Coachella Preview

Well, the set times came up today. I'm a little disapointed at the overlaps of a few artists, but that's to be expected of Coachella. I hate to miss any of Leonard Cohen and N.A.S.A.'s sets, and X, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Paul Weller's set times are overlapping. That's part of the charm of Coachella though, running across the fields trying not to miss anything.

Here's an article I wrote in the Coast Report out April 15.

Coachella is just around the corner. Paul McCartney, The Killers and The Cure will headline three days of heat, music and art.

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival began as a one to two day annual music and arts festival at the Indio Polo Fields in Coachella, Calif. The festival features artists of ranging musical genres, from indie rock, hip hop, electronic music as well as sculptural and performance art. Previous headliners and performers include Daft Punk, Björk, Prince, Madonna, Smashing Pumpkins, Rage Against the Machine, Kanye West, David Bowie and Kraftwerk.

This year’s headliners include Paul McCartney, Morrissey, The Killers and The Cure. Alongside the headliners are acts such as N.A.S.A., the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, MIA, The Black Keys, Devendra Banhart and Dr. Dog.

Paul McCartney will headline the festival Friday. The former Beatle will be playing classic hits as well as newer material. Morrissey, formerly of The Smiths, will also perform for the first time at Coachella. Other interesting acts include music mash up king Girl Talk, who takes hundreds of music samples and creates new songs from the pieces. Folk artist and half of the musical duo She & Him, M. Ward will be performing his indie-folk rock music in support of his 2009 album Hold Time. The Crystal Method will be performing a DJ set, kicking off their first live tour in five years.

The Killers are scheduled to be Saturday’s headliners. Amy Winehouse was originally slated to perform as well, but had to cancel after being unable to obtain a work Visa following an assault charge. Sri Lankan electronic/hip hop artist MIA was added to replace Winehouse. Brooklyn’s TV On The Radio will perform their diverse, jazz and soul inspired electronic alternative rock. Beatle George Harrison’s son, Dhani Harrison, will be performing with his rock band Thenewno2.

80s gothic, new wave rock band The Cure, headed by Robert Smith, will headline Coachella’s last night on Sunday. Chicago’s hip hop artist Lupe Fiasco will perform his music, which is influenced by his Islamic religion, skateboarding and robots. Antony Hegarty will perform intimate, soulful music fronting Antony & the Johnsons. Garage Rock band Murder City Devils will play after breaking up in 2003 and reuniting recently to play the Henry Fonda Theater in Los Angeles February. Legendary 80s political hip hop group Public Enemy, including Flava Flav, is scheduled to perform. Paul Weller, formerly singer of English punk band The Jam, will perform his solo material.

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival will be held at the Indio Polo Fields in Indio, Calif., from April 17 to April 19. Day passes are sold out, but three day passes are available online through Ticketmaster for $269.