INDIO (United States), April 14 — Coachella day two was heavy on alt rock throwbacks including a much-anticipated No Doubt reunion, but it was Taylor Swift — who wasn’t on the line-up and didn’t perform — creating buzz.
Her mere presence at the mammoth music festival set the internet alight, after she made a much-speculated on appearance… as a fan, canoodling and dancing with beau Travis Kelce as Bleachers performed a rollicking set.
Bleachers is fronted by Jack Antonoff, Swift’s friend and long-time producer.
Kelce’s blocking skills came in handy as the 6’5” (1.96 metres) NFL tight end did well to obscure his wildly famous girlfriend from view, as the couple enjoyed the show from just offstage.
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Still, an AFP journalist saw the much-discussed lovebirds twirling and singing along during the performance of Antonoff, who’s co-written and produced several of Swift’s albums.
Fan videos quickly started circulating online. Swift’s appearance comes less than a week before her forthcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department, drops April 19.
The 34-year-old billionaire is currently on break from her blockbuster Eras tour, and was spotted on a date night in Los Angeles Friday.
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Antonoff founded and has fronted rock band Bleachers since 2014, meanwhile becoming one of the most sought-after producers in pop who has worked with superstars including Swift, Lana Del Rey and Lorde.
Alt-rock roots and Paris Hilton
Coachella started as a rock festival but in recent years it’s leaned increasingly into pop, rap and the Latino megastars who rule the streaming charts.
But Saturday’s line-up offered a portrait of nostalgia: along with No Doubt — the group fronted by Gwen Stefani, which is set to play together for the first time in some 15 years — legendary rockers Blur are set to perform.
Stoner reggae rock group Sublime — the 1990s act beloved for hits including Santeria — drew throngs of fans to the main stage for a sunset performance featuring the late frontman Brad Nowell’s son Jakob leading the way.
And Vampire Weekend also made a last-minute return to the desert, having last performed there more than a decade ago.
The veteran indie rockers whose hits including Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa were brought in just last week, and frontman Ezra Koenig, who sported a striped Pogues sweatshirt, told cheering fans he’d been leaning back sipping ranch water — a cocktail of seltzer, tequila and lime — in Texas when he got a text asking if they’d come on board.
The group just released their fifth album, Only God Was Above Us, and played a mix of fan favourites and new work, including a 15-minute honky tonk mash-up.
They also randomly brought Paris Hilton onstage to play a quick round of cornhole — a popular North American bean bag-based lawn game — as part of a giveaway of chocolate for front-row fans.
“I haven’t played this game since The Simple Life,” the cowboy-hat wearing socialite and reality TV icon quipped, a referencing to the cult mid-2000s series she starred in with Nicole Richie.
“Make some noise for The Simple Life!” yelled Koenig to laughs and applause. — AFP
