Coachella Festival in Indio, California lasts for six days and has attracted around 250,000 revellers. Photo / Getty Images
Coachella Festival in Indio, California lasts for six days and has attracted around 250,000 revellers. Photo / Getty Images
While many of us spent a rainy weekend on our screens, consuming bedazzled festival fits and juicy celebrity dramas at Coachella, some lucky Kiwis actually attended the star-studded event.
For those who may have not been as consumed with the weekend’s festivities as we were, Coachella is an annual music festival held in Indio, California. It’s become known for luring in some of the biggest celebrities to its grounds every year, and 2023 proved to be no different.
Hosting around 250,000 concert-goers, the festival runs for two weekends over three days each and provides performances from some of the biggest names in the music industry - affirming itself as a top-tier experience.
Whether it be rocking out on-stage or providing style-inspo for our mood boards, here are all the Kiwis spotted at the celebrity-swarmed desert festival.
Taupō-born and Auckland-raised Christa Albert showed off her dance moves on the weekend, performing with headlining K-Pop group Blackpink at Coachella. Dancing under the creative direction of Kiel Tutin, Albert and her Kiwi dance pals put on a record-breaking performance that we couldn’t help but watch in awe.
Not her first time busting a move on the world stage, Albert already has an impressive CV to her name. From dancing on Jolin Cai’s Ugly Beauty World Tour and featuring in Chris Brown’s Liquor music video, the Kiwi dancer is taking the world by storm - one performance at a time.
Benee performs onstage at Coachella 2023. Photo / Getty Images
Benee
New Zealand’s national treasure and pop icon Benee made her Coachella debut last Saturday when she graced the Mojave stage. Met with huge applause, the Glitter songstress was gifted a New Zealand flag from Kiwis in the crowd before welcoming special guest Gus Dapperton onto the stage.
The two performed her hit Supalonely - which went viral on TikTok and inspired many dance routines on the app. And if the 23-year-old’s Coachella performance was anything to go by, it seems those routines are still fresh in the minds of fans.
Georgia Fowler rocked a neutral palette fit with a few floral embellishments. Photo / Instagram @georgiafowler
Georgia Fowler
Former Victoria’s Secret model and fashion magazine regular Georgia Fowler also made an appearance at the A-lister-prone festival with her new hubby Nathan Dalah. Her outfits - which landed her on multiple best-dressed lists - and regular themed Instagram posts meant we whinged to our colleagues about missing the iconic festival all week.
Unfortunately, no whinging helped secure a Coachella wristband. Alas, we lived vicariously through the model’s Instagram feed and desperately searched the web for a knockoff of her floral two-piece by Magda Butrym.
Stella Maxwell
Another VS alumni with a Kiwi passport was spotted at the desert festival. Stella Maxwell appeared to be a resident of the mosh over the weekend, posting pictures of herself in the crowd and complaining of her “swollen feet” in the caption. A kind reminder that even celebrities suffer the trials and tribulations of festival footwear.
Photo / Instagram @kirstendodgen
Kirsten Dodgen
Kiwi dancer Kirsten Dodgen celebrated her birthday at one of the biggest parties of the year, wearing fluff-embellished festival apparel and making TikToks with her pals. While we aren’t sure whether Dodgen was taking the stage last weekend or simply visiting the festival to celebrate another year older, the New Zealander certainly seemed to have a dreamy time in the desert and had the pictures to show for it.
