After 25 years, Coachella is like a live music holiday. Every year, thousands of people from all walks of life descend upon the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California to enjoy artists whose music is as diverse as the crowd assembled. No matter what style anyone prefers, an artist they love is playing at Coachella.

This year alone, attendees can enjoy the classic Britpop sounds of Blur, trendy house music beats from John Summit, a reunion of the ska-punk icons, Sublime (featuring the late frontman's son, Jakob Nowell), and a headlining set from enigmatic rapper Tyler, The Creator.

Coachella also offers the opportunity for audiences to see artists they may never see elsewhere, like a rare American performance by the jazz-house master St.Germain, a shared set from the now-defunct dance music supergroup J.E.S.u.S. (Jackmaster, Eats Everything, Seth Troxler, and Skream), or pop legend Jai Paul’s first live show ever. 

Then, of course, there are the Coachella sets that will live in infamy: From Daft Punk’s debut of The Pyramid, which is largely credited with launching the popularity of electronic music in the United States, to Tupac’s resurrection in hologram, to Beyoncé's marching band of HBCU students soundtracking a reunion of Destiny’s Child.

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The people of Coachella revel in these eclectic and epic offerings. Approximately 125,000 people per day touch down on the grass at the Empire Polo Club, and upwards of 100,000 have been reported to gather for a single set. And while hundreds of thousands of people are on the ground worshiping the music, 40 million people are watching the magic through YouTube, wishing they were there.

Coachella is a spectacle. So often the people who went one year bring their friends or family the next, and those people become obsessed. Others meet people at the festival and become best friends, family, and lovers — relationships born from a shared reverence for live music. 

With its massive popularity, it's easy to assume influencers and celebrities have taken over the polo grounds. A key moment in Billie Eilish’s documentary, Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry, the young pop sensation meets her lifelong hero, Justin Bieber, for the first time at Coachella. But any long-time attendee will tell you, that the celebrities and influencers don’t engage with the true Coachella.

"The Kardashians are having one experience, and I’m having a different experience out in the field," says Ashton Aellarose who’s attended Coachella 12 times in eight years. "If you don’t want to be that, then you don’t see that…there’s the real Coachella for real people."

Real fans of Coachella stay all day and night, braving the heat and the dust, to engage with the epic performances and their fellow music lovers. Alaskan Alex Rodriguez creates an Artist of the Day post on the Coachella Reddit, posting every day from when the lineup drops until the festival. He flies in from the Last Frontier because Coachella provides something that other festivals simply can’t.

"Whether it be over-the-top productions, unexpected guest appearances or simply the chance to let others hear your unfamiliar sound to others, Coachella invites performances that you simply won’t see anywhere else," Rodriguez tells GRAMMY.com via email. 

Coachella’s community is built on the idea that music is the universal language. Whether you’re coming for the first time or the 25th time, whether you’re a senior citizen, a new parent, or a college kid on spring break, Coachella is a space for live music fans to celebrate what they love more than anything, and celebrate each other. GRAMMY.com spoke to five Coachella die-hards — attendees who count Coachella as an annual, important part of their year — to learn what Coachella means to them.

From Fan To Music Industry Professional: The 25-Year Attendee 

Josh Brooks DJing in 2011┃Josh Brooks

Name: Josh Brooks

Number of Coachellas attended: 26

Favorite set: The Chemical Brothers, 1999

Josh Brooks has attended every year of Coachella since the first edition in 1999, and credits the festival for his career in music. To date, he's worked as a booking agent, tour manager, and DJ who has played Coachella on several occasions. In 2023, he played a slot during the after-hours silent disco in the campgrounds. 

Back in 1999, Brooks had just started college at UCLA and was studying physical science, geology, and geography. He went to Coachella on a whim because tickets were $50 per day to see Rage Against The Machine, Tool, Beck, Morrissey, and the Chemical Brothers. Everything in his musical life snowballed from there. 

"[Coachella] really opened my eyes to this whole world of music that I didn’t know existed," Brooks tells GRAMMY.com. "I’ve played music my whole life. I played clarinet, trumpet, and saxophone. I was in the California Young Musicians Orchestra for a year in high school. Music has always been really important to me. But that’s where I really started to find myself musically." 

In 2011, Brooks found himself as a part of Coachella. That year, Global Inheritance — the nonprofit that organizes all of Coachella’s sustainability efforts —hosted a human-powered stage called the Energy Factory. Brooks submitted a DJ mix as part of a contest to play a slot on that stage, and he won. 

"I just played at the festival that I have been enamored with for the last 12 years. I just made a dream come true," Brooks said.

A year after that, he got laid off as a high school science teacher, and he’s been working in music ever since. Currently, he’s the booking agent and tour manager for respected house music artist Sacha Robotti, and revitalizing their SLOTHACID brand. But in between his workload, he’s still taking time for a trip to the desert for some live music. 

The Fan That Made Coachella A Family Affair

The Glazer family┃MIkey Glazer

Name: Mikey Glazer

Number of Coachellas attended:  16

Favorite set: M.I.A., 2008

Every year at Coachella, you see a handful of parents celebrating live music with their children. In fact, there are meetups for families at the festival. Among this somewhat unusual sight, you'll find Mikey Glazer and his 5-year-old son, Axwell. 

Glazer has been attending Coachella since 2003, and used to be one of the festival's more typical attendees (a 20-something attending for the party and the tunes). Now, at age 47, Coachella has become his yearly family vacation. Glazer and his wife, Melissa, brought Axwell to the festival four times: three in the flesh, and once in utero.

During the pandemic, Mikey, Melissa, and Axwell listened to music as a family. Especially electronic artists like Skrillex and Tiësto. (Axwell is also the artist moniker of one of the members of the GRAMMY-nominated electronic trio Swedish House Mafia.) When the family went to Coachella together, they saw Axwell express that love of music in full force.

"Seeing a DJ and the visuals, he just loved it. To see it through his eyes is absolutely amazing," Glazer says. "Nobody who doesn’t have kids would ever want to have a kid with them at Coachella. But when you spend every day with your kid, you’re going through new music Friday; he’s picking out songs he likes, and you listen to music together every day; when you get to Coachella, to see him enjoy it is great."

