Another year, another wish for Daft Punk to return to the Coachella stage. (Disney/Contributed Image)
UPDATE: Add a sixth argument against Daft Punk at Coachella–Pitchfork says they’re not playing.
I think the question I’ve been asked the most this festival season is some variation of “Will Daft Punk make an appearance at Coachella 2013?”
The French electronic duo, which is at the top of many Coachella fans’ wish lists each year, is releasing new album “Random Access Memories” in May, and released 15 seconds of new music in a commercial during “Saturday Night Live,” The Guardian reports.
You can hear a snippet of some new Daft Punk at the randomaccessmemories.com. You can definitely hear the funk coming through. I love that the band worked with producer and guitar virtuoso Nile Rodgers (of Chic) on the new record, too.
RELATED: Explore our interactive map of the artists playing the 2013 Coachella Festival.
So let’s go back to the Coachella Festival question. Will Daft Punk show up at Coachella 2013? In the middle of writing this post, Audio File reader Emi Acosta alerted me to the latest rumor, which is that Daft Punk’s Vevo page has Friday, April 12 listed as a tour date in Indio for Coachella. Coachella is running April 12-14 and April 19-21 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif.
Daft Punk’s Vevo page lists April 12 as a tour date in Indio, California.
Here are the factors in favor of Daft Punk at Coachella:
1-Coachella loves surprises. Daft Punk showing up would crush that Tupac Shakur hologram from last year.
2-Saturday night is Phoenix’s headlining night. Phoenix hasn’t previously headlined major U.S. festivals, but when the fellow French group played Madison Square Garden, Daft Punk showed up for a guest spot in 2010. (See video below).
3-See the Vevo note from above.
4-New material is always a plus for getting a band to Coachella. With “Random Access Memories” dropping in May, Coachella isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
5-Coachella usually has a big EDM name high up on the poster and I’m not seeing one in the first two lines of the Coachella poster for any of the days.
Here are the factors against a Daft Punk performance at Coachella 2013:
1-We already had one Daft Punk at Coachella 2013 rumor before the lineup was even announced that left Songkick writing an apology letter and locking down user submissions.
2-If Coachella had booked Daft Punk, why wouldn’t they announce it? With such a huge act that fans have demanded, I think it would have been announced, especially before word about the Lou Reed cancelation got out.
3-People keep saying that Daft Punk will NOT tour in 2013.
4-If the Vevo page is right, why wouldn’t Friday, April 19 be listed, too? Also, I think it makes more sense to see Daft Punk with Phoenix on Saturday nights, April 13 and 20.
5-Coachella is sold out and it sold out fast. In previous years I think late additions were made to move tickets. That’s not an issue for the festival anymore.
RELATED: Visit all of our Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival coverage at the iGuide
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Daft Punk at Coachella, but I’m not holding my breath for it, either.
Time for you to vote. Do you think Daft Punk will make an appearance at Coachella 2013? Feel free to add your thoughts/theories in the comments section.
For more Coachella news, photos, interviews and information, visit the iGuide Coachella page. If you want to follow me on social media, I’m at @vanessafranko on Twitter, the Audio File on Facebook and on Google+.
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