Coachella is one of the biggest international music festivals in the world, attracting massive stars, huge crowds and celebrity visitors – and a teenage dream all the way from New Zealand.
Lorde has been one of the biggest names in music for the last year or so but whether she could foot it on such a massive global stage was unclear – until yesterday.
The 17 year old rising star took to one of the main stages at the festival and easily held her own in a set sandwiched between Capital Cities and Sleigh Bells and earning a shout out from superstar Pharrell Williams later on the same stage.
The crowd flocked to the outdoor stage buzzing with excitement for the New Zealand singer who has become something of an enigma for her overseas audience.
As they waited in the California dark, wind, and blowing sand, they guessed at what she would look like and sound like, and when Lorde took to the stage opening with Glory and Gore, they were hooked.
Since her early shows, her performance and presence has picked up but more than that, she seemed genuinely floored by her newfound fame.
She stopped mid-set to express her excitement to be at Coachella and thank the crowd for their support, which made everything a “little less scary”. She then launched into Ribs, which turned out to be a crowd favourite, as well as Team and of course her Grammy-winning, Royals.
Months of touring have clearly instilled a greater confidence in the young singer who owned the stage and kept a level of energy that was missing from previous performances.
Her band went to new heights with new remixes and changing the arrangements for the set, never once faltering to keep up with Lorde whose eclectic dance style earned cheers from a rapt crowd.
But possibly the greatest thing the kiwi singer did was bring together fellow New Zealanders, sitting on shoulders, singing along and waving silver ferns and New Zealand flags with pride in a desert a world away from home.
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