Inside Coachella Day Three: The Weeknd, Swedish House Mafia Close Out Comeback Festival

After three days of music, art and star-studded parties in the desert, The Weeknd brought Coachella to a close on Sunday night, with a set he had less than two weeks to plan after stepping in last-minute for Kanye “Ye” West.

The star joined Swedish House Mafia for the final night’s headlining slot — alongside Friday night’s Harry Styles and Saturday’s Billie Eilish — four years after having previously headlined alongside Beyoncé and Eminem in 2018. West originally held the spot but dropped out of the festival just days before its first weekend kicked off, which The Weeknd (AKA Abel Tesfaye) acknowledged during his performance.

“Coachella you know how much I love you? I always got your back when you need me,” he told the crowd during his set of hits and new songs off his “Dawn FM” album, later adding, “You’re always there for me, so I will always be there for you.”

Swedish House Mafia, who were originally set as a special guest act, also jumped in with limited notice, kicking off the roughly 90-minute set when taking the main stage around 11 p.m. For the DJ group, made up of Steve Angello, Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso, the show marked a reunion after announcing their breakup in 2012 and releasing their first new music in almost a decade in fall 2021, via “Moth To a Flame” featuring The Weeknd.

“Coachella, allow us to reintroduce ourselves,” the group yelled to the crowd to kick off the set, later acknowledging, “You made us come back together, so we appreciate you for that. Thank you people!” The DJ group and the singer collaborated on several songs during the performance, while each also had their own individual sets.

Earlier in the day, Doja Cat, Maggie Rogers, Karol G, Ari Lennox, Finneas, Orville Peck and Vince Staples were among those also performing in the festival. Doja Cat hit the main stage shortly before the headliners, with guest appearances from Tyga and Rico Nasty for performances of “Juicy” and “Tia Tamera,” respectively. In her Coachella debut, Karol G was joined by Becky G to perform their hit collaboration “MAMIII.” The Latin Grammy Award winner also brought out Tiesto for a performance of “Don’t Be Shy.” Over at the Sahara Tent, rapper Channel Tres brought out frequent collaborator Ty Dolla $ign; and just a day after performing onstage with sister and music partner Eilish, Finneas performed a set of his own, surprising the crowd with a live debut and piano rendition of the hit song “Nobody Like U” from Pixar’s Turning Red.

Outside the festival gates, the weekend’s parties also continued on, including a second day of Revolve and The h.wood Group’s Revolve Festival. While on Saturday the event saw Post Malone and surprise guest Quavo take the stage in front of guests including Timothee Chalamet, Sydney Sweeney, Storm Reid, Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner and Diddy, on Sunday Jack Harlow and Willow Smith performed to another A-list crowd of Leonardo DiCaprio, Migos, Peyton List, Storm Reid, Chloe and Halle Bailey, James Franco, Simon Rex and Patrick Mahomes.

On top of brand booths for Venmo, Spotify, Hawkers, Erewhon delivered by Postmates, 818 Tequila, Onda, Daring Foods, Good American, Celsius, Zip and Pley Beauty, Revolve Festival also featured carnival-style swings and plenty of photo opps.

Tao also continued its weekend of events, following up two days of Tao Desert parties with a Vegas-inspired Tao Beach pop-up. Soho Desert House, Hugo House, Desert Gold and HBO Max’s The Flight Attendant Preflight Lounge rounded on Sunday’s celebrations.

The end of weekend one marks the first Coachella in the books since 2019, after the 2020 and 2021 iterations were canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the festival lifted all vaccination and testing requirements, some attendees continued to wear masks as social distancing quickly became a thing of the past at the packed event. Coachella will return for its second weekend starting on Friday.