The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has announced the lineup for its 2016 incarnation, to be held on consecutive weekends – April 15-17 and April 22-24 – in Indio, California. As previously reported, the reformed LCD Soundsystem and Guns N’ Roses will headline, accompanied by a who’s who of electronic artists, indie darlings and buzz bands.
Filling out the lineup are Sufjan Stevens, M83, Grimes, Run the Jewels, Ice Cube, Jack Ü, Sia, Major Lazer, Death Grips, Sia, Flume, Calvin Harris, Beach House, A$AP Rocky, Chvrches, Purity Ring, Disclosure, Courtney Barnett, Vince Staples, Rhye, Bat for Lashes, Savages, Deafheaven, Deerhunter, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Hudson Mohawke, Ellie Goulding, HEALTH, Rae Sremmurd, Kamasi Washington, the Last Shadow Puppets, Skepta, Christine and the Queens, Mavis Staples, Lush, AlunaGeorge, SOPHIE, Ex Hex, DJ Koze, Sheer Mag, Autolux, Melody’s Echo Chamber, Girlpool, Underworld, the Kills, Chris Stapleton, Zedd, Rancid, Baauer, and more. Find the full lineup below, and ticket info here.
Most fascinating is the complete lack of recognizable rock n’ roll support for what’s arguably the biggest rock reunion of all time: Guns N’ Roses. Their headlining slot on Saturday is bound to come off quite strangely after a day of A$ap Rocky, Chvrches, Grimes and other dance and indie acts. In truth, GNR stand out like a sore thumb, the only high-level rock band on the bill besides The Kills on Friday, and maybe Death Grips on Sunday, if you can call them rock. Preening prettyboys The 1975 don’t count.
Then there’s the question of whether or not Axl can even pull off the reunion with any sense of justice to the original glory days – and time and again we’ve been shown plenty of reasons to doubt that the Fat Elvis version of Mr. Rose can pull it off. Whatever the case, we’re looking forward to going full-jerky dehydration in the desert once again, dancing our almighty asses off as giant metamorphic insects crawl through the fields, Kendall or Kylie or whatever shitty Kardashian stinks up the joint with her fashion-endorsed Instagram squad and super-soaker girls in the Do-LaB tent douse the saucer-pupil masses. Coachella, we can’t wait to be back inside you.
