A year ago, Beyoncé had to cancel her Coachella performance, but it was worth the wait. This year she came to claim her spot as the first black woman to headline the famous music festival since it’s beginning in 1999.
If you’ve entered any social media at any point since April 13th, you’ve probably seen your fair share of Coachella Festival candid pictures. However, the festival vibes haven’t been the most important highlight of this past couple of days. That spot belongs to Beyoncé by giving a historic performance on the second day of this year’s Coachella festival.
At the start of her set, she acknowledged the situation by saying, “Thank you for letting me be the first black woman to headline Coachella.” She transformed the stage into a black football halftime show and was accompanied by an incredible marching band, drumline and choir using the moment as an opportunity to celebrate HBCU (Historically Black Colleges & Universities). At the same time, she honored her own roots by giving her songs a Southern twist.
She gave an empowering performance of “Sorry” by showing women to say “Suck on my balls!” to men when disrespected. Later, she continued to celebrate her culture and womanhood by giving a rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the black national anthem and incorporated vocal snippets of Malcolm X, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Nina Simone’s “Strange Fruit” with feminist messages.
Not only did Beyoncé invite the HBCU into her performance, the Queen B experience at Coachella also included a dance-off with her sister, Solange and a duet with Jay-Z to her song “Déjà Vu.” Most surprising of all, she reunited with her Destiny’s Child groupmates Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland for a rendition of their 90’s hits. Her performance was so good that people started calling the festival “Beychella” all over social media.
Beyoncé continues to reinvent herself and offer something new to her audience, even after being in the industry for so long. This performance proved once again why she is considered one of the top performers by setting the bar incredibly high and highlighting important issues while doing it. Now all that’s left to wonder is who’s going to try to top Bey’s headline performance at Coachella next year!
Image Source: Vulture, Instagram