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Writer's pictureAndrew Doucette
May 12, 202312 min read

Coachella 2023 Set Rankings


Coachella was a great experience! There were some hiccups along the way, but it was fascinating to finally see it for my own eyes. One thing that I immediately noticed was that this was a more communal experience than any other festival I’ve been to. At least once a day, people would check on me when I was sitting down to make sure I was ok. Even if the people themselves were pretty messed up on some sort of drugs, they were still fairly nice and caring as a whole. It was always welcoming to see people actually care for others around them in a festival setting. Especially since I was across the country by myself, I feel like if I had something terrible happen while inside the festival, someone in the crowd would have been useful in getting me the help that I needed.


Anyway, on the music side, this festival is always near the top in the world! Obviously, that likely comes with having a larger budget than almost every other festival out there, but still, having people like Gorillaz and Björk on the lineup this year and them not even being the headliners is something that is rarely seen anywhere else. Especially when it comes to the United States festivals, the Coachella music lineup is usually unparalleled. This year was no exception, even if the lineup was not the lineup that people were anticipating. I decided to playfully rank all the sets that I saw over the weekend. I did have to set some rules, the main one being that I had to see at least 20 minutes of their set. Other than that, this is just my personal ranking of which sets I enjoyed the most that weekend. As usual, don’t get too hung up on the specific rankings, this is just my opinion. Also, most of the videos they had are from weekend one, which I did not go to, but all of the top 6 artist’s videos are from weekend two! If Coachella posted a video of theirs, I wanted to include it here. Not all of them did have videos, so it may seem a bit random, but I added as many as were publicly available on their channel.


38. Minus The Light


I wanted to see what the Yuma tent (fully enclosed, air-conditioned dance tent) was like and Minus The Light was playing. No hard feelings, but this random DJ was just a random DJ. The tent itself had some cool lights and a disco shark. I'd imagine it'd be pretty awesome when it was packed.



I couldn’t get myself to walk over to Labrinth after Blackpink. I was too tired and I knew it would be beyond packed getting there 15 minutes after he started (he ended up bringing out Zendaya for her first musical performance in 7 years, so I think I decided wrong). So I saw Eric Prydz instead who was significantly closer. It was a middle of the road electronic music set. The visuals were pretty cool, but this very much felt like a “hit-play-and-let-it-run” DJ set. The visual artists might deserve more credit that he does in my opinion.




This is a Native American group that used to own these lands, and that are still here. It wasn’t the most musically entertaining set, but it was symbolically great and they were good enough to start out my Coachella adventure.


35. Doechii


She still has star potential, but this performance was far from star quality. I’ve seen quite a few young rappers be swallowed up by the huge stages at festivals, so she’s not unique in this, but nothing about this performance felt like a star currently here. The backing track was too loud, so was the DJ, the dancers didn’t add anything to the performance, etc. I hope she continues to improve though, she's the future of TDE.



34. Muna


They had a giant crowd! It was definitely bigger than I expected their crowd to be, and the people loved it! I didn’t love it as much as most people, but this performance made me think that they could be huge someday! They also brought out Phoebe Bridgers, and then the rest of boygenius for “Silk Chiffon”, which was nice.




I honestly was expecting slightly better things from Horsegirl, but that's ok because it was still a solid post-punk/shoegaze-y set. They were still entertaining overall, especially for a 1PM set. I did like how two of them were skipping college classes to be there, that was relatable since I was doing the same thing.




It was really cool hearing someone play authentic Mexican music on stage! The crowd was absolutely loving it. They also did a Bad Bunny cover that was pretty good.



I didn’t realize Fousheé had gone full punk with her music. I never got around to her latest album, but after hearing her features on the Saba and Vince Staples’ albums from the past couple years, I thought she was still in R&B. Her punk songs varied quite a bit in quality, but I think she could make something great in the future.




They’re an Irish post-punk band. The lead singer was that older style of performing that is either cocky or trying to be “cool”. It felt like a character, but I don’t know for sure. They sounded great though! It was a nice mixture of jams and shorter bangers.




It was basically just him and 3 synths jamming most of the time. It was really cool, and he seems like a likable guy, but the uniqueness wore off by the end of it in my opinion.



28. IDK


It was still objectively good, but I’ve become a bit lost when it comes to IDK’s music. Still, he’s an incredible person though who makes sure to connect with his audience. He even sent multiple people to Coachella this year for free, including calling out to someone who he gave free VIP tickets to the day before, but the music itself is just decent to me.




Full disclosure, I watched Yves Tumor through the screens next to the stage. It was going downhill at this point during the day, so I needed a break. But they sounded great and had a great band to back them! I enjoyed their performance in Madison that I saw last night much more!



