Palm Springs Life provides a shortcut to the hottest bands to appear at Coachella and Stagecoach this year.
Coachella
April 15-17 and April 22-24
www.coachella.com
COURTNEY BARNETT
The acclaimed Australian singer/songwriter/guitarist is a gifted linguist who deftly cultivates seemingly small thoughts and wicked wink/nudge humor into garage-size rhymes and raucous riffs.
THE DAMNED
British protopunk goth iconoclasts roar ever onward, with vampirical vocalist Dave Vanian and guitarist Captain Sensible leading the band’s 40th anniversary charge. You’ll be damned damned damned if you miss their never-know-what-comes-next set.
DISCLOSURE
British dance-duo siblings Howard and Guy Lawrence return to Coachella with their forward-thinking next-gen funk/soul synthpop. Let the bass and house bounce Settle and “Flow!”
GUNS N’ ROSES
Never mind all the bluster, outcry, and hand-wringing rage/hype. Fact is, the original GNR always came to rawk, and we expect these legendary sweet L.A. childs to deliver the hard-charging goods. Welcome to the valley.
LCD SOUNDSYSTEM
All hail the return of the headlining James Murphy and company, duly resurrected after a cathartic band funeral at Madison Square Garden five years ago. Bonus: New LCD electronic dance punk shall not bring us down.
LUSH
Triumphant return to the stage for these recently reunited early ’90s shoegazing pioneers, who dreamily set you adrift on a memory bliss of searing guitars and, well, lush harmonies.
MAJOR LAZER
Reggae, EDM, dancehall, and more are aswirl in this Diplo-driven house project. Chances are, every hand will be in the air when the time comes to “Lean On,” with more than 526 million global streams and counting.
MIAMI HORROR
Fine post-disco dreamscapes from Melbourne, Australia, expat Benjamin Plant’s electronic quartet find sunny ’n’ sexy vocals merged with a feeling of primal longing — in other words, the perfect valley vision.
NORA EN PURE
Swiss-based DJ serves up a nice blend of trop house and deep house. Highlight: She weaves vocal and guitar samples from Spandau Ballet’s 1980s new-wave ballad “True” into the cool wave of “Saltwater.”
CHRIS STAPLETON
Do believe the hype: Triumphant Traveller and “Tennessee Whiskey” man Stapleton bridges the gap between country and comfort, and his sets are always highlighted by his smoky duets with wife/muse Morgane.
Stagecoach
April 29-30, May 1
www.stagecoachfestival.com
THE BAND PERRY
Equal parts leather and lace, this sibling trio — vocalist Kimberly, bassist Reid, multi-instrumentalist Neil — deliver harmonious platinum-selling country gold ahead of forthcoming new album Heart + Beat.
THE DOOBIE BROTHERS
More grit-rock than radio-pop these days, plus “China Grove” and “Black Water” are as sublime as ever. You’ll sing along to every Doobie-rrific word as you (whoa-oh-ohhh) listen to the music.
EMMYLOU HARRIS
The queen of interpretation and harmony (with the likes of Gram Parsons, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, and Mark Knopfler) has blossomed into a late-career master singer/songwriter across a wide range of Americana stylings.
SAM HUNT
Superstar Hunt’s broad musical cauldron is filled with a potent bubbling brew of country, blues, R&B, honky-tonk, rock, acoustic, washboard percussion, and (yes) hip-hop rhythms. Leave the night on, Sam’s a-coming …
RAELYNN
One-time Blake Shelton protégé, and alumna of The Voice shows why she made it to the quarterfinals in Season 2, with a youthful mesh of down-home values and modern beats, y’all.