Coachella Preview 2012: A rundown on the performers

Timothy Norris

Coachella is back, for two desert weekends this year, April 13-15 and April 20-22. Our massive team of writers and photographers will be covering everything from the performances to the fashion trends to the drug-induced-tomfoolery. Over 140 artists are performing -- we've got the full list below. But, you may be wondering, who the hell are some of these people? To help you out we've got stories on many of them culled from our sister Village Voice Media papers around the country. You'll learn about that time Flying Lotus pretended to be a UCLA physics major, Seun Kuti's first Minneapolis performance as an eight year old, even the mysteries of Merrill Garbus and why Chuck Klosterman can't handle her. Dig in! -Ben Westhoff
A$AP Rocky
Abe Vigoda
*Pop Go Abe Vigoda: The punk-gone-shoegaze band await a mainstream breakthrough
Afrojack
Alesso
Amon Tobin : ISAM Live
Andrew Bird
AraabMUZIK
*Q&A: araabMUZIK On His Influences, His Name, And Filling His Records With Crazy Beats
Arctic Monkeys At The Drive-In
*Mars Volta and At the Drive-In's Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Is a Real Bastard
Atari Teenage Riot
AVICII
*Avicii appears on OC Weekly's "Top Five DJs Under 25"
AWOLNATION
Azealia Banks
*Q&A: Azealia Banks On Growing Up On Stage, Being Compared To Nicki Minaj, And Why Women Have More Sexual Power Than People Think
Band of Skulls
Beats Antique
Beirut
Black Lips
*Black Lips Clean Up (A Bit) For 'Arabia Mountain'
*Phoenix New Times Story on The Black Lips
Bon Iver
*Bon Iver wins two Grammys, and "Bonny Bear" is born
*Bon Iver "kind of said 'f*ck you' a little bit" to the Grammys
Borgore
Breakbot
Buzzcocks
*The Buzzcocks: Possessed by the Spirit of '76: Steve Diggle says the punk rock way of looking at the world is just as relevant today as it ever was.
Calvin Harris
Childish Gambino
*Childish Gambino Breaks the Hip-Hop Mold
Company Flow
Dada Life
Datsik
David Guetta
Dawes
Death Grips
Destroyer
Destructo
DJ Shadow
Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg
*Big Pimpin': Pimp cups have real players like Snoop Dogg and white kids alike dropping cash
Dragonette
EMA
*Q&A: EMA's Erika M. Anderson On How To Shock People Using Stolen Classic-Rock Lyrics And Firing A Gun At Age 14 Explosions in the Sky
Fanfarlo
*Review of Fanfarlo in Minneapolis
Feed Me
Feist
fIREHOSE
*Q&A: Mike Watt on Napping, Beards, the Neutral Milk Guy, and D Boon
First Aid Kit
*First Aid Kit Are Ladies of the Fjord: A Scandinavian spin on Americana
Fitz and the Tantrums
*Fitz and the Tantrums: Soul Suits Them: The six-piece combo put the 'move' in the burgeoning American soul movement
Florence and the Machine
Flux Pavilion & Dr. P
Flying Lotus
*The Time Flying Lotus Pretended To Be A UCLA Physics Major *Flying Lotus Rising: Could spiritual electronica be the next great California sound?
Frank Ocean
Gardens & Villa
*Phoenix New Times Story on Gardens & Villa
Gary Clark Jr.
*Seattle Weekly Reviews Gary Clark Jr.
Girl Talk
*Girl Talk Is the Best at What He Does: Audiences aren't sick of mash-ups yet, not when they're as sophisticated as Gregg Gillis' work *Girl Talk's Greg Gillis Says Irony Is a Waste
GIRLS
*S.F.'s Girls Issue a Gorgeous Old-School Epic *Christopher Owens of Girls on Being on God's Dark Side
GIVERS
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Gotye
*Gotye: I don't care if you mispronounce my name
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Greg Ginn and The Royal We
Grouplove
Hello Seahorse!
honeyhoney
Housse de Racket
Jacques Lu Cont
James
Jeff Mangum
*Review of Jeff Mangum in Minneapolis
Jimmy Cliff with Tim Armstrong and the Engine Band
Justice
Kaiser Chiefs
Kasabian
Kaskade
*Kaskade Masters Time, Space and Big-Room Electronica: The DJ from San Clemente headlines the biggest New Year's parties in the Southwest
Keep Shelly in Athens
Kendrick Lamar
*Born and raised in Compton, Kendrick Lamar Hides a Poet's Soul Behind "Pussy & Patron"
*Kendrick Lamar's Section 80 tops LA Weekly's list of best LA Albums of 2011
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang