10 of the biggest moments from Coachella 2017

Oh, Coachella.

There's plenty to be said about the dusty, Instagram-frenzy of a festival, but above it all, Goldenvoice's proud two-weekend behemoth of a child is indeed the undisputed leader of music festivals around the world. There's nothing quite like it that demands the highest of standards from its artists, all of which work tirelessly up until their performance to bring the biggest productions, the most memorable surprise guests and of course, the most brilliant of performances.

2017 was no different, despite the gutting loss of Beyoncé as an anticipated headliner (but have no fear, she's already confirmed to replace her intended set in 2018). Headliners from all facets of music - from hip hop to electronic to pop - defied the scorching heat of the desert and created another three days of magic for the mega festival.

Take a look through 10 of the most memorable moments of the festival below.

Revealed just moments before the festival swung open its doors on the first day, the Do Lab revealed its brand new structure lovingly named the Beacon. Resembling a pineapple and flaunting a wide, umbrella shaded structure, the additional stage was once again home to a plethora of surprise performances and magic and misty oasis moments. UK duo Eli & Fur as well as rising wunderkinds Louis the Child were two of a few surprise appearances, making the Do Lab another hallowed meeting ground for Coachella goers all weekend long.

[Photos: Juliana Bernstein / Get Tiny (above), Andrew Jorgenson (below)]

Friday night's headliner position was given to the revered Radiohead, a classic act that released their ninth studio album 'A Moon Shaped Pool' mid-2016 and returned to Coachella to perform.

No one would've guessed that one of the biggest and arguably most anticipated acts of the weekend would run into sound issues that easily could've crippled any more novice of a band. Just three songs into the evening's final performance, the audio cut out entirely and blasted the audience with explosive feedback and issues continued to plague the band's set for three more songs until the entire group left the stage not once, but twice. The audio malfunctions were not only jarring to the live audience in front of them, but apparently also affected Coachella's live stream.

Thankfully, it was Radiohead, who were able to recover with as much grace and poise as possible (after a quick quip from Yorke, who suggested that the "fuckin’ aliens" were at it again) and finally completed their performance without any further hijinks. "Can you actually hear me now?" Thom Yorke joked dryly, finally coming back with 'Street Spirit'. "I’d love to tell you a joke, lighten the mood, something like that. But this is Radiohead, so fuck it.”

[Photo: Charles Hackleman]

He changed the game in Ibiza with ENTER., so leave it to Richie Hawtin to yet again make another audiovisual technology statement at this year's Coachella with the debut of his new show CLOSE. In effort to change the typical set-up of a DJ (with decks in front) and connect more closely with the audience, Richie created an innovative new production utilizing video mapping technology that created a real time visualizer for his commanding techno soundtrack.

There are only so many words that can describe the experience - it's best seen in the video above or in person at the second weekend of Coachella or later this year at Movement Detroit, Creamfields, Pukkelpop, Primavera Sound, Melt and more.

[Photo: Julian Bajsel]

Moderat, the German live-electronic supergroup comprised of two members of Modeselektor and the artist known as Apparat, hit the Mojave stage on Saturday of Coachella to deliver the 10 best selections from their well-known catalogue. It was a satisfying, seamless performance to appease both trippy festival goers and techno heads alike, starting off with a slow, almost wary intro and ending with a true festival favorite, 'Bad Kingdom'. The biggest compliment Mixmag could give is that they sounded so good, we couldn't believe they were live.

[Photo: Charles Hackleman]

It's been a long wait for Skepta's Coachella fans. The grime don was originally slated to perform at the festival in 2016, but ran into last minute visa issues that forced him to cancel not only Coachella, but a string of other North American performances that he promised to make up, eventually.

2017 became the year when he was subtly added to the revised line-up at the same time as Lady Gaga. Despite an early 3PM set time and the beating rays of the desert sun, he lured in a massive crowd to the Sahara tent as he ran through crowd favorites off his most recent album like 'That's Not Me', 'Shutdown' and 'It Ain't Safe'. Of course, he had to represent London proudly and did so by bringing a signature red telephone booth to the stage.

[Photo: Julian Bajsel]

For more than a few reasons, Sunday of Coachella marked an exciting milestone for Australia's Anna Lunoe, who performed in the electronic dominant Sahara Tent. Just last year, she became the first female to ever headline EDC Las Vegas and was invited to bring her talents as a producer, DJ and - surprise! - also a vocalist to the stage at Coachella this year.

