Coachella’s biggest surprise guests of Weekend 1

Post Malone with Bad Bunny

Two of the biggest radio hitmakers in the world joined up Friday night when Post Malone made a surprise appearance during Bad Bunny’s late night performance. Unfortunately, technical difficulties marred the show. Bad Bunny even tried holding up a microphone to Post Malone’s guitar, to no avail. 

Billie Eilish with Labrinth

Pop sensation Billie Eilish joined R&B singer Labrinth on Saturday night to perform a live duet of their song “Never Felt So Alone,” which debuted on an episode of HBO’s “Euphoria.” The connection of Eilish and Euphoria made it a moment to remember.

Phoebe Bridgers with Muna

Fresh off of opening for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, Muna took their alt-pop act to Coachella on Friday afternoon. Given that Phoebe Bridgers is featured on Muna’s biggest song, “Silk Chiffon,” and was scheduled to perform later on with supergroup Boygenius, her appearance during Muna’s set wasn’t shocking. But, in a twist, Boygenius bandmates Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker joined her on stage with Muna. 

Boygenius and Muna will both be performing in the Bay Area in the near future: Muna is scheduled to play San Francisco’s Warfield on Wednesday, April 19, and Boygenius is in the lineup for Re:SET on June 4 at the Frost Amphitheater at Stanford University.

Ciara with Jackson Wang

One of the least expected pairings of the festival’s first weekend came when former K-pop star Jackson Wang welcomed hip-hop queen Ciara to the stage for a medley of the singer’s greatest hits, including “Lose Control,” “1, 2 Step,” “Level Up” and “Goodies.”

Nile Rodgers with Blondie

A pair of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers stole the show Friday when Blondie welcomed legendary producer Nile Rodgers to the stage. Blondie and Rodgers played two songs together, 1980’s “Rapture” and 1981’s “Backfired,” which Rodgers produced for Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry for her solo album “KooKoo.” 

Blink-182

Technically, Blink-182 was part of Coachella’s announced lineup, but barely. News of the pop-punk legends’ reunion show, their first with Tom DeLonge since 2014, was reported one day before the festival kicked off. 

Ellie Goulding with Calvin Harris

Speculation was rampant over who would join Calvin Harris for the DJ’s Saturday night set. From Rihanna, to Snoop Dogg, to Sam Smith, to Travis Scott, to Katy Perry, Harris has worked with the biggest names in music across multiple genres. 

In the end, Harris brought out British artist Ellie Goulding to close his set with a rendition of their relatively new song “Miracle,” which was released in March. Goulding might not be Super Bowl halftime show famous, but she and Harris are reportedly “really good friends.”

De La Soul and Thundercat with Gorillaz

Gorillaz were extremely generous in terms of sharing the stage during their Friday night set. The genre- and medium-spanning act welcomed a number of performers to the stage, including bassist Thundercat and band De La Soul for their biggest hit “Feel Good Inc.”  

As beloved as Gorillaz are, they were upstaged on social media by Jisoo, of headliners Blackpink, who was spotted dancing during the performance.

Mac DeMarco and Thundercat with Domi and JD Beck

Jazz duo Domi and JD Beck brought out not one, but two big names during their Friday set, welcoming singer Mac DeMarco and the aforementioned Thundercat, who had quite the busy weekend. 

Saweetie with Latto

During her Sunday set, Latto welcomed fellow rapper and the Bay Area’s own Saweetie to join her and perform “B*tch From Da Souf.” Anyone who follows Latto knows how seriously she takes her role as a woman in hip-hop. Along with Saweetie’s cameo, Latto also brought artists TiaCorine and Lola Brooke to the stage.