Ranking Coachella: The Fan Who Listens To Every Single Artist 

Brian Downing (second from right) with friends from Cincinnati┃Brian Downing

Name: Brian Downing

Number of Coachellas attended: 4

Favorite set: Madeon, 2022

For decades, Brian Downing has been ranking all the live artists he sees. He saw hundreds of artists the year he turned 50, and condensed all of them into a top 20 list.

When he comes to Coachella, he does the same thing, except instead of creating a list over the course of a year, he does it for three days. In the weeks leading up to the festival, he listens to every one of the 150 artists performing at the festival and gives them all a ranking.

"There are so many acts I don’t know going into it," Downing says. "Someone else might look at [the lineup] and go, ‘Oh my god, this is so overwhelming.’ I look at it and go, ‘Oh my god, I get to rank so many things’."

He ranks every artist on the lineup 1–10 and organizes the rankings on a spreadsheet that he shares with his friends who come to Coachella with him. A 10 is reserved for someone he is going to see, no matter what; one signifies someone he’s going to skip. That way, his group will know who they may or may not enjoy as well. 

Brian also frequently adds commentary to each artist. Here’s what he has to say about the drag-ready pop star Chappell Roan, who is performing on Friday at Coachella this year:

"I do loves me some Chapell Roan! She is an indie pop darling, and for good reason. Red Wine Supernova is an absolute bop! But she has so many other great songs too that haven't been hits yet. Don't want to miss this fun show! Side note: Remember to learn the entire H-O-T-T-O-G-O dance. You’re gonna thank me later. 10’s all day, baby! - 10."

The Fan Who Would Spend Eternity At Coachella 

At Coachella 2011┃Ashton Aellarose

Name: Ashton Aellarose

Number of Coachellas attended:  9

Favorite set: Postal Service, 2013

Throughout her life, Ashton Aellarose has lived in many places: Northern California, North Carolina, Colorado, even a few extended stints abroad. But no matter where she was residing, Aellarose would see the Coachella lineup in copies of SPIN magazine and dream of going somewhere with such vast musical offerings.

Now she’s attended nine Coachellas, and Coachella is the one place she calls home. Simply put, her life wouldn’t be the same without Coachella.

When she attended in 2014, Aellarose worked at an on-site lemonade stand. Not only did the experience lead to her working in festival vendor management for a time, but Aellarose met her best friend during her very first shift at the stand. That same friend introduced Aellarose to her boyfriend, whom she brought to Coachella for the first time last year. 

When she brought him, she showed him all the traditions she’d developed over numerous editions: Picking up last-minute camping supplies at the Wal-Mart in Indio; watching the first sunset performance of the weekend (one of her favorites was Violent Femmes in 2013); enjoying her favorite foods like the spicy pie and the arepas.

"It’s nice to have this place that’s so spiritual and consistent in such an inconsistent world," Aellarose says. "I thought it was cool when Skrillex said during the TBA set [in 2023], ‘This is the biggest party in the world right now where you’re at.’ I say that every year."

Coachella is such an important place for Aellarose, that she would like it to be her final resting place: "When I die, I want my ashes thrown around Coachella. No joke."

Creating Community With Beer & Cheer: The Fan Who Learned To Love At Coachella 

Joe Stamey and friend┃Joe Stamey

Name: Joe Stamey

Number of Coachellas attended: 16

Favorite set:  Beyoncé, 2018

At 1:32:14 in the Coachella documentary, Coachella: 20 Years in the Desert, Joe Stamey says:

"I come because I genuinely love music. I’ve seen more music here than I’ve seen in my entire life in other places. I see acts here that I will never see at the other festivals all over."

The filmmakers followed multiple attendees around the festival in 2019. Stamey is the only one who made it into the documentary. His love of music is a significant factor in why.

But more than his love of music, he genuinely wants everyone at Coachella to have an amazing time enjoying the live music like he does. Before our call is over, he even offers me to stay at his campsite. 

"​​I meet people that are my friends now forever because of things that I've done like that. Caring for people," Stamey says. "The festival did that to me."

Every year, Stamey organizes a beer chug at 10:40 a.m. on Friday in the campgrounds through the Coachella subreddit. Mikey Glazer (who you met above) attends every year as well. 

"It's literally just hundreds of people sitting around chugging beers at 10:40 a.m. And I just give everyone I can as big a hug as I can," Stamey says. "It’s a huge friend reunion. I run into so many people from 15 years of my life, and I love them all."

Coachella Weekend 1 Recap: 20 Surprises And Special Moments, From Billie Eilish & Lana Del Rey, To Olivia Rodrigo With No Doubt

It's an odd time for a new Sublime with Rome album to come out — and Rome Ramirez would almost certainly agree. The joyous, complicated, and tragic story of Sublime took a happy turn earlier this year, when Sublime’s original bassist, Eric Wilson, and drummer, Bud Gaugh, reactivated the band with late frontman Bradley Nowell’s son, Jakob, in the driver’s seat.

This overlaps, however, with Ramirez wrapping up his duties as the frontman of Sublime with Rome. He’s been doing this since 2009, and made four albums with them: 2011’s Yours Truly, 2015’s Sirens, 2019’s Blessings, and 2024’s Sublime with Rome, out now. As the reconstituted Sublime soldier on, Sublime with Rome are performing their final dates through the summer — despite having no original members of Sublime in the band anymore, as Gaugh departed in 2011 and Wilson left in February.

Why would there be a Sublimeless Sublime with Rome? In short, because they had booked these dates before Wilson left, and before news of the new Sublime broke. And, perhaps more importantly to Ramirez, because he aims to end on a high note for his heroes and their fans.

"I feel like we're in this coexistence together," Ramirez tells GRAMMY.com. "And just as long as everything remains respectful to the fans, I'm in and I want to do right by them — because they're the ones that have kept this whole thing afloat."

As Sublime roars back with Jakob, don’t let Sublime with Rome’s last album fall between the cracks. It’s a more-than-worthy sendoff for a band that bridged the gap and upheld the band’s legacy, while exploring some interesting creative offshoots via Ramirez’s songwriting.

