A bonafide forcefield with a barrage of fan favorites from 2012’s 18 Months and 2009’s Ready For The Weekend in his arsenal, Calvin Harris stepped onto the stage at Indio Valley just after sunset to notch a career benchmark: his debut at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Given the feel-good—and, as listeners have discovered in the time since this 2014 debut set, timeless—allure of catalog-catapulting cuts such as “We Found Love” and “Sweet Nothing,” it was no surprise that Harris effortlessly drew one of the largest crowds in Coachella history. After warmly ushering audience members into his whirlwind world of electro-pop with “Feel So Close,” Harris quickly upped the ante, intermingling high-octane dance releases like Showtek‘s “Booyah” into his set. The result is a sonic mixed bag of Harris originals and energetic one-offs that put electronic dance music on the map.
Harris’ 2014 debut was of a caliber that would warrant an encore, and two years later, Coachella extended one in the form of a headlining slot at the festival’s 2016 installment. This was a record accomplishment for Harris, who became the first DJ to nab a place atop the California affair’s lineup. Hats off to Harris for creating one of the top EDM moments of the previous decade with his unforgettable first Coachella performance.
Featured image: Rukes