At a little before 11:30 p.m. Eastern time Jan. 2, like a lightning bolt striking a Joshua tree, the annual music festival season commenced with a tweet. Promoter Goldenvoice had spoken, and lo: Childish Gambino, Tame Impala and Ariana Grande would headline the 2019 Coachella Music and Arts Festival.
Joining them will be an exuberantly broad undercard that includes Spanish flamenco-pop breakout Rosalia, Nashville singer and songwriter Kacey Musgraves, Compton rapper YG, British electronic music innovator Aphex Twin, R&B breakout H.E.R., singer-songwriter Mac DeMarco, next-wave pop innovator Janelle Monae and dozens more.
The event will take place in Indio, Calif., with identical lineups across the weekends of April 12 and April 19. Below, five takeaways from the news.
1. Talk of the roster’s announcement began with a trickle of vague posts that teased a few lesser-known artists: the 78-year-old Tobago calypso artist Calypso Rose; the striking Oxnard artist Cola Boyy; the South Korean band Hyukoh. The tweets followed a few hours of misguided social media speculation regarding rapper Kanye West’s possible performance.