Indeed, bittersweet highlights of Sublime with Rome, like "Holiday" and "Love is Dangerous," don’t feel like a setting sun, but a rising one. And with Jakob now at the helm, Sublime’s afterlife will continue to carry on the band's legacy in a beautiful way.

Just before Sublime with Rome’s release, Ramirez chatted with GRAMMY.com about the band’s final chapter, and addressed some potential misconceptions about the next iteration of Sublime.

This interview was drawn from three conversations, and has been edited for clarity.

How does a Sublime with Rome song come to be, and how did that apply here?

It usually starts with an idea for a guitar or a really cool sample. I would just start writing an idea for an acoustic and bring it into the studio. Once in the studio with the band, we are able to run it a couple of times and see what direction we want to take the production.

When recording, we tend to run the song a few passes hopefully locking down the rhythm tracks and a rough vocal. After that, we begin overdubs. Lastly I do the final vocals at home in the comfort of my own studio. It allows me to really dial in the lyrics and harmonies.

We really worked on a lot of this music on the tour while on the road for the last two summer tours. Studios in random towns, make-shift studios in dressing rooms, and on the tour bus. We did the thing. It was definitely a community effort, and I'm so grateful for everyone to have lent their hand in the making of this album.

This album marks the end of an era — an emotional conclusion to my journey with Sublime. But I'm hopeful that through the music, you'll find moments of peace and connection, as I did while creating it.

How does Sublime with Rome compare to previous Sublime with Rome albums, or represent an evolution in the band’s sound?

This album feels like a great blend of new and old. To me, It feels very natural and not forced as well. Lyrically, on some of the songs, I really reflect on this whole journey and what our future could be like.

I knew this was the last record when making it. There is something very special about knowing the end is near. In life we don’t always have that luxury of knowing something is coming to end, so when you do you can be much more intentional.

Which tracks on Sublime with Rome are especially meaningful to you, and why?

"Holiday." It’s a bit coded. But the truth is in there. Also, there was a sample from Manu Chao, but they wanted too much publishing and cash, so I pulled it out and made my own loop instead. I will always think of that.

**How does it feel to be winding this journey down after 15 years?**

It's definitely a really beautiful thing, because for me, it's the natural evolution of what is supposed to happen with this band. We've been doing this for so long now, and we've been blessed to travel all over the world and play the greatest venues. I've got to meet so many fans that are just like-minded — like myself, as Sublime fans — and we've accomplished so much.

I think it's the perfect timing to be winding this down. I've been working on this [solo] music that I put together in the pandemic, and I wanted to focus on this now and really give it that energy and that time that I've pretty much just given to Sublime with Rome in the last 15 years, aside from producing for other artists.

I felt like now it would be a good time for me to focus my energies on that. And right around the time, Jakob wanted to step up and take over for his dad's band, which is absolutely his birthright. So, I think it's well-timed now for everyone.

What’s your interpretation of how Sublime with Rome’s end dovetailed with Sublime’s rebirth?

The truth of the matter is, we were going to wind this down so I could focus on my solo efforts. We assumed that the outfit would continue because Sublime is still very relevant in today's world. People love Sublime; they're still discovering Sublime.

The only part that came just a little out of nowhere: me and my crew found out when the world found out — via the Internet, via social media posts — that they were going to be putting the band together with Jakob singing and playing guitar. And it really caught us off guard because we had a lot of shows that we had already pre-scheduled for 2024. [GRAMMY.com reached out to the Sublime camp for comment, but they could not be reached.]

Was this before or after Eric left Sublime with Rome?

This was before. Eric suffered some really serious medical things last year, and then on the summer tour, he went into another issue. Everything really came to the forefront, where it was like, OK, maybe now is the perfect time to start winding this down — so Eric can focus on his health, and I can use the time to focus on this music that I've been making.

We had, I'd say, a good majority of the shows that we have now already pre-scheduled, along with the tour and an album. When he left, that's the part that hurt me — the fact that we had all of these things that we had set up for our fans and we were promoting and telling them about.

I understand they got the Coachella offer, so that was a really enticing move. But I would've really loved to have set it up in a much more graceful type of way that made sense and paid respect to the lineage — me bringing the guys up on stage, then walking off, and then Eric jamming with Bud and Jakob. Something like that would've been really rad.

But instead, I found out with the world. That was the only disheartening part about the situation. But everything happens for a reason, and I do believe that they will find their success. And it's a beautiful thing that Jakob's doing, taking over for his dad's band. I think it's awesome.

Was there any bad blood?

No, no. We had just got off tour. We were in the studio making a record. There was no big, like, "F— you. No, f— you."

We all sat down in the dressing room. I think it was the second or the third night before the tour ended, and Eric was in pretty rough shape. And it was a moment of reflection for all of us.

We talked about the future and about laying low, and we were going to go back in and finishing up some of the last minute touch-ups on the record that we needed to do. And we just pushed aside all that so Eric [could] get home and get some rest and some help.

During that time, that's when we found out everything along with the world. But there was no huge falling out. There was no storming off, no walking off stage, "I'm never talking to you again," nothing like that.

You and Jakob are certainly coming at the project from two different angles.

They asked me to sing for the band coming from the place of being a giant fan. But for Jakob, that's his dad that he lost.

I don't want to put words in his mouth, but from what I assume, these stories — they're still connected to the music, and it's probably a really painful type of thing to be dealing with. And then seeing an iteration of the band that his dad's former band members put together and me singing, I'm sure it may have just been really confusing and painful for him.

The part that I can feel really good about is that over the course of these years, they have made so much money, and so many resources have come to the brand, and eyes, that I just feel so grateful to be a part of that.

Because I like to think, in some weird way, that — I hope — Bradley's stoked on all this. That his music was able to still live on and be able to provide a living for his wife and his son while Jakob was growing up and getting ready to take over his dad's band.

Obviously, the Sublime catalog is successful in and of itself, but us touring — one of the big things was when we started the band, Eric and Bud made sure that they wanted to pay Brad's wife and his son. And obviously that's the whole MO. When we first put the project together, that was a big thing. And we continued to do that over 15 years.

