It was a historic moment for Indian artists as actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh became the first Punjabi singer to perform at the 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in the US. The music and arts festival, taking place in the Coachella Valley in California’s Indio, is scheduled to take place over two weekends.
Dosanjh was part of the day two line-up of the first weekend, which saw performances by global music stars such as Blackpink, Charli XCX, Labrinth, and Kid Laroi.
Dressed in an all-black traditional Punjabi attire paired with sneakers, Dosanjh prayed before entering the stage and was welcomed with a huge cheer from the fans amid fireworks.
“Now it has been written in history. Punjabi aa gaye hum Coachella (Punjabis have reached Coachella). And those who don’t understand my songs, catch the vibe,” Dosanjh said on stage in Punjabi.
As per other videos circulating on social media, the singer-actor, who shuffles between India and Canada, performed his hit tracks such as “Jatt Da Pyaar”, “Patiala Peg” and “Munda Hunda Dhuppa Vich Tan Kudiye”.
Throughout the performance, shots of Dosanjh’s previous concerts were playing on a big screen in the background on stage.
He was accompanied by a live band and bhangra dance troupe during his close to the 45-minute-long set.
During the performance of “Patiala Peg”, American music producer and DJ Diplo was spotted dancing in the crowd, a video of which was shared by Dosanjh on his Instagram Stories.
Audiences were seen asking him to extend his set, but Dosanjh hinted that he had to leave the stage and thanked them for all the love.
Veteran Punjabi folk singer Gurdas Maan congratulated Dosanjh for becoming the first Punjabi artist to perform at the American music festival.
“Punjabi music lai Ikk Vadda din @diljitdosanjh wah!! Poori team nu bahut bahut mubarkan. (A big day for Punjabi music. Superb Diljit Dosanjh. Congratulations to the whole team.)” he posted on Twitter.
Punjabi music lai Ikk Vadda din ??? @diljitdosanjh wah!! Poori team nu bahut bahut mubarkan @OfficialSonaliS?? pic.twitter.com/1XSfSulCmU
— Gurdas Maan (@gurdasmaan) April 16, 2023
Dosanjh said he had learnt everything from Maan, credited for taking Punjabi music across the globe.
“I’ve learnt everything from you. Living Legend @gurdasmaan Saab,” he wrote.
Rapper Badshah and Dosanjh’s Udta Punjab co-star Kareena Kapoor Khan also congratulated him.
In addition to Dosanjh, well-known Pakistani singer Ali Sethi and Indian-American rapper Raja Kumari performed together at Coachella music festival on April 17. The duo took over the stage and performed “Pasoori” at the coveted music fest.
“What we can’t do over there, we can do over here…all kinds of forbidden love represented here today,” Ali Sethi said on stage after their performance.
Before them, English singer and songwriter Charli XCX delivered a hot and steamy performance at the festival on April 15. At her first-ever performance at the festival, she brought out Troye Sivan for “1999” and performed the live debut of her remix of Caroline Polachek’s “Welcome to My Island”.
Jai Paul, the reclusive London-based songwriter and producer, performed live for the very first time. His setlist included songs like “BTSTU”, “Jasmine”, “Str8 Outta Mumbai”, “Genevieve”, “Crush” and “100,000” from his debut project, the leaked demo album “Leak 04-13 (Bait Ones)”.
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