Desert Storm

The lineup for the 11th annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (April 16-18) is nearly as hot as temperatures usually run at the SoCal desert fest. And this time out there are a bunch of bands we’ve been crowing about on Modern Tonic. So, here’s a primer — with links to past coverage — to some of our favorite acts at this year’s Coachella:

Friday:

La Roux may as well be Eurythmics, Yaz and Bananarama merged and reinvigorated. Unlike fellow Coachellan and New Wave revivalist Little Boots, who puts a modern spin on ‘80s pop, La Roux’s Alex Stewart and Elly Jackson (pictured at top) are purists.
 

Also playing: androgynous legend Grace Jones (still turning it out at 61), She & Him (the collabo of doe-eyed Zooey Deschanel and alt folkie M. Ward) and preppy indie rockers Vampire Weekend.

Saturday:

We admit it: We’re stuck on the ‘80s. And so are the xx, the British group with echoes of New Order in its sensual musical dialogue.
 

MGMT bring their Brooklyn-bred squishes, beats and harmonies to the desert. A can’t miss.

Also check out: star DJ David Guetta, ferocious lesbian original Beth Ditto in Gossip, hi-fi geeks Hot Chip, Godfather of Filth John Waters, eccentric pop-soulster Sia and falsetto fetishists The Temper Trap.

Sunday:

When Florence Welch of Florence and The Machine wails in that inexhaustible contralto, get out of the way!

And: Gallic survivor Charlotte Gainsbourg, Little Boots (aka Victoria Hasketh) and danceable rhythm rockers Phoenix.