Heck, tonight I have a show, and he's going to get a paycheck for this one too, as he will be moving forward until the tour's done. Because this is Sublime; this is his dad's band. I'm just an employee of the band, but very grateful for it.

Jakob has expressed some criticism of Sublime with Rome’s history of recording new material with a new frontman. But it wasn’t only your decision; it was Eric and Bud’s, too.

Well, yeah. They came to me [about starting Sublime with Rome]. I was living homeless in my van, just playing shows on the beach, wherever I could. And they came to me with this wonderful opportunity — my favorite band. When they wanted to write music, I said, "Heck yeah," because that just sounded fun. It sounded rad.

I still kind of live by that same energy. And I know it can be easy to paint me as the villain in the situation, I guess.

But going back to what I said, we come from different places where I'm just a giant Sublime fan, and that's why I think they picked me to want to get back together. And you'll never be able to take that away from me — because I love this band and I love the music, and no matter what happens, I'll always love Brad, Bud, and Eric.

Sublime will always be a part of my life, and I'm proud of that. And I'm proud of whatever they wanted to do, whether it was to use the name or put new music out, or not use the name or go and play with someone else. That's awesome. Continue along with Sublime. Jakob can pull the license tomorrow if he wants, but there's no need. We were winding down anyway.

How would you summarize what's special about them? Not Sublime with Rome, not Sublime with Jakob — Brad, Bud and Eric.

Dude, to me, the magic of them was always just taking the best parts of music and putting them all together in an album and sometimes in one song. And that just always blew my mind.

And then, the icing on top of that was Brad's voice; there was just f—king nothing in this world like it. Like butter — sweet but dirty.

Tonight, I want to listen to a Sublime song before I go on, just so I can try and sound a little closer and pay a little more homage to Brad. Because that's why I got into this whole thing. I love those guys. I just want to be able to jam it and bring it to the fans.

Sublime's Jakob Nowell On Leading His Father's Legendary Band & What To Expect At Coachella

The Britpop movement first gathered pace in 1993 — its pure optimism, laddish mentality, and colorful Union Jack aesthetic an attractive proposition for those who couldn't relate to the alienation and angst that defined grunge. Drawing from the classic guitar music of the 1960s, it was also steeped in nostalgia, and, perhaps more notably, a fervent belief that anything the Americans could do, the Brits could do better.

Unsurprisingly, the deeply patriotic scene didn't travel too well: only a handful of acts, most notably Oasis and Blur, made any notable impact across the Atlantic during its four-year golden period. On home turf, however, Britpop defined the zeitgeist, turning the London town of Camden into the nation's cultural hub, sweeping up everyone from future Prime Minister Tony Blair to sheep-preserving artist Damien Hirst, and sparking a chart battle so intense it made the BBC's Six O'Clock News.

And it continues to resonate. Oasis' Liam Gallagher and Stone Roses' John Squire recently topped the UK album chart with their collaborative self-titled LP. The middle episodes of Netflix's must-watch romantic drama One Day is heavily soundtracked by the scene's finest. And Dua Lipa recently cited its two biggest bands — as well as Britpop-adjacent acts Radiohead, Massive Attack, and Primal Scream — as a key influence on her new album Radical Optimism.

With the catalyst for Britpop's domination, Blur's Parklife, recently celebrating its 30th anniversary, what better time to look back at its finest contributions. Ignoring any acts that sat on the outskirts (like Manic Street Preachers or Saint Etienne), or who broke through post-1997 (see Catatonia, Embrace), and sticking to just one track per artist, here's a look at 10 songs that embodied the term Cool Britannia.

Oasis — "Live Forever"

How do you choose from the era's two biggest blockbusters, 1994's record-breaking Definitely Maybe and 1995's (What's The Story) Morning Glory? "Wonderwall" is by far Oasis most recognizable hit, "Cigarettes and Alcohol" summed up the Mancunians' hard-partying ethos in five glorious rock and roll minutes, and "Don't Look Back in Anger" remains the scene's greatest Beatles pastiche. And then there's game-changing single "Supersonic," orchestral sing-along "Whatever," and the truly epic "Champagne Supernova."

But it's the aptly titled "Live Forever," the third single from the Gallagher brothers' near-flawless debut, which has weathered the best. Showcasing the elongated delivery that would become his forte, Liam delivers both an all-time great vocal and a positive meditation that essentially serves as a Britpop manifesto. And unlike on the more bloated Oasis albums to come, Noel's wall of guitar sounds here is anthemic, evocative and downright thrilling.

Blur — "Girls and Boys"

The audience at this year's Coachella might not be particularly familiar with Blur's "Girls and Boys," much to frontman Damon Albarn's annoyance (it did only peak at No.59 on the Hot 100 30 years previously, to be fair). But anyone old enough to remember the spring of 1994 across the pond will know every word.

Ironically, one of the defining Britpop anthems has Mediterranean roots. It was inspired by the Brits-abroad debauchery that the scene's ultimate power couple, Albarn and Elastica frontwoman Justine Frischmann, witnessed during a vacation in Spain. And with its self-described "disco drums, nasty guitars, and Duran Duran bass," Parklife's gender-fluid, multilingual ("You get nasty blisters/ Du bist sehr schön"), and insanely infectious lead single was tailor-made to soundtrack such dance floor hedonism.

Pulp — "Common People"

Pulp had been plugging away on the fringes of the UK's indie scene since the late 1970s, but had to wait until the Britpop explosion to progress beyond cult concern. After making their long-awaited breakthrough with 1994's His N Hers, the Sheffield outfit then joined the big league with Mercury Prize-winning 1995 follow-up Different Class and an instant classic lead single that established eccentric frontman Jarvis Cocker as the scene's ultimate satirist.

As referenced by Rosamund Pike's prime suspect in Saltburn, "Common People" was inspired by a real-life barroom encounter with a privileged art student with ambitions of roughing it with the lower class simply for fun. Cocker initially indulges the unnamed woman in the hope of some bedroom action. But he eventually admonishes her lust for social voyeurism over an exhilarating flurry of guitars, violins and erm stylophones. A true one-off.

Supergrass — "Alright"

Although the impressive sideburns suggested otherwise, Supergrass — aka frontman Gaz Coombes, bassist Mick Quinn, and drummer Danny Goffey — were only on the cusp of adulthood when they released their debut album, 1995's I Should Coco. And saving the best until the last, its fifth single brilliantly encapsulated their youthful exuberance.

Just ask Steven Spielberg. After seeing the video for "Alright," where the trio get up to various japes while traveling across North Wales on a king size bed, the director propositioned the band with a The Monkees-esque TV show, an offer politely declined. The song itself, which did enjoy a taste of Hollywood as part of the Clueless soundtrack, is similarly mischievous, combining jaunty piano riffs and summery surf guitars with joyous tales of teenage kicks ("Got some cash, bought some wheels/ Took it out 'cross the fields/ Lost control, hit a wall/ But we're alright").

Suede — "Trash"

The lure of the Britpop world was so impossible to resist that even Suede, a band renowned for their sexual ambiguity, animalistic art rock, and odes to the seedier side of life, eventually jumped on board. Indeed, while their self-titled debut and equally nihilistic follow-up Dog Man Star had seemed designed for wallowing in student bedsits, third album Coming Up was a far more celebratory affair primed for the indie disco.

The unlikely blockbuster, recorded in the wake of guitarist Bernard Butler's departure in 1994, spawned five consecutive UK Top 10 hits, the most immediate of which was lead single "Trash." An outsider anthem written about the band itself ("Oh maybe, maybe it's the clothes we wear/ The tasteless bracelets and the dye in our hair/ Maybe it's our kookiness"), the David Bowie-esque glam rocker instantly made you want to become an honorary member of Brett Anderson's gang.

The Bluetones — "Slight Return"

As with Suede and Pulp, London-four piece The Bluetones didn't automatically fit into the Britpop landscape. Mark Morriss was at the more unassuming end of the frontman spectrum, his tender, softly-sung voice a far cry from the more boorish delivery of Gallagher, Albarn, et al. And their sound owed just as much to the jangly guitar pop of Teenage Fanclub and melodic songcraft of Squeeze as the Fab Four.

But their debut album, 1996's Expecting to Fly — which knocked (What's The Story) Morning Glory? off the UK top spot — proved that the Cool Britannia era wasn't entirely averse to something a little more sensitive. Flagship single "Slight Return" (very nearly a British chart-topper, too), was undeniably its piece-de-resistance, its intimate verses and propulsive, life-affirming chorus neatly encapsulating their everyman charm.

Babybird — "You're Gorgeous"

Perhaps Britpop's most misunderstood classic, Babybird's "You're Gorgeous" isn't a declaration of undying love tailor made for a first dance. As countless newlyweds may be horrified to learn, it's the tale of a creepy photographer sweet-talking his models into suggestive poses ("You took an instamatic camera/ And pulled my sleeves around my heart") with the false promise of worldwide fame.

Also featured in Saltburn (on this occasion, musically), the feminist statement briefly turned Stephen Jones' one-man-band into a major chart force — "Don't Look Back in Anger" was the only Britpop song to sell more in 1996. Although it proved to be something of a one-hit wonder, its subversive themes and bittersweet melodies — reminiscent of Echo and Bunnymen at their commercial peak — have aged far more gracefully than most of Britpop's more straightforward serenades.

Elastica — "Connection"

There was a brief moment in 1995 when Justine Frischmann looked as though she would equal, or even eclipse, the success of her then-boyfriend Damon Albarn. Elastica's self-titled debut album reached No. 1 in the UK, becoming the second fastest-selling ever in the process. And it reached a creditable No.66 on the Billboard 200, a chart which had completely eluded Blur.

Even so, thanks to a combination of crippling drug addiction, constant lineup changes, and lost momentum, Elastica's reign proved to be short-lived. Still, they'll always have one of the scene's greatest singles runs, encompassing "Stutter," "Line-Up," "No More Heroes," and their biggest US hit, "Connection." The latter also boasts the scene's greatest intro, a ferocious ball of energy which includes squalling synths, guttural grunts, and a primitive guitar riff brazenly borrowed from Wire's "Three Girl Rhumba." Britpop never sounded more explosive.

Ocean Colour Scene — "The Day We Caught the Train"

Occupying the same unapologetically retro space as Cast, The Boo Radleys, and the Godfather of Britpop Paul Weller, Ocean Colour Scene were never one of the scene's most fashionable bands. But breakthrough album Moseley Shoals' mix of '60s rock, mod, and Northern Soul spawned two undeniable classics.

Firstly, there was "The Riverboat Song," a triumphant pastiche of Led Zeppelin's "Four Sticks" that became the walk-on music for Chris Evans' zeitgeist-defining TV show TFI Friday. And then the Birmingham four-piece delivered the even more majestic "The Day We Caught the Train," a nostalgic ode to escapism ("You and I should ride the coast/ And wind up in our favorite coats just miles away") complete with a carefree sun-soaked video that foreshadowed the good vibes of Summer '96. Who cares about being cool anyway?

The Verve — "Bitter Sweet Symphony"

The general consensus is that Britpop died the day Oasis released their self-indulgent third album Be Here Now in August 1997. Released just two months beforehand, The Verve's crowning glory, therefore, was something of a last hurrah, a lush orchestral affair that briefly transformed a bunch of unsung psychedelic rockers into Britain's biggest band.

"Bitter Sweet Symphony" was famously built on a sample of Andrew Loog Oldham's version of The Rolling Stones' "The Last Time"; the band were forced to relinquish all royalties as a result. But there's more to the urban hymn than those sweeping strings — its emphatic beats, for one thing, Richard Ashcroft's vocal swagger for another. Let's not forget the iconic Hoxton Street video where Ashcroft displayed a staggering unawareness of personal space. The second highest-charting Britpop track Stateside (No. 12 on the Hot 100) and only the second to receive a GRAMMY nod, too, "Bittersweet Symphony" was  a majestic Britpop send-off.

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In April 1993, journalist Stuart Maconie coined the term Britpop for a Select magazine article celebrating the UK's fight back against the dominance of American rock. Remarkably, London four-piece Blur weren't even mentioned in the story. And yet, frontman Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James, and drummer Dave Rowntree would provide the catalyst for the scene's mainstream breakthrough.

Just a year later, Blur released what many consider to be Britpop's defining statement. Parklife served as a colorful, vibrant, and incredibly infectious love letter to all things Anglocentric, drawing upon the nation's great cultural heritage while also foreshadowing what was to come. And it instantly struck a chord with homegrown audiences desperate for guitar music that wasn't drowning in abject misery, and better reflected their day-to-day lives.

Remarkably, Albarn had predicted Parklife's success four years earlier. As he declared to music writer David Cavanagh in 1990, "When our third album comes out, our place as the quintessential English band of the '90s will be assured. That is a simple statement of fact."

Three decades after its game-changing release, here's a look at how Parklife forever changed both Blur's career trajectory and the history of British rock.

It Kickstarted Britpop's Greatest Rivalry

In one of those great rock coincidences, Blur's third LP hit the shelves just 24 hours after "Supersonic" gave a then-relative unknown Manchester outfit named Oasis their first ever UK Top 40 single. And the two bands would remain intertwined (perhaps begrudgingly so) from then on, culminating in the most high-profile chart battle in British music history.

You could argue that Oasis' Noel Gallagher threw the first stone, describing Parklife as "Southern England personified" in a manner that suggested it wasn't exactly complimentary. And according to his manager Alan McGee, Definitely Maybe cut "Digsy's Dinner" was written as a deliberate "piss-take of Blur."

An increasingly bitter war of words then broke out in the summer of 1995 as the "Country House" versus "Roll With It" war swept the nation. Blur emerged victorious, although Oasis had the last laugh when (What's The Story) Morning Glory spent 10 weeks atop the UK album chart.

It Brought Storytelling Back To Indie Pop

Heavily inspired by Martin Amis novel London Fields, Parklife was inhabited by a cast of intriguing fictional characters, essentially doubling up as a series of short stories. "Tracy Jacks," for example, is about a golf-obsessed civil servant who ends up getting arrested for public indecency before bulldozing his own house.

"Magic America" is the tale of Bill Barret, a Brit who commits to a life of excess during a Stateside holiday ("Took a cab to the shopping malls/ Bought and ate until he could do neither anymore"), while "Clover Over Dover" explores the mindset of a manipulative boyfriend threatening to jumping off the titular white cliffs.

Over the following 18 months, everything from Pulp's "Common People" and Space's "Neighbourhood" to Supergrass' "Caught by the Fuzz" and The Boo Radleys' "It's Lulu" were combining classic British guitar pop with witty Mike Leigh-esque vignettes of modern life.

It Originated The Big Indie Ballad

Dramatic ballads aren't necessarily the first thing that come to mind with Parklife, a record famed for its jaunty, "knees-up Mother Brown" ditties. But it boasts two examples: "To The End," an alternate Bond theme featuring a burst of Gallic flair from Stereolab's Laetitia Sadler, and the swoonsome "This Is A Low." Turns out the "mystical lager-eater" the record was designed to embody could also get a little vulnerable from time to time.

This appeared to give all of their laddish peers some pause for thought. Oasis, the most fervent advocates of the "cigarettes and alcohol" lifestyle, later scored their biggest hit with acoustic ballad "Wonderwall." And bands including Cast ("Walkaway"), Shed Seven ("Chasing Rainbows") and Menswear ("Being Brave") all enjoyed UK hits revealing their softer sides. No doubt Coldplay, Travis, and every other sensitive post-Britpop outfit that emerged in the late 1990s were taking notes, too.

It Paid Respect To The Greats

The Britpop scene was renowned for its slavish devotion to the first time British guitar bands ruled the airwaves, the Swinging Sixties. Oasis freely admitted they modeled themselves on the Beatles, while the likes of Ocean Colour Scene, Kula Shaker and The Paul Weller all released albums that sounded like they'd been discovered in a vintage record shop.

And while Blur would later distance themselves from the past with a sense of invention (which Albarn would also parlay into his various side projects, including the virtual band Gorillaz), they were more than happy to get all nostalgic on Parklife. See "Far Out," their only track to feature James on lead vocal, which resembled the trippy psychedelia of Pink Floyd in their Syd Barrett era, and the Sgt. Pepper-esque brassy instrumental "The Debt Collector," while there are also echoes of the Walker Brothers, The Kinks, and Small Faces. Suddenly, retro was the new cool.

It Turned Blur Into Britain's Biggest Guitar Band

The UK Top 10 success of 1991's "There's No Other Way" proved to be something of a false start for Blur, with the band soon falling by the wayside like every other baggy pop outfit that emerged at the turn of the decade. "Popscene," the 1992 single intended to revolutionize both their career and British guitar music in general, stalled at No. 32, while 1993 sophomore Modern Life is Rubbish sold just 40,000 copies.

But Parklife single-handedly turned Blur into Britain's biggest guitar band, reaching No. 1 in their homeland, spending 82 weeks in the Top 40, and eventually becoming a million-seller. It went on to pick up four BRITs, a Mercury Prize nomination, and has been recognized as an all-time great by Spin, Pitchfork, and Rolling Stone. Further proof of its glowing reputation came in 2009 when Royal Mail selected it as one of 10 albums worthy of commemorating on a postage stamp.

It Spawned A String Of Classic Singles

Parklife's campaign was kicked off in March 1994 with "Girls and Boys," a glorious dissection of British vacationers — which, surprisingly in the days when genre-hopping was frowned upon — evoked the '80s synth-pop of Duran Duran and Pet Shop Boys. Rowntree was even replaced by a drum machine, not that he particularly minded, luckily.

