The headliners get a lot of the love at music festivals. Big-name surprise guests get a lot of the love. Celebrities in the crowd get a lot of love. But I’m here to give some love to the less-loved.
Coachella, at its essence, has always been about finding the next big thing before they break. The Coachella poster is filled with hundreds of not-yet-known talent just waiting to jump into the public consciousness and sometimes their Coachella set can help with that.
In recent years, Lizzo is a good example of someone who was relatively unknown playing on a smaller stage in the middle of the day at Coachella 2019, belting out high notes while battling through technical difficulties. Three months later, everyone knew all the words to “Truth Hurts,” and those who missed her at Coachella were as sad as that guy she left for her new man on the Minnesota Vikings.
So with that in mind, here are five acts at this year’s Coachella who aren’t in big print on the poster and may be playing in the middle of the day, but I think you should seek out.
Olivia Dean
When she plays: Sunday
Dean is a 25-year-old from England who has a knack for kicking out heartfelt girl-power ballads that have a very high sing-along quotient. First and foremost, Dean’s light and breezy jams simply put you in a good mood. When she performs, she seems like she’s having fun, and that sort of carries over into her music. Her song “Dive” in particular is a day-brightener that I fell in love with in about 12 seconds. I think of her as a slightly more upbeat Alessia Cara, but she’s in that same pocket. I’m looking forward to seeing her performance style live, and I don’t know exactly what to expect, but I’m confident I’m going to leave her set with a smile.
The Japanese House
When she plays: Friday
With a name like The Japanese House, you may not be expecting this outfit to simply by 28-year-old Brit Amber Mary Bain serving up haunting vocals, but I was hooked after one listen. I’ve since learned that the unusual name she chose was because she was not ready to reveal her name or gender when she released her first single “Still” in 2012, which was a hit in England. She has worked closely with Matty Healy of the band The 1975 whose label produced many of her tracks. With success came a broader confidence, and she emerged from her anonymity, eventually doing photo shoots and press as well as going on tours. One of the genres associated with her is ‘dream pop,” which is a good description as her songs are lullaby-esque. She described her sound in an interview as a “modern-day, more depressing Abba.” She’s underselling the power behind her vocals, but she did do a stripped-down version of the Abba hit “Super Trouper” that is worth finding on YouTube and is a perfect example of her sound.
Young Fathers
When they play: Saturday
Young Fathers is a Scottish progressive hip-hop group, which is not a series of words you see next to each other that often. But the trio of Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole and G Hastings work well together, each bringing something different. The result is that most Young Fathers songs are filled with unique layers within the track. As each of the three leads is featured, the vibe and the sound changes, but the flow isn’t hampered. When famed director Danny Boyle resurrected his “Trainspotting” franchise with a new film in 2017, he leaned into Young Fathers, who were responsible for six of the songs on the soundtrack. And that’s a good way to describe their sound: The type of music that would be playing during a “Trainspotting”-style movie. If you’re a gamer that had songs featured in the soccer video games “FIFA 19” and “FIFA 23.” The dropped a new album “Heavy, Heavy” in 2023, and it was named the top album of the year in Scotland. They’ve been around for a while, but they’re new to me. Can’t wait to see them.
The Drums
When they play: Saturday
The Drums are a New York-raised indie pop band. The group has gone through different iterations over the years and is now left as pretty much a solo project with original member Johnny Pierce fronting the operation. The Drums released a new album in 2023, which is very introspective for Pierce on the topic of his difficult childhood. It has the same signature driving drum beats with Pierce’s voice over the top. The Drums are influenced by and sound somewhat similar to The Smiths or New Order. The Drums also appeared at Coachella in 2018, so this won’t be a first for Pierce, but he’s put out a lot of music in the six years since, and it will be interesting to hear what that sounds like.
RAYE
When she plays: Saturday
Just as I was putting together this piece on under-the-radar acts, it was announced that RAYE would be the musical guest on “Saturday Night Live” on April 6, exactly one week before she performs at Coachella. So at the very least, this 26-year-old from England is on Lorne Michaels’ radar, so even if she doesn’t quite fit the scrappy up-and-comer narrative, she’s still a can’t-miss at this year’s Coachella. If she’s not on your radar, she should be. RAYE is riding high after her debut album “My 21st Century Blues” won Album of the Year at the 2024 Brit Awards. Her musical style and sound is very much in the vein of Amy Winehouse with a more of a lean toward R&B. Before her breakthrough, she was an accomplished songwriter, penning hits for music royalty like Beyonce and Rihanna. But the immediate future for RAYE appears to be with her directly in the spotlight, and all signs point to her being more than ready. She does her name in all-caps, and she seems to be in the middle of an all-caps moment right now.
Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.
