The 10 Best Coachella Performances Of All-Time

Every year, Coachella seems to do something new and different that propels its status of “America’s Greatest Music Festival” to an even higher level than ever before. It has had its fair share of shockers, surprises and highlights since its inception back in 1999, but the real reason why everyone treks out into the middle of the California desert is because of the abundance of musical performances - and maybe to have an excuse to wear one of those flower crowns, too. Whether you’re there to see one of your favorite artists, or maybe to find a brand new obsession altogether, the multi-weekend event is always full of some pretty great sets that are sure to satisfy fans of all genres. And so, while we wait to see what 2017’s outing has in store for us, we've decided to take a look back at some of the best performances that ever graced a Coachella stage.... Kanye West - 2011 Kanye West is a musician whose live performances aren’t exactly best made for a festival atmosphere. His shows are best done when he’s the focal point of it all - when he has all the time in the world to do whatever he wants to do, preferably in a huge arena setting. But, when he took the stage at Coachella in 2011, you would have thought that it was really Kanye’s festival to begin with. Fresh off the release of his critically acclaimed record, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, he delivered plenty of material from the record and so much more. He even dubbed the performance as “the most important show” since his mother passed away in 2007. Naturally, he included his track “Hey Mama” into the set, too, and well, cue the waterworks. Outkast - 2014 One of the best parts about Coachella is that it’s the absolute perfect time to unleash all the reunions at once. With a festival including so many darn people in attendance, why not decide to get the band back together for a performance for old times’ sake? Hip-hop group Outkast shared similar sentiments when they decided to rock things at the festival in 2014. It was the first time in nearly a decade that the group had hit the stage together, so you could probably expect that things were a little bit awkward for one of the most hyped reunions in a while. It didn’t take long for them to get back into the swing of things, though, and it made you wonder why they went away for so long in the first place. Sure, maybe most of the crowd was dying to only hear “Hey Ya!” - and they got their wish - but it doesn’t change the fact that Outkast still ended up delivering a very special performance. Sia - 2016 Sia is so much more than just a singer - she pretty much encapsulates exactly what it means to be a true artist, and if anyone's the master of projecting that on stage in a live performance, it’s her. You can bet that she brought it all when she performed her hits (and other peoples’) for her Coachella set in 2016. In what was basically a visual art piece, Sia sang chart-toppers like “Cheap Thrills” and Rihanna’s “Diamonds” as various celebrities reenacted the songs on screen in the background. For example, you had actress Kristen Wiig during “One Million Bullets,” while Paul Dano and Tig Notaro made cameos, too. With Sia, you always get an epic dose of star power, whether it’s coming from outside sources or straight from the singer herself. Jay Z - 2010 Jay Z’s performance at Coachella in 2010 was much more notable than it initially appears. Although the festival has been around since 1999, Hov’s marquee appearance was the first time that a hip-hop artist had ever headlined the event. As expected, he brought the house down, dishing out numerous tracks off his recently released record, The Blueprint 3. Additionally, he even managed to throw some covers into the mix, too, like Kanye West’s “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” and, interestingly, Oasis’ “Wonderwall.” The highlight of the night, however, came during the encore, when Jay Z brought out his wife, Beyonce, for an adorable rendition of the song “Young Forever.” Pharrell - 2014 2014 may as well have been deemed “The Year of Pharrell.” Granted, the mastermind songwriter and producer had been in the game forever, but his song “Happy” undoubtedly turned him into a world-renowned superstar. As such, it only made sense to book the country’s biggest artist for the country’s biggest festival, right? Living up to the hype, Pharrell took Coachella by storm with a set that boasted a metric crap-ton of guests including Snoop Dogg, Nelly and Busta Rhymes - and that was only for weekend number one. For his second set the following weekend, he brought out Jay Z, Usher and more. The success of “Happy” may have been responsible for his happiness, but nobody was happier than the fans in the crowd watching it all unfold right before their eyes. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg And Hologram Tupac - 2012 Okay, so we’re used to reunions at Coachella … but resurrections are a whole different story. Tupac made an immaculate return at the festival in 2012 when a hologram version of the late-rapper was projected onto the stage, and it gave us the opportunity to check out a realistic, yet kind of haunting look at him in this day and age. Joined alongside him were the, uh, real life versions of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, and the trio performed tracks like “Come With Me” and “Gangsta Party.” The set also featured appearances by artists such as Eminem and 50 Cent, and while the whole hologram thing was met with mixed reviews overall, the performance still ended up being pretty great. Daft Punk - 2006 It’s impossible to think about the best Coachella performances without including Daft Punk’s iconic set from back in 2006. The dance duo brought forth a full-blown production for their set, as they ended up getting every single person moving right from the comfort of their massive pyramid-shaped stage. Decked out in dazzling lights, LED, and more, their performance is widely regarded as the best that a festival has ever had to offer. The craziest part is that this wasn’t even close to the level of popularity that they’re at now. With smash hit “Get Lucky” under their belts and recent collaborations with The Weeknd, we can only imagine what it’d be like if they decided to make a return for 2017’s Coachella. 2 Chainz And Fall Out Boy - 2013 Just a few months before Coachella 2013, highly influential pop-rock band Fall Out Boy announced that they’d be rising from the ashes to release a new record. The first single we got from this new revitalized Fall Out Boy was the fiery hit single, “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up),” and the best part about it was that it came with a remix featuring rapper 2 Chainz. In the most unlikely of collaborations, it was kind of an incredible song, so it was an awesome surprise when he decided to bring the band out during his set at Coachell to perform it a few years back. Since then, both 2 Chainz and Fall Out Boy have been better than ever. The Weeknd - 2015 If anyone wasn’t completely sold on The Weeknd, they sure as hell were after he commanded the main stage with ease at Coachella in 2015. He'd probably be the biggest act on the bill if he were to play at 2017’s festival, but his set back then found him relying on tracks like Drake’s “Crew Love” and Ariana Grande’s “Love Me Harder.” His pitch perfect vocals prevailed throughout, and he capped off the night with his largest hit at that point - “Earned It.” His Coachella appearance pre-dated the release of “The Hills” and “Can’t Feel My Face” by only a couple of weeks, so really, this was one of the last shows before Abel Tesfaye turned into an overnight household name. The 1975 - 2016 While the big name headliners are great and all, some of Coachella’s best performances involve the artists who are still on their way to the top. The 1975 have become one of the most promising pop bands over the past couple of years, and the release of their 2016 full-length, I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It, proved that they were going to be a can’t-miss band when they were announced as a performer for the 2016 edition of the event. Hitting the stage and offering performances of their standout tracks “The Sound” and “Girls,” The 1975’s pure, unadulterated rock n’ roll persona showed that their main stage presence deserves to be upgraded into a headlining status someday in the future.