The first weekend of Coachella successfully brought out some of the biggest acts in EDM with a huge crowd turn out. Illuminated by a multi panel LED light set up, The Sahara tent was teeming with DJs. Friday Dillon Francis upped the energy with his midday set opening with his remix of Passion Pit’s “Carried Away.” Following Dillon was Thomas Gold, Tommy Trash, Nicky Romero, Dog Blood, Wolfgang Gartner,
Modestep, and finally Bassnectar closing out the night.

Saturday’s lineup was just as explosive. Things heated up for Kill The Noise and continued through the night for Benny Benassi, who was joined on stage by John Legend, a Moby DJ Set, and a massive set by Knife Party who played a number of unreleased tracks and closed the night with TV Noise’s remix of Daddy’s Groove “Stellar.”

Sunday was no day of rest at Coachella. Spanish favorite Danny Avila warmed the crowd up for acts like Hardwell and Eric Prydz. Outside the Sahara tent, Major Lazer brought their worldly sound to Indio for a live streamed set on the Outdoor stage, and Disclosure closed out the Gobi stage Sunday night with their funky sounds.

Undeniably the biggest news to come out of Coachella this first weekend was the Daft Punk teaser for their upcoming release, “Get Lucky.” As a pleasant surprise to their fans across the world, the teaser featuring The Robots, Pharrell, and Nile Rodgers premiered at the opening of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s set on the Coachella stage. Close by were Daft Punk’s Thomas and Guy surveying the crowd’s reaction with Pharrell from VIP. With weekend two steadily approaching, we can only hope the Empire Polo Club is filled with as many earth shattering performances and legendary surprises.

Beyond the stage over 2,000 people attended the A/X Neon Carnival. Held in an airport hangar 15 minutes from the festival site. The carnival was filled with celebrities playing carnival games and spending some down time at the Svedka bar with their custom “Desert Dream” and “Strawberry Glow” cocktails. Continuing the festival momentum through the night, the Dessert Sessions ensued at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort. Friday night, SBE Nightlife brought us the charming Australian duo, Nervo, to the desert, and the next afternoon they hosted dirty Dutch flagbearer, Chuckie, and the EC Twins for some high-octane electro performances. Wynn Las Vegas hosted the Saturday evening session, which found Morgan Page playing an enamoring set, followed by Sultan + Ned Shepard on Sunday to wrap up a weekend of desert fun. For those who thought Coachella was just contained to the festival, A/X, SBE Nightlife, and Wynn Las Vegas brought out plenty of pleasant surprises to maximize the experience.

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