Annual music and arts festival Coachella has long existed as a melting pot of musical identities and genres, bringing together fans of music from all corners of the world to celebrate the medium. Their annual lineup announcement is consistently one of the most viral moments on social media, and their impact is certainly not something to be understated. While you can usually guess the sort of talent that would be taking over the stage based on current musical trends, one announcement that took me by total surprise was the inclusion of Japanese musical trio Perfume on day three of the event.
— Coachella (@coachella) January 3, 2019
Taking over the stage on Sunday, April 14 and 21, Perfume will be sharing the stage with North American pop royalty Ariana Grande, Khalid, Zedd, and more. While this isn’t the trio’s first time in the United States, with numerous sold-out world tours and an SXSW appearance in 2015, this might just be one of their biggest international opportunities to date. Falling right in line with their “Future Pop World Tour” that’s taking place around the same time, it remains to be seen whether their Coachella appearance will be an extension of this or an original live performance specifically for the event.
Thrilled to be a part of the incredible @coachella lineup this year. See you in the desert. ✌🌵✨
コーチェラ・フェス2019にPerfumeの出演が決定しました!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/4lbdLxz3D9
— Perfume_um (@Perfume_um) January 3, 2019
While their actual position on the billing is a little disappointing given their long-standing impact in Japan, a performance at Coachella is still nothing short of incredible for the group. In a recent interview with Forbes, group member Nocchi denies the notion that Perfume has been pivotal in J-pop’s push internationally, but this announcement certainly paints a different image. Whether they admit it or not, Perfume remains one of the most important outputs from Japan’s ever-expanding music scene.
With just a few months until Coachella takes place in Indio, California, it’ll definitely be interesting to see how this all proceeds. Before that, we’ve still got a massive world tour from the trio to look forward to, so be sure to check out our full archive for even more news Perfume, here.