But before her performance, she took to social media to make a shocking and exciting announcement about her pregnancy ("two Lunoes for the price of one all summer!"), which she admitted had been tough to keep a secret until then. Adding that element of emotions, Anna was joined by OWSLA head Skrillex during her performance and also debuted live vocals, singing her track 'Godzilla' and more.

[Photo: Julian Bajsel]

Individually each an outstanding act on their own, early in 2016, Porter Robinson and Madeon decided to come together for a once-in-a-lifetime collaborative project inspired by their track 'Shelter'. Taking their talents on tour, the two designed and produced a show specifically tailored for them to perform together throughout much of last year and announced that their final show would take place at Coachella.

It's a big statement for an electronic music artist to take a Main Stage slot; only few champions have done it before like Calvin Harris, Kaskade and Major Lazer. Starting off just as the desert sun began to set, Porter and Madeon graced the stage humbly and kicked off straight into their most beloved hits, slowly escalating to a darker, more electro-inspired portion of their set, accented by their vocals and live elements all throughout.

Though their official final performance won't happen until this upcoming weekend's show, it was impossible to deny that it was a special moment shared by all watching and especially for the two young superstars on stage.

[Photo: Erik Voake]

Kendrick Lamar was the talk of the weekend, timing the release of his highly anticipated new album 'DAMN.' to drop on the Friday of Coachella's first weekend. Almost a guaranteed soundtrack to more than a handful of roadtrippers headed to the festival all throughout the weekend, Kendrick was given the final slot of the weekend, closing out the Main Stage on Sunday evening.

From the get go, Kendrick was fearless, kicking things off with the Fox News segment heavily sampled in his undeniably political album and sprinkling in ninja-themed clips throughout his performance.

With a crowd flooding as far back as the eye could see, there was a buzzing, electrifying energy throughout the fields as Lamar took the stage. He took his time, patiently testing the crowd and straying from typical show tricks and keeping it simple, save for a few surprise appearances from fellow headliners Future, Schoolboy Q and Travis Scott.

Despite the obvious trailing hope that Rihanna (featured on 'Loyalty' off his album) might show up, Kendrick remained unwavering, dedicated to the simplicity and inherently commanding motifs of his album.

[Photo: Greg Noire]

When Coachella first dropped its line-up at the beginning of the year, one of the most exciting additions was the one and only Hans Zimmer, the legendary film composer behind unforgettable soundtracks to Inception, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Dark Knight, The Lion King and many more.

With nothing really to compare it to, most were boggled - how would the composer pull off his performance? Would there be an orchestra? How would the monumental theme songs translate in the dusty, live setting? But not to fear - Zimmer was determined to prevail, and he did.

Though he performs live often, Coachella marked Zimmer's very first festival setting and brought with him an entire orchestra that filled up the festival's Outdoor stage. Hans himself stood front and center, rocking out on a guitar and was eventually joined by Pharrell for a performance of 'Freedom', his Grammy-nominated song from Hidden Figures.

[Photo: Charles Hackleman]

Though more often than not, Daft Punk are the French duo at the tip of everyone's tongues when it comes to hopeful surprise appearances, much of the past year has been spent in grueling wait with all eyes on a different duo by the name of Justice. After releasing 'Woman' earlier this year to high acclaim, it came as no surprise that the group nabbed a coveted spot on the festival's Outdoor stage (the second largest after the main) on the event's final day.

Confident as ever, the two billowed into a commanding entrance, flitting between 'Safe And Sound', the lead track off their latest album, and the explosive energy of their classic hit 'D.A.N.C.E.'. The group tapped into a level of self-awareness that often artists of their caliber tend to ignore, understanding the fine balance between their audience's hunger for hearing their crowd favorites while still doling out plenty of time to shine light on new tunes from the 'Woman' track list.

With rock acts now noticeably shelved across the Coachella line-up, the calm and collected demeanor only adds to the mystique of Justice's status as today's modern day rock stars... and we couldn't be more proud to crown the honor to them.

[Photo: Julian Bajsel (above), Chris Miller (below)]

Valerie Lee is Mixmag's US Digital Editor. Follow her on Twitter here