Diljit Dosanjh Will Perform at Coachella 2023 in California

There’s been a shift towards diversity on the Coachella festival lineup and South Asian artists are there for it. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival – which takes place over two weekends, April 14th to 16th and April 21st to 23rd – will host Punjabi pop star and actor Diljit Dosanjh for the first time, with his name appearing high on the billing on day two, which is headlined by K-pop group Blackpink, Latin pop artist Rosalia and more.

Beyond Bollywood and even the Punjabi pop world to an extent, Dosanjh has made a giant footprint in music worldwide, rising exponentially with the release of his album G.O.A.T. in 2020. The title track as well as songs like “Crash” and “Born to Shine” propelled the album on to the Social 50 Billboard chart, while also hitting number 16 on the Canadian Albums Billboard chart. Among the most recognizable names in Indian entertainment at the moment, this Coachella performance will clearly mark a leap towards more global audiences for Dosanjh, while the festival curators themselves seek to bring in Punjabi music-loving audiences, alongside Latin music lovers and K-pop fandoms.

South Asian representation has grown over time on lineups for big-ticket festivals like Coachella. Dosanjh – who shared the news with a thumbs-up Memoji – is joined by Pakistani singer-composer Ali Sethi, Bangladeshi-origin DJ-producer Jai Wolf and the live debut of the reluctant and acclaimed Indian-origin British artist Jai Paul.

Dosanjh is not the first Indian or Indian-origin artist to perform at Coachella, however. In 2015, Mumbai-born, Los Angeles electronic act B.R.E.E.D.’s Ritesh D’Souza was on the lineup, while 2022 saw the Coachella debut of Indian-origin R&B/dream-pop artist Raveena.

The news of Dosanjh’s Coachella appearance comes at the same time as other important news for Indian artists on world stages. Indian rap stars DIVINE and King, along with Pakistani duo Young Stunners were announced on the billing for Wireless Middle East in Abu Dhabi in March, performing alongside the likes of Travis Scott and Lil Uzi Vert. Folk-metallers Bloodywood, for their part, have been booked to play Download Festival in the U.K., plus festivals like Sonic Temple in the U.S. and European mainstay metal gatherings like Hellfest in France and Graspop Metal Meeting in Belgium.