Raye performs during the the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club on Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Indio, Calif. For small, niche bands, this might be the biggest gig they ever get. For older bands, it’s a chance to be celebrated for past glories.
No one can really tell her future, but based on her mid-afternoon set in the Mojave tent on Saturday, where ecstatic fans spilled far beyond the Mojave tent, Raye and those who saw here will remember this as one of those moments where things changed. Her sweet joy at the response of the crowd made her ever more lovable, and her vocals, backed by 20 musicians and singers, was awesome in the true meaning of that word.
“One week ago I was sitting out in Ryder, Texas, drinking branch water and looking at the wildflowers, singer-guitarist Ezra Koenig told the crowd. “I got a text saying, ‘Can you play this festival?’”“So I called the boys and said, ‘Can we do this?’” he continued. “They said, ‘ yeah, we can do this.’”