Coachella 2022: 10 under-the-radar acts you don't want to miss
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Always read the fine print. All my life that's what people have told me.
But guess what? I never read the fine print. To my detriment I'm sure, I don't read the fine print, it's probably cost me hundreds of dollars over the years on car purchases and cell phone contracts.
There is one time of year when I do read the fine print, and that's when the poster for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival comes out. If you don't know how the iconic poster works, the headliners and big names are in large text and then the subsequent acts are listed in increasingly shrinking point size based on their popularity.
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So Harry Styles and Billie Eilish are in large print. We know what we're going to get from them, but the fine print is where you find the hidden gems. The acts that fill out your day at the polo grounds — and often prove to be diamonds in the rough — make your whole experience extra special.
Plus, when you've seen these amazing acts on the cusp of becoming big, you can be the unbearable person in 2024 saying "Oh, you like Sampa the Great? You're into Rich Brian? You're going to see Holly Humberstone at Madison Square Garden? Cool. I caught them at Coachella in 2022, but if you're just getting into them now, that's cool or whatever."
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So, with that in mind, here are 10 "fine-print" acts that I think you should check out at Coachella this year. (In order of when they perform.)
Note: Some of the attached songs have explicit lyrics
Arooj Aftab
On the stage: Friday
What to expect: Music is the universal language, and the breathtaking tone and vibe set by Arooj Aftab proves it. Her acoustic indie sound with jazz roots may be sung in a different language, but they are somehow easy to find a connection to. She became the first Pakistani to ever win a Grammy earlier this month when "Mohabbat" won Best Global Performance. She said of these difficult last two years: "The world is extremely relentless and music sews you back together."
Giselle Woo and the Night Owls
On the stage: Friday
What to expect: Desert music fans know all about Giselle Woo and the Night Owls and I'm showing them some local love, but this is no hometown discount, they deserve it. Woo's unique and soulful voice requires multiple listens and perhaps this Coachella performance will help the rest of the music-loving world discover it. A Coachella Valley band playing Coachella with a famous song called "Coachella Gold" sounds like dream-come-true material to me.
Meute
On the stage: Friday
What to expect: As Monty Python would say "and now for something completely different." We've seen most genres of music at Coachella over the years, but this may be the first Techno Marching band. Muete is a German outfit that falls under the definition of a classic marching band, but doesn't sound like my Alma High School marching band playing "Kyrie" by Mister Mister in 1988 in mid-Michigan. They have a hypnotic techno vibe that is hard to explain, but easy to listen to.
Rich Brian
On the stage: Saturday
What to expect: The 22-year-old Indonesian rapper catches you off guard, in a don't-judge-a-book-by-its-cover type of way. Let's just say he doesn't look like a baritone-voiced rapper ready to spit fire, but that's what Rich Brian is these days. He's graduated from his early rap image which was more about clowning around with goofier rhymes, but is now impressing people with a more serious lyrical style. It's no surprise that he lists Childish Gambino among his influences since he, too, surprised people easily see-sawing back and forth between comedic and serious personas.
Holly Humberstone
On the stage: Saturday
What to expect: Act fast if you want to get on the Humberstone bandwagon. The 22-year-old Brit is making a name for herself with songs like "Scarlett" and "The Walls are Way to Thin" and she's hitting the mainstream thanks to her plum gig as the opening act for Olivia Rodrigo's current Sour Tour. Humberstone is in the ballpark of Lorde and Phoebe Bridgers, deftly performing her songs that she describes as "self-exposing." She has an indie-pop way about her, but the personal nature of some of the songs add heft.
Masego
On the stage: Saturday
What to expect: This 28-year-old Jamaican-American singer has a tough-to-describe style. His voice has an impressive range, and he's a maestro on the saxophone, which he incorporates soulfully and skillfully into every song. You could call it future soul funk — he once called his sound "traphouse jazz" — but whatever you label it, you're going to want to listen. I can already picture listening to Masego at sunset with the sax cutting through the dusk air. He has pointed to both Andre 3000 and Cab Calloway as musical influences and as weird as that seems, after you listen to Masego it makes sense.
Emotional Oranges
On the stage: Sunday
What to expect: This Los Angeles-based R&B/pop/soul group is made for the desert. In fact, their songs should be the anthem of your next pool party. They put me in the mind of a little poppier Fugees. They are all about showing love for California, so if you have West Coast pride, this needs to be on your summer jam playlist. Just put on any of their albums — The Juice Vol. 1, The Juice Vol. 2 and The Juicebox — and give into the groove.
Yola
On the state: Sunday
What to expect: While the term YOLO may be uncool, this is Yola and she's way cool. A powerful-voiced songstress in the vein of a young Tina Turner or Chaka Khan, the 38-year-old Brit is bringing her considerable talent to the desert. Her album "Walk Through Fire" was up for Album of the Year at the 2020 Grammys. She has the booming vocals that can fill the desert air.
Beabadoobee
On the stage: Sunday
What to expect: Of all these acts, the 21-year-old Beabadoobee (real name Beatrice Laus) is probably the most well-known. She has enjoyed some indie success and was scheduled to be on the 2020 bill before it was canceled. I'm so happy to see her back in 2022 even more seasoned and with a larger fan base in tow. In an unusual turn, the first song this Filipino/British singer-songwriter ever wrote, "Coffee," in 2017, was sampled by Canadian Rapper Powfu in his 2020 smash "Death Bed (Coffee for Your Head)" and it became a viral hit on TikTok. She said in an interview she was a little bummed that her earliest song is what she's most known for rather than her more recent work, but the introspective artist has a knack for writing craveable indie jams. The next Taylor Swift perhaps.
Sampa the Great
On the stage: Sunday
What to expect: She considers herself not just a rapper but also a poet and that shows up in her lyrics and rhythms. The Zambian-born, Australian-raised (not a combo you hear a lot) songwriter is not afraid to make political statements with her music. Her biggest hit "Final Form" is probably the best example of what she's about. She lists Mos Def and Chance the Rapper as influences and that sort of free-form rap style comes across.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Here are 10 lesser-known Coachella 2022 acts that you're going to love