This indie floorfiller was followed up by the hugely underrated "To The End" and then the much-quoted title track. Everything about "Parklife" the song is larger than life: the Cockney geezer narration from Quadrophenia's Phil Daniels, the festival-friendly sing-along chorus, and the brightly colored video in which James — perhaps tipping his hat to Queen's "I Want to Break Free" -– donned soap opera drag. But fourth release "End of a Century," a melancholic tale of domestic drudgery complete with mournful trombone solo, once again proved there was a depth beyond their cheeky chappy personas.

It Made Brits Proud To Be British Again

Unable to connect with the oppressive angst and flannel shirts of the grunge movement that had plagued their first major North American tour in 1992, Blur first started to embrace their inherent Englishness on the following year's Modern Life is Rubbish. Unfortunately, this throwback to the original British Invasion was met with a resounding shrug of the shoulders on both sides of the Atlantic.

Undeterred, however, the band doubled down on all things Anglocentric on its follow-up, from its original title of London, to its greyhound racing cover art, to its celebrations of bank holidays, Club 18-30 holidays, and shipping forecasts. This time around, they managed to capture the zeitgeist (at home, at least), as the rise of New Labour and the forthcoming hosting of Euro '96 made everyone proud to be British again. Within 12 months, the UK charts were littered with homegrown guitar bands selling the idea of the English dream — and it all started with Parklife.

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Year after year, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival drops lineups of unparalleled cultural depth and diversity, so there’s always an expectation for greatness. But when the roster was announced for its 53rd edition, one name at the top prompted an eye-popping response: the Rolling Stones.

Even if you’re not a fan, there’s no denying that the Stones are one whopper of a get. They hardly ever play at festivals, after all. But their presence is just the tip of the iceberg on a bill that represents a staggering amount of musical talent ranging from classic to contemporary across the event’s two four-day weekends (April 25-28 and May 2-5) held at the city’s expansive Fair Grounds Race Course. 

Within the fest poster’s top few lines alone, you’ve got not only heavy-hitters like the Foo Fighters, Chris Stapleton, the Killers and Greta Van Fleet, but also definitive cultural icons like Neil Young, Queen Latifah, the Beach Boys, Earth, Wind & Fire and Bonnie Raitt … and then a few hundred other artists to sift through. 

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So, if you’re headed to the Crescent City for either weekend (or both), you’re gonna need to make some hard choices — the schedule, spread out across 14 stages, is stacked, and you won’t want to be making all your decisions split-second and accidentally miss out on something unsuspectingly spectacular while navigating your way through seas of people (total attendance usually tops out between 450-500,000 over the course of the entire affair). Read on for all the info on 10 of this year’s must-see acts — from up-and-comers to certified superstars, to get you started.

Robert Finley 

Performing: April 25, Blues Tent

Blues and soul man Robert Finley performs in a way that might make you think he’s a legend who’s been playing on stages forever, which is only sort of true. The 70-year-old Louisiana native (from Bernice, just east of Shreveport), picked up music as a kid and worked as a U.S. Army bandleader while serving in Germany in the 1970s, but didn’t get his break until 2015 when he met Big Legal Mess Records producer Bruce Watson, who recognized Finley’s talent and the following year released his fittingly titled debut album Age Don’t Mean a Thing.

Fast forward to now, and the singer/guitarist has three more albums under his belt, each of those produced by the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach via his label Easy Eye Sound. Finely was one of many artists whose scheduled debuts at Jazz Fest 2020 fell through because of the event’s cancellation due to COVID, so his April 25 performance in the Blues tent will mark his first appearance at the New Orleans fest. 

His latest full-length, 2023’s Black Bayou, is described as a "tour de force that coalesces gospel, blues, soul, and rock into a raw, thundering tribute to Finley’s home state of Louisiana," which sounds pretty dang perfect for a set that helps kick off two weekends of Jazz Fest.

Big Freedia

Performing: April 27, Congo Square Stage

Queen of bounce music, queen diva … with their twelfth performance at the New Orleans festival slated for April 27, Big Freedia might be well on their way to becoming queen of Jazz Fest. Given all those appearances and their constant local presence, you’re likely in the know and don’t need extra urging to catch the set on the Congo Square stage if you’re a NOLA resident. 

For anyone else, here’s the rundown: Freedia’s music — known as bounce — is something that must be witnessed live to fully appreciate it. The multi-sensory experience incorporates hip-hop, electro/dance elements, a lot of call and response and a ton of twerking, always assisted by at least a few impressively acrobatic backup dancers. 

Freedia only has two official full-length albums, 2014’s Just Be Free and 2023’s Central City, but other recordings and collaborations abound, including a feature (via sample from first-album track "Explode") on Beyoncé’s GRAMMY-winning Renaissance single "Break My Soul." Your Jazz Fest outing will not be complete without at least a little time spent gettin’ down with the Queen Diva.

Fantasia 

Performing: April 27, Congo Square Stage

Singer and actress Fantasia hasn’t released an album since 2019’s Sketchbook, but her return to Jazz Fest couldn’t come at a more auspicious time (she debuted at the festival in 2011, shortly after winning the GRAMMY Award for Best R&B Female Vocal Performance for 2010 single "Bittersweet"). Following her starring role in 2023’s musical movie adaptation of The Color Purple, Fantasia appeared at the 66th GRAMMY Awards in February to perform Tina Turner's "Proud Mary" as part of a tribute to the late "Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll."

There are already tributes to Turner planned — one at the fest proper from Adonis Rose and NOJO on April 26, and another from Grace Potter and Boyfriend at a satellite show at the Orpheum Theater on May 2. Fantasia could appear at either of those, but it feels just as likely that she’ll work in her own homage during her Congo Square stage set on April 27. She may also preview some new music: It’s been nearly two years since it was reported that Fantasia had two albums in the pipeline, one of them a gospel record.

The Rolling Stones

Performing: May 2, Festival Stage

The Rolling Stones have for years been Jazz Fest’s veritable white whale. The legendary British rock band was booked to headline in 2019 and was forced to cancel due to Mick Jagger’s heart surgery. Their 2021 rebooking likewise fell through after a new wave of COVID caused the entire festival’s cancellation for the second year in a row (2020 and 2021 are the only years Jazz Fest did not manifest since its start in 1970). So it stands to reason that the band’s May 2 debut on the main stage will far and away be the most momentous show across the two weekends.

