring rising stars of the 88Rising Asian music label, they did more including one collaboration with rapper Lil Uzi Vert, who’d played the main stage on Friday.

— Peter Larsen

Khruangbin

There is music, and then there is music that makes you feel like you’re floating in the endless swirls of the cosmos. Khruangbin’s instrumentals take listeners on a journey of soft ballads like “María también” and the groovy tones of “Evan Finds the Third Room,” which were performed on a stage designed to look like the cover of their latest record, “La Sala.”

Combine the simple aesthetic of the stage design with a little bit of fog and colored lights, and you will be well on your way to the experience that is Khruangbin.

— Charlie Vargas

Victoria Monét

Victoria Monét soared to new heights tonight, basking in the glow of her recent victories at the 66th annual Grammy Awards, where she snagged two wins for best new artist and best R&B album with “Jaguar 2.” Her focus remained squarely on her acclaimed album “Jaguar” and its sequel as she graced the stage of the Mojave tent.

Seen in a striking all-red lace ensemble, accompanied by a troupe of backup dancers, she effortlessly melded fashion with soul. The tent itself was jam packed, with fans even trying to catch a glimpse of Monet all the way in the grass field areas, proving that a bigger sized stage would have done the trick for her success she’s garnered the past year. Tracks like “On My Mama,” Coastin” and “Alright” were highlightsof her set.

— Holly Alvarado

Jockstrap

The English duo Jockstrap is nothing like their name might suggest. That’s a good thing.

On Sunday in the Gobi, singer-violinist Georgia Ellery and electronics-manipulator Taylor Skye played a subtly beautiful set that featured her hushed vocals and occasional strings over his digital soundscapes.

It was Ellery’s second performance of the weekend at Coachella. In Friday she played with her other band, Black Country New Road, in a set that was just as experimental and artsy as Jockstrap, though with more old-fashioned instruments and much less electronic input.

— Peter Larsen

Olivia Dean

One day after the British singer Raye dazzled fans with a big, bold performance in Mojave, the English singer Olivia Dean delivered own lovely set to a smaller but very appreciative crowd in Gobi.

Dean, 25, is a much lower-key performer than Raye, her senior by one year. Her neo-soul ballads features songs of long and heartbreak. (I’ve lost count of how many performers here this weekend have introduced a song by saying, “This is a song about a breakup.”)

She also seemed a bit more introverted as a performer. At the end of one song, to which the crowd responded with raucous cheers and applause, she seemed overwhelmed by the reception, smiling even as she grew teary eyed, and covering her face with her palms once or twice as the cheers continued. It was as adorable to see as it was enjoyable to hear her sing.

— Peter Larsen

Eddie Zuko

Eddie Zuko and his band, who all wore matching red and white aprons, came out with some much-needed energy on the last day of Coachella. Zuko’s ability to transition between hip-hop, ska/reggae, norteño and quite a few different genres was impressive. It won the attention of an eager crowd rapidly making their way into the Sonora tent to join the fans singing and dancing along to his set inside.

The Imperial Valley native told the crowd that he was stoked to be performing at Coachella and that it was his first time ever visiting the festival. If you listen to his the Chicano artist’s lyrics and are familiar with the region in Southern California, you’ll likely catch the anecdotes present in his first viral hit “Made,” which feature lines about eating Hot Cheetos with chile. Some high schools in Imperial Valley have even used the song as part of their marching band performances. There’s just something about having neighboring locals that adds an extra layer of fun to those performances.

— Charlie Vargas

Carin Leon

As the sun finally dipped, Carin Leon took the main stage, accompanied by a sea of flags in the colors of red, white, and green. With the opening chords, Leon belted out “Viva Mexico chingada madre,” igniting a wave of Mexican pride among the crowd.From ranchero to corridos and bachata, every genre was brought to life during Leon’s Coachella debut, backed by a robust ensemble of brass instruments.

Hits like “Te Lo Agradezco,” “Corazón de Oro,” and the collaboration “Que Vuelvas” with Grupo Frontera dominated the night. Adding a twist, Leon delivered a cover of Hombres G’s “Te Quiero,” infusing the Coachella grounds with rock en español. A tender tribute to the legendary Selena Quintanilla came in the form of “Si Una Vez,” honoring her legacy with grace.

Leon is also set to make his Stagecoach debut for the three-day country sister festival Stagecoach happening on April 26-28.