26. Pusha T


Pusha did absolutely nothing wrong. He was just as great as ever! He rapped every word, ran through a bunch of songs, and was his cocky/confident self. The problem here came with the sound equipment. He came on 15 minutes late (because of the sound), the sound died multiple times during his set, and they wouldn’t give him any extra time. So he only did, at most, 25 minutes of music. He was great for those 25 minutes, but the technical difficulties killed this set. He would have been higher in this list if he had no technical difficulties.




I was slightly disappointed in this set, but I mainly forgot how many hits Calvin actually has. It felt like every other song for an hour was a huge, chart topping smash. The visuals were pretty cool as well, but he just seemed disinterested. None of it was really unique or surprising either. It felt like the fast food of DJ sets, easily replicable and with a low amount of flavor.


24. AG Club


They also had a couple technical difficulties, but it wasn't anywhere close to as bad as Pusha T's. They put on a fun, high energy show like usual! They don’t do anything special, but they’re still an entertaining hip hop show that'll appeal to many people who attend festivals.



I’ve never been a Blink-182 fan, but they put on a good set! The childish banter in-between the songs was fairly hit or miss, but they sounded musically better than I expected. I may not have enjoyed it as much as some other bands I’ve seen live with a similar style (Green Day), but I still enjoyed the set quite a bit.



22. Scowl


I don’t listen to this type of music almost ever, but it was super fun! They had lots of energy, and so did the crowd. Bringing the crowd members on stage to stage dive off of was awesome, and it was even funnier that it was happening throughout the set even when they didn’t explicitly request it. It felt like an underground hardcore punk show, but it was taking place at Coachella.



She ended up coming out late due to technical difficulties, but she was fantastic once she got there! I was a little overwhelmed in this crowd for some reason, but Kali herself still put on a good set. I do wish she did more of her new album, but that’s ok. I know the performance issues probably got to her a bit.




Joy was better than I expected! I thought it would be just a decent R&B performance, but she absolutely killed it! She played multiple unreleased songs, had a killer band, and kept the crowd engaged in the heat.



19. Saba


I haven’t seen Saba since 2019, so it was nice to remind myself how much I enjoy his music! The live band was a really nice addition to his performance! The crowd was way smaller than I expected, but I guess California doesn’t have the same home-crowd love that he gets in Chicago.




Kaytranada himself was the best I’ve seen him at! His DJ skills are fantastic, whether it was the slow transitions between songs or the prolonging of the drop in his Chance The Rapper produced banger, “All Night”. He also brought out H.E.R, Tinashe, and Anderson .Paak for his set! The crowd here was so massive that it became a bit of a detriment. People where I was weren’t dancing or moving at all. Kaytranada’s live set is literally made to get people moving. Compared to his Lolla performance, this crowd was extremely tame where I was. All I know is I need his “Cuff It” remix as soon as possible!




Their DJ was a bit overwhelming this time, but Paris Texas themselves are still fantastic performers! It had some extremely high energy, and they even played some unreleased material. Their combination of rock and hip-hop is still so unique, even after the past couple years. They had 35 minutes of controlled chaos!



She’s been working on her voice over this past year! Even though she had a backing track, she sounded great whenever you could hear her over it! The dancing was better, the crowd was entertained, everything about it was great. Charli has definitely improved in performing over the past couple of years. She put her all into the “Blame It On Your Love” performance! This was also the last performance of her Crash era, so that’s a nice sentimental moment about it too.



15. Noname


Besides her vocals being a bit hard to understand, everything about it was fantastic! She still seemed in a positive mood on stage. The band was easily one of the best hip hop bands of the weekend. There were even special guests (Joseph Chilliams and Saba) who came out and did their verses with Noname. She seemed a little rusty to performing, but everything else being great helped overcome that. I can’t wait to hear her new album this July!




This show was pretty much a more condensed version of the tour she is going around with, but she still sounded incredible! There were more jokes about her music being rave and moshpit music, but otherwise, it was her tour. The biggest difference was a purple dinosaur on stage for “Everyday” (no, that’s not a joke). It worked better in a theater, but it was still great here!




The crowd here was otherworldly huge! I spent the first 30-40 minutes walking around looking for a spot, but I failed and went to the very back. So even though I ended up being incredibly far from the stage, he still sounded great! All the guest artists brought it, including José Feliciano. The crowd and lights added to the performance this time, especially from the safety of the back. It was a two hour party to end the day!




After seeing them live, I have a lot of thoughts about the actual music itself, but they put on a great show! It started off a bit rougher, performance wise, but they really came around after they did their respective solo songs. Rosé was clearly the standout vocalist in my opinion, and I’ll definitely be checking in to see what she does next. There was also an amazing drone show before their set! (video below)




I only saw the final 20-25 minutes of this performance, but it made me consider buying a ticket to their Chicago show this summer! Turns out it's sold out already, so I missed my chance, but they all sounded amazing either way! They were able to play off of each other beautifully, especially with their harmonies. They also just look like they’re having a blast up there, especially since it ended in a full tackle/hug to the ground.



