- Military rank affects medical care, offering societal insights: study
- US proposes reclassifying marijuana as low-risk drug
- Cannes film shocks with fairy-tale horror on abortion
- Schauffele equals major record low round with 62 to lead PGA
- Schauffele ties record-low major round with 62 for PGA lead
- Slovak PM speaking but serious after shooting, suspected gunman charged
- Ten Hag warns England's Shaw doubtful for Euro 2024
- Swiatek into Rome Open final as trophy record beckons, Paul battles through
- US bank regulator grilled over 'toxic culture' at agency
- Nigeria lawmaker's plan for mass wedding of orphans sparks uproar
- Ukraine trying to 'stabilise' front as Russia pushes northeast
- 'Fighter' Alaphilippe back winning in Giro 12th stage, Pogacar holds lead
- Demirtas: Erdogan's Kurdish nemesis condemned to prison
- Juve's Allegri suspended two matches after cup final red
- Hamilton says struggling Mercedes have found 'North Star'
- Trump lawyers vie to discredit key witness Cohen at trial
- England centre Slade signs new Exeter deal to end talk of France move
- Brazil's Porto Alegre: a flood disaster waiting to happen
- Resilient Schauffele grabs PGA lead as McIlroy's emotions tested
- 'I was trying to take a picture' with Slovak PM when he was shot: witness
- F1 design guru Newey will 'probably' join new team after Red Bull exit
- Walmart profits rise on strong sales from wealthier shoppers
- 100 years of British royal photography goes on display in London
- Alaphilippe wins Giro 12th stage, Pogacar holds race lead
- Nigerian women's rights pioneer celebrated in new biopic
- Israel vows to 'intensify' operations in Rafah
- Slovak PM 'able to speak' after shooting, suspected gunman charged
- Pyramids built along long-lost river, scientists discover
- London's Queen's Club to host WTA Tour event for first time in 52 years
- Paul survives chaotic ending to reach Rome Open semis
- French LGBTQ groups 'extremely concerned' over increase in attacks
- Anya Taylor-Joy praises 'unbelievable' 'Mad Max' stunt team
- Stocks waver after hitting record highs
- Green policies can be vote winners, London mayor says
- McIlroy shares early lead at emotionally testing PGA Championship
- S.Africa tells UN court Israel 'genocide' hit 'new and horrific stage'
- Man City's Ederson out of Premier League climax and FA Cup final
- 'Rappers and yodellers': Nagelsmann strikes balance in Euro 2024 squad
- England set to ban gender identity teaching in schools
- Serbia leases army HQ bombed by NATO to Trump son-in-law
- France deploys additional forces to quell New Caledonia unrest
- McIlroy faces emotional early test as PGA Championship begins
- Chelsea players 'love' Pochettino and must fight for him, says Palmer
- Germany boss Nagelsmann ignores Hummels to stick with regulars for Euros
- Sevilla great Navas to leave club in summer
- France accuses Azerbaijan of interference in New Caledonia riots
- European stocks dip from records, shrugging off gains elsewhere
- Toulouse's Chocobares eligible for Champions Cup final in spite of suspension
- Dutch EU opt-out on asylum could take 'years': Wilders to AFP
- Murray makes victorious comeback in Bordeaux
CMSC | -0.25% | 24.43 | $ | |
RBGPF | -1.42% | 59.7 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.29% | 5.37 | $ | |
SCS | 0.66% | 13.7 | $ | |
NGG | 0.78% | 73.37 | $ | |
VOD | 1.43% | 9.78 | $ | |
RELX | -0.02% | 43.9 | $ | |
GSK | -0.98% | 44.885 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.32% | 24.295 | $ | |
RIO | 1.71% | 71.555 | $ | |
BCC | -2.96% | 136.81 | $ | |
JRI | -0.39% | 11.605 | $ | |
BTI | 0.78% | 31.565 | $ | |
BCE | -0.67% | 34.34 | $ | |
BP | -0.73% | 37.0542 | $ | |
AZN | 0.17% | 77.1 | $ |
Lana, Tyler, Doja headline Coachella where Swift rumored to appear
Hordes of music fans were arriving in California's Coachella Valley for the premier arts festival that begins Friday and features headliners Lana Del Rey, Doja Cat and Tyler, the Creator.
No Doubt -- the group fronted by Gwen Stefani, which reached peak fame in the 1990s -- will also reunite onstage for the first time since 2015.
And rumors are flying that none other than Taylor Swift, the megastar currently on break from her blockbuster, billion-dollar Eras tour, could make a surprise appearance on the festival grounds dramatically flanked by the San Jacinto Mountains.
Swift is not on the lineup but speculation is abuzz that she could appear on stage with friend Lana Del Rey or with rock band Bleachers -- which is fronted by Jack Antonoff, her longtime producer.
It would also be the perfect moment to promo her forthcoming album, "The Tortured Poets Department," which drops April 19.
But hopeful fan gossip aside, it's far from Coachella's buzziest year.
Ticket sales were sluggish compared to seasons past, although prices have remained in the $500 range for general admission and over $1,000 for VIP passes.
A decade ago, Coachella entries were snapped up within an hour. This year, weekend one took a month to sell out, while the second round -- for which the lineup essentially remains the same -- still has tickets up for grabs.
The 2024 edition follows a hard act. Last year, Bad Bunny helmed a historic year in which none of the major acts were white for the first time and where the reggaeton titan was the first Spanish-language and Latin American act ever to headline.
And another group with an insatiable fan base, K-pop group Blackpink of South Korea, was in 2023 the first top-billed Asian act.
Meanwhile, reclusive R&B artist Frank Ocean notoriously dropped out of the second weekend after his initial set was inordinately delayed over a leg injury, angering many fans.
- Virtual star, Latin revolution -
Despite the slump in sales, Coachella 2024 features an eclectic line-up including many international acts, a consistent trend at the festival originally centered on alternative rock.
Japan's famed virtual singer Hatsune Miku -- a Vocaloid software voicebank whose personification is a teen girl with turquoise hair -- will make a Coachella debut after originally being booked for 2020.
The "artist" -- who is not real -- began as a virtual instrument in 2007, and has grown into a cultural icon, touring since 2014.
The stage production will include visuals and a live band.
"We have no idea what to expect from the crowd...and the crowd doesn't know what to expect," said Riki Tsuji, who is on the business team of Crypton Future Media, the company behind Hatsune Miku.
"I'm sure we're going to have a ton of people who... have probably never heard of Hatsune Miku before," Tsuji told AFP.
The Grammy-nominated Cimafunk will become the first Cuban-born artist to ever play Coachella, bringing his brand of Afro-Cubano funk inflected with disco and horns to the desert.
He is among the plethora of Latin acts that also include Puerto Rico's fast-rising star Young Miko along with Peso Pluma, the Mexican superstar who broke into the global mainstream with a string of hits over the past year.
Both are among the artists who have collaborated with Argentina's Bizarrap, one of the most streamed Latin American artists in the world whose recording partnerships have also included Shakira and Residente.
Saint Levant, the Jerusalem-born artist of Palestinian, Algerian, French and Serbian origins -- who spent much of his childhood in Gaza -- will take the stage after finding fame across social media, including for his 2023 hit "From Gaza With Love."
Britain's influential grime star Skepta will also perform, his second turn at the festival after debuting in 2017.
And none other than Sublime -- the 1990s stoner reggae rock group beloved for hits including "Santeria" -- will perform, with the late frontman Brad Nowell's son Jakob leading the way.
Coachella 2024 will take place April 12-14 and 19-21.
D.Schneider--BTB