Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd weren’t the headliners festivalgoers asked for or had in mind for the return of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The collision of hip-hop and electronic dance music was a worthy ending to the first weekend of the festival.
The performers were over 30 minutes late, but still had a strong turnout — at first. It’s unknown why they were delayed.
A giant ring appeared slanted over the stage with monochrome abstract images as Swedish House Mafia began the set with “Can You Feel It.” The supergroup greeted the festival by reintroducing themselves and reintroducing the EDM sound that was featured at the festival during the 2010s with Gentle Freak’s “Hypnotic.”
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Swedish House Mafia consists of DJs Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. The trio performed a farewell tour in 2012 that included an appearance at Coachella on the main stage. angello later awning Rolling Stone“we just decided that we reached a point where we didn’t know what the next move would be.”
The group was embraced by critics and electronic music fans, but aside from the compilation albums “Until One” in 2010 and “Until Now” in 2012, the DJs never released a full-length album until dropping “Paradise Again” last Friday.
During Sunday’s set, the visuals became more colorful as the collaborators transitioned into “Leave the World Behind,” keeping concertgoers distracted from the fact that five songs in, The Weeknd was nowhere to be found.
Swedish House Mafia continued reliving the glory days of EDM as the stage turned a fiery and chaotic red during “Frankenstein,” the supergroup’s recent collaboration with A$AP Rocky.
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“Thank you for welcoming us back like this, you’re (expletive) amazing,” one of the members said.
Swedish House Mafia was the first act to be confirmed last October and The Weeknd was added on April 6 following Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, dropping out of the festival.
This seemingly random (replacement) headliner pairing is likely the result of their successful collaboration on the song “Moth to a Flame,” which released last October and reached No. 27 on Billboard’s “Hot 100” and No. 2 on the “Hot Dance /Electronic Songs” chart.
As Swedish House Mafia’s set progressed, the visuals on the video screen, lighting and the presence of the giant ring became more impressive, but festivalgoers started to make their way out at the half-hour mark as the trio played “Don’t You Worry Child.”
The Weeknd didn’t appear until the 40 minute mark. He started with a pumped-up performance of “Sacrifice” and received a welcoming ovation.
The Weeknd was a solid replacement choice following the release of his album “Dawn FM” last January. This is his fourth performance by him at the festival following his headlining set in 2018. He first performed at Coachella in 2012 on the outdoor stage.
On Sunday, The Weeknd’s performance of songs such as “Can’t Feel My Face” and “Blinding Lights,” backed by Swedish House Mafia with colorful visuals, changed the entire mood of the performance.
“It took a long time, but we’re finally here tonight,” The Weeknd said.
Changing the headliner just days before a music festival is a challenge, but tardiness and sharing equal parts of the time slot aside, Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd elevate each other.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism