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Without a doubt, the best part of my weekend wasn’t even a musical performance – it was accidentally bumping into my favourite rapper, Andre 3000. The better half of Outkast (sorry Big Boi) is famously elusive so seeing him in the flesh, especially somewhere as public as Coachella, was surreal.

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Intense winds on the afternoon of Day 1 as we were arriving completely messed up my camera, clothing, eyes, throat, and nose for the rest of the weekend.

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As always, A$AP Rocky’s performance was a crowd favourite. Playing at sunset on Friday night on the second largest stage, he was joined by most of the Mob and delivered an upbeat, high energy set. Halfway through, he brought out Tyler, the Creator to play a searing rendition of their Kanye West ‘Freestyle 4’ remix, ‘What the Fuck Right Now’. Rocky also brought out Miguel and A$AP Ferg (whose album had come out that day) to end the set.

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Another surprising highlight was when Bay area rapper G-Eazy brought out a very special guest by the name of Lil Wayne. Wayne came out to perform ‘A Milli’ and his verse on Nicki Minaj’s ‘Truffle Butter.’

Rap duo, Rae Sremmurd performed on the same stage shortly after G-Eazy and delivered easily, one of the best sets of the weekend. I even saw Paris Hilton in the crowd shaking her ass to ‘No Type’. Amazing.

Image: Nikki Jahanforouz

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SZA’s set on Saturday evening was the perfect blend of funky, smooth, and soulful. A truly captivating performer, there is something infectious about SZA’s energy onstage. Towards the end, much to everyone’s delight, she brought out her good friend and label mate, Kendrick Lamar. Then to top that off, she lit up a blunt, and vibed out as MadeInTyo took the stage to play everyone’s favourite song, ‘Uber Everywhere’.

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A common downside to such a huge festival is the fact that there will always be scheduling clashes. Saturday night saw three of my most anticipated acts Vince Staples, Disclosure, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra playing at the same time. I decided to check out Vince.

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By now it is no surprise that Vince Staples is known for his dynamic and brash live set and this was no different. Playing to the largest crowd he has ever had to date, he ran through an incredible setlist of all of his hits, old and new. The outstanding stage visuals brought this rap show to life. Vince was also brought out the next night with Australian producer, Flume.

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Flume’s set was on the Outdoor Stage with thousands of people stacked as far back as they could go. For someone who has only been in the industry for a few years to have this type of turnout is a testament to Flume’s hard work, humble demeanour, and killer beats. Go the Aussies!

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As you can tell by now, the lows are few and far between. If you come with the right attitude and don’t expect everything to go perfectly, you will have a great time. Some other minor let downs were the shitty cell service, $8 lemonades, lines for food, and gross toilets. Other than these, no other complaints from me. The staff were nicer this year than ever before, always taking the time to scream “Happy Coachella!” at you as you were walking by.

Image: Nate Watters

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Okay you’ve heard this already but Anderson .Paak (accompanied by his band The Free Nationals) had the best set of Coachella. Hands down. His energy and spirit never once wavered during the 45-minute set, his visuals were beautiful and trippy (shout out Dewey Saunders!) and the sound was crisp and flawless. He ran through a large chunk of crowd favourites from his recent album, Malibu, alternating between guitar, drums, and vocals. He could have stood up there by himself for hours and the crowd would have been riveted. But that’s not his style. Never one to shy away from sharing the stage, for his finale, he was was joined by Kendrick and Dr Dre (who had come out the night before with Ice Cube for a very special NWA reunion).  With this magnificent Coachella performance, Anderson has earned his spot next to Kendrick and Dre as one of California’s legends. Bravo.

Overall, this was definitely one of the best weekends of my year so far. If you are thinking of making the trip next year, just do it! A chance to bump into your favourite celeb, the biggest bands in the world reuniting, expensive beverages, Paris Hilton dancing to rap and to top it all off, harshly hot weather – what more could you want?

Until next time, Coachella.