— Holly Alvarado

Hermanos Gutiérrez

The desert sun had set the stage for Hermanos Gutiérrez, a guitar and brother duo blending Western and Latin American sounds with finesse.

Their 50-minute set, though simple, radiated power as they took the stage seated on black chairs, letting their guitars do the talking.After performing “El Bueno Y El Malo,” Alejandro Gutiérrez reflected on their connection to the desert.

“The desert is a special place for us, it’s where our music feels like it’s born from,” he said.

The brothers’ music, tinged with soul, blues, and Latin flair, evokes images of sunset drives along the coast, instantly transporting listeners.

Previewing tracks from their upcoming record, “Sonido Cósmico,” set to release on June 14, the group had fans lifted in the cosmos of new music . As the set neared its end, Alejandro hinted at a surprise, revealing Adrian Quesada from the psychedelic soul group Black Pumas, who has felt like “a very close primo” over the past year, to the stage. Together, the guitar trio gifted the audience with a cult favorite, “Esperanza.”

— Holly Alvarado

Reneé Rapp

After watching clips of Reneé Rapp concerts on TikTok for the past year, I knew the “Poison Poison” singer was on my list of acts I could not miss at Coachella. It is after all “Baby’s first Coachella” as Rapp shared with the crowd that it was her first time performing at the annual music and arts festival.

Rapp’s Broadway background comes through not only in her voice but in her stage presence. The “The Sex Lives of College Girls” star has transformed into her popstar persona, captivating fans both with her vocals, and her storytelling between songs. “Last year I was here, and if you know anything about me, you know Frank Ocean is my f—ing North Star, and I got to see him play and it was the best experience of my life,” Rapp shared with the crowd. “I cried the whole time and I finally understood fan culture. And so that feeling for me, I hope that this can give you even remotely close or far away to that.”

One of the major highlights of the set was when Rapp brought out Kesha to perform her iconic 2009 “TikTok.” Before the performance fans had speculated the surprise guest after the two tweeted out each other’s lyrics and retweeted each other. Kesha also adjusted the lyrics of the first verse to instead sing “Wake up in the morning feeling like f— Diddy.” By the time the chorus dropped the entire crowd was on their feet dancing, jumping and having a great time.

Other notable moments during the set included when Rapp brought out guitarist Towa Bird during “Tummy Hurts” and “Not My Fault” from the “Mean Girls” musical movie soundtrack.

“It was the best time of my whole entire life, my soul was awakened and I just love her. She’s the best. God bless Coachella, God bless Renee Rapp,” said fan Hayley Parker after the performance concluded.

— Carolyn Burt

Y.G. Marley

Y.G. Marley, who carried the family name of Saint Bob, was a sure bet to drop a few of his great-grandfather’s songs into his mid-afternoon set at Coachella on Sunday.

What you couldn’t have foreseen, though, was that his performance would also result in an unexpected sorta reunion of the Fugees, too.

In hindsight it all made sense: Y.G. Marley’s mother is former Fugee Lauryn Hill, his father Rohan Marley, grandson of Bob Marley.

And it was Hill who showed up first midway through the set to sing songs of her own such as “Ex-Factor” and “Lost Ones” before sliding into the Fugees’ cover of “Killing Me Softly With His Song.”

During the latter song Fugee Wyclef Jean was on stage, too, and that group’s “Fu-gee-La” followed.

Rapper Busta Rhymes came out next — Y.G. has definitely got some pull — to do his own “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See“ and a cover of a Chris Brown song, showing off his rapid-fire rap skills to the audiences delight.

A handful of Bob Marley classics followed — “One Love” and “Exodus” among them — before the whole collective finished up with the Fugees’ “Ready or Not,” Bob Marley’s “Is This Love,” and Hill’s “Praise Jah in the Moonlight.”

All praise the Marley Family Complex.

— Peter Larsen

Taking Back Sunday

Fans of the early festival days often say they’d like to see more rock acts on the bill and this year’s lineup has arguably fulfilled the request. Rock fans were treated to the ’90s bunch (No Doubt, Sublime and Blur) and more indie rock acts such as The Last Dinner Party and Narrow Head.

Rockers also got a chance to get in their feels with alt-pop punk act Taking Back Sunday.The group took the Mojave tent by storm with crowds overflowing while they played through angsty hits such as “You’re So Last Summer” “Liar (It Takes One To Know One)” and “MakeDamnSure.”

While Coachella continues to be a melting pot of genres globally there is without a doubt still plenty of room for rockers.

— Charlie Vargas