Lady Gaga’s “An Opera House in the Desert” at Coachella #MusicMonday #Gagachella

Source: Coachella

Lady Gaga just took her brand up another level as headliner at Coachella this weekend … in her main stage performance that she called “An Opera House in the Desert.”

To say it was spectacular would be the understatement of all opening acts, as she set a new standard for concert performances, which of course is her brand after all. She outdoes herself over and over again, raising her own bar each time. Here’s the opener, literally a spectacle …

The nearly two hour performance was set to four acts, spanning her career of dance hits while telling an elaborate operatic story. It was phenomenal, it was all Gaga, unlike anyone else. It was Gagachella.

But Gaga wasn’t the only brand in play at Coachella …

Benson Boone, an emerging musical brand in his own right, was also at the Festival and established his brand with a cover of a Queen classic which included the original Queen guitar player, Brian May. Well played, literally, using the brand/band equity of one classic to establish the newness of your own. That baby blue sequin jump suit and those jumps off the piano are starting to be signature brand assets, just saying!

Straight off of “The White Lotus” fame is Lisa, who is just getting her music brand off the ground from Korea with a first ever U.S. appearance at Coachella, and yes some of her cast mates were there to support.

A surprise moment for me was seeing conductor Gustavo Dudamel with the LA Philhamonic perform a full-on set, proving that Coachella is a showcase for all musical forms. I certainly appreciated that!

Part of the Coachella brand includes a surprise appearance here and there … Saturday night we saw Charli xcx with a surprise appearance from Billie Eilish bringing their collab to the desert stage.

In case you are wondering, no I did not go to Coachella this year. I’ve been a few times in my life to great delight, but alas not this year. But thanks to our friends at YouTube, I was able to stream all the parts I wanted to view with a spectacular view. YouTube is beginning to own this part of the experience, that is for sure.

But back to my point with Gagachella …

It was Gaga’s night … the desert and the Festival was all hers. She owned it, or to coin one of her own lyrics, “she married the night.”

There is something very meaningful to learn from Lady Gaga here in that she did more than just own it … she conquered it. She has talked for years about coming to Coachella and creating an experience in the desert for her fans, and in fact she has teased that she would have new material when she came to the desert. She made a commitment to show up differently. And she did just that, after years in the industry, after several studio albums, after many a stage performance, she delivered something new and fresh even for herself.

As a pop star with tenure.

She’s no new comer, she’s no flash in the pan, she’s not a trend … she’s a force. She’s Lady Gaga, completely true to herself yet over-delivering for herself each time. She promised a sensation and she delivered her own sensation.

An Opera House in the Desert.

I find that incredibly inspiring and I’m going to bring that to my work. Because I too have to show up to my “stage” with new material year over year and over and over again. And I too have to raise the bar on my own work. And if Gaga can do it, then so too can I. And so too can you!

Challenge accepted! What’s your experience? JIM