Image: Getty
It may be a major hub for fashion, food, celebrity sightings and picture-perfect Instagram settings, but let’s not forget—Coachella is about the music.
This year’s lineup was already impressive enough, with LCD Soundsystem, Guns N’ Roses and Calvin Harris taking up the top headlining slots and additional artists like Sia, Elie Goulding and Ice Cube taking up merely a fragment of the full list. The festival would’ve still been great with its standalone program, but the unannounced guests really took things to the next level. See who performed by surprise during Coachella’s first half and tune back in next weekend to see who else stopped by.
Kanye West
Despite technical difficulties, A$AP Rocky put his fans in a frenzy when he let West crash his set for a joint performance of “Father Stretch My Hands” from The Life of Pablo.
https://twitter.com/AsapRockySnaps/status/721445030896934913
The rapper also stopped by the Jack Ü set, helmed by Diplo and Skrillex. West’s appearance was literally just that—he stood on the stage and for a moment as his song “Power” blasted from the speakers behind him before running off.
Rihanna
Reportedly the first DJ to headline at Coachella, Calvin Harris closed the festival’s first weekend with Bad Gal Riri on their hit collab “We Found Love.” The singer made the audience turn heads, literally, when she appeared on a separate stage. Harris’ gf Taylor Swift was a fan of the stunt.
https://twitter.com/RihannaDiaryPL/status/721976736510914560
Swift, who made the festival rounds over the weekend (sporting newly bleached locks), posted an Instagram video of Rihanna and Harris’ set, showing her dancing around with #squad members Swift’s Instagram followers are by now quite familiar with, including the Haim sisters, “Empire” star Serayah McNeill and Lorde. “I’ll NEVER forget this moment,” Swift captioned the video.
https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/721987858278383616
Swift and Rihanna — and RiRi’s rumoured onetime flame, Mr. Leonardo DiCaprio — had a busy first weekend of the California music festival, making the party rounds Saturday night at Neon Carnival in addition to Harris’ set.
Big Sean
The Detroit native also joined in on Calvin Harris’ DJ set when he played their collab, “Open Wide.” The rapper then went into his own brazen hit, “I Don’t F*ck With You,” afterwards.
https://twitter.com/BigSeanWorld/status/721985753954283520
Harper’s BAZAAR has the full surprise Coachella 2016 list
