Beyonce, The Weeknd to headline Coachella

LOS ANGELES • This time, there is no pregnancy to stop Beyonce from headlining Coachella.

The superstar pop singer, Eminem and The Weeknd have been tapped to headline the latest edition of the influential and lucrative music festival, marking the first time that no rock act will be among the main attractions.

Coachella, which made its debut in 1999, takes place in the desert of southern California over two successive weekends in April with identical line-ups for each.

The festival - held from April 13 to 15 and April 20 to 22 - marks the first concert scheduled by Beyonce since she had twins in June with her husband, rap mogul Jay-Z.

She was due to headline Coachella last year, but was replaced with Lady Gaga after doctors advised her not to perform so late in her pregnancy.

Coachella is also the first full concert on the books for Eminem since the top-selling rapper released his latest album, Revival, last month.

The Weeknd, the Toronto R&B singer whose profile has quickly grown in the past few years with hits such as Can't Feel My Face and I Feel It Coming, has performed previously at Coachella but never as a headliner.

The line-up news comes amid growing signs that traditional rock bands are losing their cultural dominance in the United States. Hip-hop for the first time made up the majority of nominations for Album of the Year in the latest Grammys.

But Coachella will still feature plenty of rock acts, mostly with an indie bent, including The War On Drugs, alt-J, Haim and Portugal. The Man.

The festival will mark the debut of French electronic icon Jean-Michel Jarre whose sumptuous light shows rank among the largest concerts in history. He toured the US for the first time only last year.

Other prominent performers include Talking Heads legend David Byrne, who has indicated he plans to release new music this year, and Cardi B, a New York rapper who scored a breakaway hit last year with Bodak Yellow.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 04, 2018, with the headline Beyonce, The Weeknd to headline Coachella. Subscribe