Design took centre stage at this weekend’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. When Justin Bieber appeared on Saturday with just a laptop, a microphone and a stripped-down stage set, many of those watching at home took to social media to claim that his set-up illustrated a marked lack of effort in comparison to the maximalist, theatrical performance put on by Sabrina Carpenter a night earlier.
In truth, the two wildly contrasting productions, which were both brought to life by the same entertainment architects, Stufish, can be better understood as reflections of the very different stories each artist was telling about themselves. Carpenter, who found fame as a Disney Channel star, built a lavish fantasy landscape that paid tribute to old Hollywood. Bieber, the first true superstar of the YouTube age, turned arguably the biggest stage in America into an intimate video-sharing hangout. While the results looked nothing alike, both thrilled their respective fanbases.
It’s been exactly two decades since Daft Punk first landed their groundbreaking LED pyramid at Coachella, and this year stage designs up and down the lineup demonstrated that there are still plenty of artists willing to use the blank canvas provided by the festival’s stages to bring their unique artistic visions to life.
The only disappointment was that Anyma’s Friday night set was unable to go ahead after high winds prevented his stage from being built. The DJ said he was ‘heartbroken’, and fans will have been disappointed not to witness what looked to be an impressive new production. That’s one to look out for at weekend two.
Here are 10 of the best stage designs from weekend one of Coachella:
Kevin EG Perry: Collected Works 