Highlights from Beyonce's Historic Coachella Performance

Article by: Laura Mason|@masonlazarus

Mon April 16, 2018 | 21:35 PM


Coachella, thank you for allowing me to be the first black woman to headline,” Beyoncé declared during her historic performance Saturday at the California desert festival.

Over the course of two epically theatrical hours, filled with hundreds of dancers, Malcolm X quotes, a drum line, a massive horn section, the superstar's husband, Jay-Z, and sister, Solange, a Nina Simone tribute, and even a Destiny's Child reunion, Beyoncé delivered one of the most hotly anticipated festival sets ever. Her most popular hits switched styles on a dime, with "Drunk in Love" peppered with marching band-esque horns, and a techno-laced version of "Bow Down" got the audience to dance even harder. No detail was left unconsidered.A year in the making (after she dropped out on doctors' orders to prep for the birth of her twins in 2017) her headlining show had filled the festival's thousands of fans with so much raw fervor that Coachella had been rechristened #Beychella long before she even took the stage. The show felt massively unparalleled in its ambition, message, and execution, even by Coachella's already high standards. And let's face it: If there were anyone able to pull of such a feat, it would be Beyoncé. The New York Times said "...her performance was as much ancestral tribute and cultural continuum — an uplifting of black womanhood — as contemporary concert."

Below, check out the highlights Queen Bey's total Coachella domination.

This Dance Break. Those Sparkly Boots.

The Destiny's Child Reunion

Jay-Z Joins Bey for "Deja Vu"

Dancing with Solange

Bey surprised Solange during her little sister's Coachella performance in 2014. This year, Solange returned the favor. The world collectively lost it on social media.

Over an Hour in and Her Voice is Still Perfect

She Performed "Drunk in Love" from a Crane

She Mixed "Crazy in Love" with Juvenile's "Back That Azz Up"