Music festival performances tend to be ripe in special guest appearances, and Stagecoach Country Music Festival is no exception. Chosen carefully, a special guest appearance can evoke a special moment from the crowd, palpable from the loud roars, sudden jumps to the feet and almost-instant presence of phones hoping to capture the moment.
Here’s a run-down of the most-talked-about special guest appearances from this year’s Stagecoach, broken down by the acts that brought the guests out:
Paul Cauthen
Kicking off the weekend’s special guests, Paul Cauthen brought out Lana Del Rey during his Friday afternoon performance for the last song of his set. The two sang The Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody.”
What an unchained duet #LanaDelRey @CauthenMusic
Tune in to the @AmazonMusic #Stagecoach livestream, hosted on @PrimeVideo and the Amazon Music Twitch channel. https://t.co/YiNi69SWnm pic.twitter.com/Wk57tEEU6S
— Stagecoach Festival (@Stagecoach) April 27, 2024
Jelly Roll
Jelly Roll’s Friday night performance was jam-packed with special guests. Ernest joined early in the set for “Son of a Sinner,” and Maddie & Tae made an appearance for the unreleased Jelly Roll track, “Liar.” On the back-end of the set, Jelly Roll brought out T-Pain, who performed “Buy U A Drank” and Toby Keith’s “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” with Jelly Roll. In 2023, T-Pain released a cover album, “On Top of Covers” which featured a few country tracks like “Tennessee Whiskey.”
T-Pain and Jelly Roll sing Toby Keith’s “Should’ve been a cowboy.” pic.twitter.com/z55sMBQILJ
— Dorothy Elder (@dorthelder) April 27, 2024
Nickelback
Closing out Friday night, Nickelback performed classics like “Photograph” and “How You Remind Me” to an overflowing crowd at the Palomino. The band brought out HARDY for a performance of the country musician’s “TRUCK BED” and Jelly Roll to assist vocals on “Rockstar.”
Nickelback, Hardy & Jelly Roll???? A dream come true https://t.co/rVVKEHHBkD
— kyler (@kycorrinne_) April 27, 2024
The Chainsmokers
If you were trying to get into Diplo’s Honky Tonk, the tent that hosted the popular EDM duo, anywhere near the 5:45 p.m. start time, you were out of luck. The tent was packed with fans as the duo played a mix of country, rap and EDM. Joining The Chainsmokers to perform his “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” was Shaboozey, who sang along to the track.
The crowd attempting to get into The Chainsmokers at Stagecoach is massive. #stagecoach #thechainsmokers
: https://t.co/6HNHRv8qNk pic.twitter.com/thNkIuuE54
— Dorothy Elder (@dorthelder) April 28, 2024
Willie Nelson perfroms with special guest Ernest, Jelly Roll and Charlie Crockett during the second day of the Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Willie Nelson & Family
Willie Nelson & Family’s evening set was packed with classics, including “Whiskey River,” “Bloody Mary Morning,” and “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.” At the end of the set, Nelson was joined by Ernest, Charley Crockett and Jelly Roll for “I’ll Fly Away” and “It’s Hard to be Humble.”
Can’t believe I forgot to post this: Willie Nelson was joined toward the end of his set by Ernest, Jelly Roll and Charley Crockett.#Stagecoach
: https://t.co/lQZ4jPXXDS pic.twitter.com/7DLJ8ukMys
— Dorothy Elder (@dorthelder) April 28, 2024
Leon Bridges
Leon Bridges performed to a packed crowd at the Palomino, so much so that there was even a large cluster of fans watching on the monitor to the left of the stage. The “River” singer brought out Mexican singer Carin León who performed Friday night, for their latest collaboration, “It Was Always You” (“Siempre Fuiste Tú).”
León Bridges bringing out Carin León was not on my bingo card lol
— (@Klutchvaro) April 28, 2024
Country music fans watch Post Malone perform on video on the second day of the Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Post Malone
Post Malone wowed the crowd with a 45-minute set of country music covers that featured a handful of special guests from the country music scene. Dwight Yoakam, a country pioneer, joined Malone early for “Little Ways.” Brad Paisley joined to co-perform his newest track, “I’m Gonna Miss Her,” and stuck around to assist with a cover of “One More Last Chance” by Vince Gill. Rounding out the special guests, Sara Evans took the stage for “Suds in the Bucket.”
Sara Evans joins Post Malone! #stagecoach pic.twitter.com/IXsYtHcsCr
— Dorothy Elder (@dorthelder) April 28, 2024
Post Malone and Dwight Yoakam just killed it at #Stagecoach Now this is REAL music – 90s country reigns supreme over the trash being released these days.
— Justine Hudson (@DrJustineHudson) April 28, 2024
Miranda Lambert
The country star closed out the Mane Stage on Saturday night with a full crowd, delivering hits such as “If I Was a Cowboy,” “Vice” and “All Kinds of Kinds.” She closed out her set with one of country music’s most prominent women, an appearance by Reba McEntire, who joined her for a performance of their collaborative track “Mama’s Broken Heart” and McEntire’s “Fancy.”
Two queens of country @mirandalambert @reba
Tune in to the @AmazonMusic Stagecoach livestream, hosted on @PrimeVideo and the Amazon Music Twitch channel. https://t.co/f1vz7Ez3bl pic.twitter.com/Amh3v9KBou
— Stagecoach Festival (@Stagecoach) April 28, 2024
Diplo
Diplo closed out Saturday night with Late Night in the Palomino with a high energy set that kept festivalgoers dancing into the night. The Stagecoach-regular brought out plenty of guest performers to accompany the bops: Shaboozey, Elle King and HARDY all performed alongside Diplo. Guy Fieri also made an appearance on the stage, accompanying Diplo behind the board.
Ayyy Diplo brought out Shaboozey pic.twitter.com/C7Qjpayla7
— Pressbe.vr (@Pressbe_vr) April 28, 2024
This post will be updated throughout the weekend.
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