10. Wet Leg


They may be the new hot thing in indie music, but I could see them becoming a chart topping band! After getting a couple Grammy’s for their debut album, they absolutely tore down the Mojave tent on Friday! The crowd loved it, the band seemed super into it, and it was thankfully in the shade. There were multiple points where they couldn’t even finish their lyrics because they were laughing too hard. The duo would also do synchronized spins on stage to amuse themselves. Even Dave Grohl showed up for a second to come scream on stage during, “Ur Mom”, which is only the type of thing you could see at Coachella.




Another hilarious and great set from Marc! His improv skills are fantastic, and the subject matter he chose this time of it being too hot outside and having an existential crisis were awesome! Not many artists can improv a 10-minute song around a loop of them saying, “fuck”, but Marc can. There is nothing quite like being a crowd at a Marc Rebillet set. The set below is from Weekend 1, so the set that I saw is entirely different, but it gives off a similar feeling.




I only saw the second half of it, but it was clear that the crowd understood the significance of this performance! This was his second performance ever in his 13 year career. Everyone was engaged and made sure to give Jai the loudest cheers I heard at that stage the whole festival! Jai himself sounded pretty good and more comfortable than the couple videos I saw of him at week 1. Hopefully he returns to creating music at some point in the future.



They sounded just as amazing as ever! They did more solos here than their performance in Madison last year, which was cool to hear. Both Thundercat and Anderson .Paak came out as surprise guests and while neither was out of the realm of possibility, it was awesome that it happened! I had still never seen Anderson .Paak live before, and hearing them do one of my favorite songs from last year live was an incredible way to finally see him!




They put on an amazing performance! The crowd here was a little lackluster, at least where I was. People were literally talking on the phone in the crowd as they’re bringing out Beck on stage. There were too many guests to name, but Little Simz and Bad Bunny coming out before his actual set were especially welcome surprises! “O Green World” was especially amazing at this performance! They have too many hits to do all of them in 75 minutes, so they didn't do all the songs I wanted them to, but that's ok.




Dinner Party consists of Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, Kamasi Washington, and 9th Wonder. Each of them are a legend in their own right, but seeing all these icons on one stage was a sight to behold! They did a couple of their normally structured songs before going full jazz mode for most of the set. Each of them had a 3-5 minute solo on their respective instrument that left the crowd awestruck. Robert and Terrace were also constantly joking with the crowd, providing some humanity to this showcase of superhuman skill. It was just an all around incredible experience!


4. Björk


Björk is an absolute legend! Even with a few obvious fumbles during the set, it was surreal just seeing her up there. The dry heat was clearly making singing hard for her, but she made light of it and apologized for messing up, even though we were still ok with it. If anything, it just showed how hard it is to sing like she does. There was also a drone show above the stage for about a third of the set that elevated everything! I do wish they had it for the entire set, but Björk and the orchestra was more than enough to be entranced for 75 minutes. I talked to someone who cried during this set, and I can see why.




This performance wasn’t quite as organized as his Week 1 performance seemed to be, but it was still fantastic! Bringing out The Weeknd, Future, Don Toliver, and Offset on one stage is in itself enough for a fantastic set! Especially Future, hearing some of those iconic songs performed live was iconic! I do wish that 21 Savage could have made it again because it would have taken away the awkward DJ set that Metro did for about 10-15 minutes, but it is what it is. The special guests he did bring out were enough to make it a standout of the weekend!




I was supposed to leave her early to see Jai Paul, but 3 songs in, I realized there was no way I could do that! I might need to write something about her performances over the past year because the way she approaches live performances is so unique and well executed! Rosalía puts on a special performance, no matter what show it is! Really the only thing she could have improved was to have her fiance, Rauw Alejandro, there for their new songs together like Weekend 1, but that’s it. Everything else was perfect!



I'm not sure if this was musically my favorite set, but when I think about my Coachella experience, I keep coming back to this one. The emotions and sound of this set were absolutely perfect! They may have only filled in on a few days notice, but their energy was palpable! They walked down the runway so unassuming with their tote bags and backpacks, but once they got behind the table, they had everyone’s ears standing at attention. Each artist had a different style of DJing, but no matter who was running the boards, they were having a blast. Whether it was Skrillex doing mixes of Ice Spice and Pop Smoke into tracks off his new album, or Four Tet trolling on stage with his “Country Riddim” drops at random points during the set, they were clearly loving their time up there. In fact, Fred Again.. could barely speak on stage because the moment was too overwhelming. They were put in an impossible position, and they exceeded all expectations!



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