Coachella is every music fan’s biggest (and most expensive) dream. The festival is one of the biggest events on the music calendar, being not one, but two consecutive weekends. Just as fans dream of attending, music stars dream of taking the stage. This year saw a lot of up-and-coming music stars achieving that dream as well as comebacks from some of the greatest.

The festival itself was almost like a real-life music column featuring new releases, throwbacks and upcoming musical discoveries. The new pop stars of the day, Bad Bunny, Burna Boy, Metro Boomin, Ashnikko, and DPR Live + DPR Ian are just some of the artists that made an appearance. The audiences were thrilled by the comebacks of The Gorillaz, blink-182, Labrinth, Becky G, and the headliner, Frank Ocean. Jackson Wang, Blackpink, and Wet Leg also presented some upcoming music.

Not a single artist on the line-up is a miss: from Kali Uchis, Charlie XCX, and Calvin Harris to boygenius, Weyes Blood, and Fred Again … not to mention Rosalia, Yungblud, and FKJ. There were so many genres represented, there really was a set for every and any fan. Special shoutouts should go to eclectic artists such as Yves Tumor, Destroy Boys, Mura Masa, 070 Shake, Wet Leg, Kaytranada, Hiatus Kaiyote, and TV Girl: if they are not part of your daily mixes on Spotify, they should make it into your playlists right now.

It seems the fan-favorite performances were not the expected ones. Instead of headliners Blackpink and Frank Ocean, the loudest crowds were in performances by Labrinth, The Gorillaz, Rosalia, and Diljit Dosanjh. Perhaps one of the reasons why is that most of these artists invited supporting singers on stage that nobody thought they would see on the stage. Labrinth in particular had invited some incredibly talented friends, including Billie Eilish and Zendaya. Other sets that fans loved were the performances by Jackson Wang, who had incredible choreography, stage design, and stunts to wow the crowd with, WILLOW and Jaden, the Smith siblings brought electrifying energy to the festival … Remi Wolf, Dominik Fike and Pakistani sensation, Ali Sethi.

It would not be Coachella without a controversy. Frank Ocean’s incredibly strange headlining set and sudden cancellation of his second-weekend performance left many baffled. The set was delayed by an hour because of the unexpected decision to deconstruct the ice rink installed on the stage for the performance. When Ocean finally got on the stage, half of his performance featured awkward silences in between the songs. In the end, the set finished abruptly past curfew, earning the festival a few hefty fines. And yet, some critics who analyzed fan videos — because the performance was not live streamed or recorded by the official Coachella cameras unlike all others — say it was not all bad. Apparently, Ocean reinvented a lot of his most popular songs and showcased some of his best live vocals.

And of course, Coachella fashion must not be overlooked when recapping the event. The festival is treated like a fashion show by many fans and artists alike, with some trends, like the knee-high cowboy boots, being a standard and others debuting exactly on the festival grounds. This year the boho-chic made a comeback for the audiences, while the artists aimed for surprisingly functional high fashion.