Coachella’s first weekend rounded up a long list of artists, but the best were the ones that were left unannounced.
Although Ice Cube hinted at wanting to reunite NWA at Coachella, the group’s Saturday performance was unannounced– and missing Dr. Dre. Still, their rendition of “Fuck the Police” was everything hip hop fans were hoping for going in to the festival.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Perhaps most powerful was when Kesha joined Zedd on stage, mid-set, for a performance of his “True Colors”. This was one of her most public appearances after the court case against Dr. Luke for sexual and mental abuse was thrown out. Kesha never addressed the crowd directly but sang a compelling rendition of the song. Social media posts from the festival were a testament to her performance. “Kesha is free,” they read.
Dressed in all black, Kesha sang the heartfelt lyrics,
All my life, one page at a time
I’ll show you my, my true colors
No, I won’t apologize for the fire in my eyes
Let me show you my, my true colors, it ain’t no rainbow
She even changed the lyrics to the hook from “We’ve escaped our capture/ Yet we have our masters” to “We’ve escaped our capture/ I have no master”.
Zedd posted on Instagram afterward, “Thank you Coachella. Thank you Kesha. This was special.”
You can watch the performances at Coachella live on Youtube.
