By Daniela Coe-McNamara
Staff Writer
As if Calvin Harris alone wasn’t enough to celebrate the final night of Weekend One of Coachella, his surprise guest Rihanna only added to the magic of his second year performing at the Empire Polo Grounds.
As compared to his smaller 2014 performance at Coachella, Harris’ performance this year at the Coachella Main Stage as the Day Three headliner was set to be impressive from the start. Harris’ status as a two-time Coachella performer, as well as the first DJ to headline a day of the festival, automatically set the stage for his performance that surprised audiences in more ways than one.
Harris opened up the night with recorded hits from stars like Ellie Goulding and Florence Welch, relying heavily on the feel of the well-known music to hype up the crowd, rather than the performance itself, as many DJ’s must. Guest stars, other than Rihanna, included rapper Big Sean, as well as English soul singer John Newman, all of whom added to the night’s epic finale.
One drawback of Harris’ performance was his lack of original material, or at least his lack of desire to perform his own material. Fans of Calvin Harris are aware of his original tracks, yet every time he performs, particularly in such a large crowd as the Coachella audience, he sticks to popular hit tracks that more often than not are not his own.
After performing many of his own hit singles from the previous years, as well as many hits credited to other artists, Harris turned the crowd’s attention towards the stage placed in the middle of the Coachella crowd. Rihanna demanded the audience’s attention and she got it, giving a stellar performance with Harris of their 2011 hit, “We Found Love,” that truly celebrated the final night of the festival.
Calvin Harris performed on Sunday night of both weekends of Coachella 2016.
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