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Frank Ocean debuts two new songs at Coachella and addresses new album

Meanwhile boygenius yelled "f**k Ron Desantis!" during their performance

By Emily Maskell

Frank Ocean headlines Coachella. (Image: Provided)
Frank Ocean headlines Coachella. (Image: Provided)

For those who didn’t make it out to the dusty desert of Coachella, the fabulous performances from LGBTQ+ artists can still be enjoyed. 

The name on everybody’s lips was the much-anticipated Sunday (16 April) headliner Frank Ocean.

His first time on stage in nearly six years, fans of the ‘White Ferrari’ hitmaker were hoping the rare sighting would be paired with an album announcement. 

“It’s been so long but I have missed you,” Frank said onstage, according to NME. “I wanna talk about why I’m here, ‘cos it’s not because of a new album… not that there’s not a new album… but there’s not right now.”

So… that’s not a no! While we keep our fingers crossed for a new album from Frank, he did debut two unreleased songs.

Between his teasing of new music, Frank played all his hits including ‘Pink + White’, ‘Lost’ and ‘Chanel’.

Frank wasn’t the only LGBTQ+ star gracing the Coachella stage.

boygenius, the queer band comprised of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus, played on Saturday (15 April) night.

The supergroup used their time onstage to call out the anti-LGBTQ legislation that has been proliferating in the US.

https://twitter.com/shubbabyy/status/1647452817307865088

Lucy took a second to pause the set and stand in solidarity with trans folks, Rolling Stone reports. 

“I want to say before we keep going, I don’t know if you’ve been checking the news and seeing the tomfoolery that’s going on in Florida, Missouri, and so many other places, but trans lives matter, trans kids matter,” she said. “We’re going to fight it, and we’re going to win.”

Phoebe tagged on: “And abortion rocks, and f**k Ron DeSantis.”

“We’re going to fight it, and we’re going to win.”

Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has been branded ‘Trump 2.0’.

DeSantis is perhaps best known for ‘Don’t Say Gay, Don’t Say Trans‘ law (officially the ‘Parental Rights in Education’ bill). The shameful bill bans discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in primary school classrooms.

Florida has upheld a ban on trans students in a Florida district using a bathroom that matches their gender identity.

As well as Frank Ocean and boygenius, LGBTQ+ music stars like Ethel Cain, Christine and the Queens, Kaytranada, MUNA, and UMI.