Unless you’re an out and out Stones hater, you shouldn’t need any other reasons beyond those to make them a top priority. But, if you need a couple more, it’s also worth considering that this stop on their 19-date U.S. Hackney Diamonds Tour will mark only the fifth time they’ve ever performed in New Orleans and, seeing as they’ve been at it for more than 60 years, there’s no telling how long they’ll continue to play live, so it may be now or never if they’re on your bucket list. 

Of course, there’s also the music: over the course of their two-hour set, it’s a sure bet they’ll bust out all the hits and, with any luck, a few once-in-a-lifetime rarities. Adding to the musical splendor, legendary New Orleans soul singer Irma Thomas recently confirmed that she will perform with the Stones (the groups share the single "Time Is On My Side," which Thomas recorded in 1964).

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram 

Performing: May 3, Blues Tent

If you’re curious who’s carrying the Delta blues torch, look no further than Christone "Kingfish" Ingram. The 25-year-old, Mississippi-bred guitarist and singer has some mighty impressive credentials. At age 15, he performed in a band at the White House for Michelle Obama, and a year later he was getting props from Bootsy Collins and jamming with Buddy Guy, who went on  to fund his debut album Kingfish, released in 2019.

Ingram’s second album, 2021’s 622, earned him a golden gramophone for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 64th GRAMMY Awards, and he went on to make his Jazz Fest debut last year. He returns to headline the Blues Tent on May 3 riding the strength of third full-length, Live in London, released last September. If you need any extra motivation to go see one of the young saviors of traditional blues, give that record a spin.

Rhiannon Giddens 

Performing: May 4, Blues Tent

If you’re a fan of top-notch southern folk, bluegrass, country, gospel, blues, soul … OK, hold up. If you’re a fan of enthralling music in general, pencil in Rhiannon Giddens’ set on May 4 in the Blues Tent at the top of your list. Giddens returns to New Orleans for her third Jazz Fest appearance following sets in 2016 and 2017, both of which were released as live albums (so you can go back and get a sneak preview of precisely how it might feel in this setting). 

You’ll be sure to hear key cuts from her latest solo full-length, 2023’s You’re the One (produced by Jack Splash, who’s repertoire also includes studio work for Kendrick Lamar, Solange and Alicia Keys), as well as tunes from her various other GRAMMY-nominated and -winning recordings, including solo albums, collaborative records and earlier work with old-time string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops. 

Heck, you might even hear snippets of opera — Giddens won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Music for co-composing Omar, an opera based on the autobiography of Omar ibn Said, the only memoir known to have been written by an American slave in Arabic. 

Samara Joy

Performing: May 4, WWOZ Jazz Tent

Kudos to Jazz Fest for booking Samara Joy to play a prime slot on May 4 in the WWOZ Jazz tent during the fest’s second weekend. After she nabbed GRAMMY Awards for Best New Artist and Best Jazz Vocal Album (for 2022 sophomore release Linger Awhile), it would’ve been a big miss had they not put her on. 

For Joy, whose notoriously arresting performances have already led her to playing a grip of other prestigious jazz fests around the world while touring relentlessly over the past couple of years, this appearance represents a major notch on her belt. For anyone planning to attend the fest, this is the chance to witness a major moment in the 24-year-old’s meteoric rise — history in the making.

Queen Latifah 

Performing: May 4, Congo Square Stage

Queen Latifah has been dubbed many illustrious titles over the course of her decades-long career, among them queen of rap and hip-hop. But seeing her name atop this year’s Jazz Fest roster evokes one in particular: queen of jazz-rap. No, it’s not too on the nose — since the release of her first album All Hail the Queen in 1989, her music has leaned heavily on elements of jazz, and on 2004 release The Dana Owens Album, she embraced it completely, covering standards of the genre alongside legends like Al Green and Herbie Hancock, even garnering a GRAMMY nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

That legacy paints an exciting prospective picture for her May 4 headlining set on the Congo Square stage. Could she possibly bring out some of those venerable forebears for some surprise live collaborations? It’s likewise worth noting that this show arrives only a few months after her performance in "A GRAMMY Salute To 50 Years Of Hip-Hop." Might this also function as a victory lap with the potential for cameos from others involved in that all-star celebration? Let’s be real though: it is her Jazz Fest debut, and a long time coming, so even a set featuring only the Queen will be one for the books.

Grupo Niche

 Performing: May 5, Congo Square Stage

Here’s one to give you an extra boost on the fest’s final day (May 5). Colombian-bred, Miami-based Grupo Niche have been considered one of the most influential salsa groups in the Americas since their formation in 1979, making them just nine years younger than the fest itself and well-deserving of their Jazz Fest debut on the Congo Square stage.

Though their final founding member and director/composer Jairo Valera passed away in 2012, the expansive group — comprised of four vocalists, five horn players, four percussionists, a bass player, keyboardist and band director — has successfully evolved and thrived. Huge credit to their perseverance: the first album released without Valera, 2020’s 40, won the Latin GRAMMY Award for Best Salsa Album that year, as well as the GRAMMY Award for Best Tropical Latin Album in 2021. 

If Grupo Niche can keep the dance party going for more than four decades, surely you can squeeze in an hour at the fest.

Celebrating Jimmy Buffett With The Coral Reefer Band

Performing: May 5, Festival Stage

Considering Jimmy Buffett’s roots in New Orleans — his busking on the streets of the French Quarter in the 1960s essentially propelled him on his path to becoming a music legend — it would be utterly irresponsible as a Jazz Fest attendee to skip the Coral Reefer Band paying tribute on May 5 via the main stage to the late singer-songwriter, who passed in September 2023. 

This will be the second official performance after his death from his backing band following their April 11 all-star outing at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, which included appearances from Paul McCartney, Zac Brown and Brandi Carlile, among many others. 

No announcements have been made regarding Jazz Fest’s additions to the band, which performed there with Buffett for a dozen shows, their first in 1989 and last in 2022. Regardless, there’s no doubt it will play out as an emotional and uplifting ode to an artist who lived and breathed New Orleans music.

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