The Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival’s first weekend wraps up Sunday with Kendrick Lamar topping a full day of performances.
The Compton native will take the main stage at 10:25 p.m., while rumors abound that Lamar’s Sunday performance will coincide with the announcement of a new album.
His latest release, “Damn,” was released on Good Friday, but could be met with a companion recording, “Nation.” on Easter Sunday.
Either way, Lamar is set to make his second Coachella appearance, after performing on the 2012 main stage and appearing as a guest for then-headliners Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.
Other notable Sunday performances will include pop star Lorde, whose Coachella performance marks a return from a nearly three-year hiatus from the music scene, and movie composer Hans Zimmer, who is expected to lead more than 70 musicians through some of his most well-known compositions.
French rap duo PNL were dropped from Sunday’s lineup due to one of the members, Tarik Andrieu, not being able to attain a visa in time to make this weekend’s set, according to media reports.
“After several months of administrative steps, one of the two of us still hasn’t been allowed to return to the United States for reasons that you can imagine,” a message on the group’s Facebook said. “Hoping to have some good news from here the next weekend.”
On Saturday, six-time Grammy winner Lady Gaga performed as a replacement for Beyonce, who is pregnant with twins and gave up her headlining spot on doctor’s orders.
Gaga introduced a new song, “The Cure,” about halfway through her hour- and-a-half set. The song is already No. 1 on streaming services in England.
Audiences were also treated to an unofficial performance from Drake during Atlanta rapper Future’s set. The duo’s performance included “Jumpman,” one of their many collaborations.
No other major arrests or disturbances have been reported as of 5:15 p.m. Sunday.
An estimated 125,000 people are expected at the festival each day, which would make this year’s event the best-attended Coachella festival in history, thanks to the Indio City Council’s unanimous decision to expand the festival’s attendance cap from 99,000 to 125,000.
A low of 61 degrees was expected Sunday, with gusts of up to 30 mph.
–City News Service