Olivia Rodrigo continues to cement her standing as Gen Z's official 1990s ambassador, following up her tour dates with the Breeders and multiple Sheryl Crow duets with a cameo appearance during No Doubt's reunion set at Coachella on April 13. The 21-year-old joined Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal and company for a slap-happy run through "Bathwater" at the festival, which marked the SoCal hitmakers' first performance in nearly a decade.
Although the festival's more recent headliners have included the likes of Bad Bunny, Blackpink and Harry Styles, for years Coachella was primarily the domain of '90s superstars and bespoke reunions, so in that sense Saturday's main stage lineup represented something of a return to form. No Doubt's high-energy set was immediately preceded by performances from Blur and the reunited Sublime, now featuring Jakob Nowell in place of his late father, Bradley Nowell. (Tyler, the Creator is scheduled to close out the night shortly.)
No Doubt were clearly the key draw among the old-timer crowd, however, and the group failed to disappoint, delivering a fully aerobic hourlong set. Opening with "Hella Good," the band nailed all the expected high notes and radio hits, while also delving into their early catalog for "Total Hate '95" and "Different People," as well as a cover of "One Step Beyond" by Prince Buster (via Madness). Stefani was tirelessly dynamic throughout, sprinting across the stage, doing a set of pushups, and leading a crowd singalong of "Just a Girl" while perched high atop an onstage truss. The group have been cagey about any plans to mount a full-scale tour after this one-off Coachella reunion, but judging by the response they received tonight, they'll be leaving some serious money on the table if they don't.
Gwen Stefani performs 'Just a Girl' with the reunited No Doubt at Coachella.
Just prior to the band's set, Blur had a tougher time of things, with frontman Damon Albarn looking slightly crestfallen as his attempts to rev up the audience during "Girls & Boys" fell somewhat flat. "You'll never see us again, so you might as well f--king sing this!" he admonished, presumably a reference to recent hints that the band would be "wrapping up" in the near future. Of course, aside from a few scattered hits, Blur were never as omnipresent Stateside as their erstwhile rivals Oasis, and the band likely did themselves no favors by frontloading the set with b-sides and deep cuts. (Although for those who knew the catalog, a wonderfully nervy version of "Trouble in the Message Centre" was a particular highlight.) The quartet seemed far more bemused than bothered by the tepid reception, however, and Albarn cheekily introduced "Song 2" by praising a recent TikTok cover of the song as performed by a vacuum cleaner.
Saturday also featured performances from Ice Spice, Bleachers, Jon Batiste, Orbital, the Last Dinner Party and Grimes, with the latter having some serious technical issues with her equipment the dance tent (see below). Earlier, Vampire Weekend performed a last-minute set in the late afternoon, inexplicably bringing Paris Hilton onstage to play cornhole.
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On Friday night, Lana Del Rey was joined by Billie Eilish for her moody, low-key headlining performance. Sunday will see appearances from J Balvin, Renee Rapp and Victoria Monet, with Doja Cat bringing the first weekend to a close.
