Colleen Viana downloads us on five acts you need to see at Coachella 2014

Coachella’s in the air. I can feel it, I can smell it. (Yes, there’s a distinct scent that I can’t quite describe, but it’s similar to how you can smell the sugar-coated air in Disneyland). Even if we are over 2,000 miles away from Indio, everyone’s caught festival fever, myself included. The overall atmosphere is shifting here in Manhattan; with the weather slowly reaching the perfect spring (ideally April 25th) temperature and the sun shining brighter than usual, everyone is noticeably happier. It’s that preeminent shift from winter to spring that sends me and so many other New Yorkers into a constant daydream of being outside—frolicking the festival grounds, being surrounded by our best friends and favorite bands. There is nothing more exciting to wait for (other than Christmas).
In high anticipation of those first weeks of April to finally hit, I’ve been prepping myself for the past month on the festival’s entire line-up. Coachella is a great opportunity to discover musical artists you would never think to see otherwise and, of course, a chance to see your current obsessions perform in front of the perfect desert backdrop. Narrowing down your top picks for the weekend is a grueling process; after perusing my overly-extensive Coachella playlist, the process has become even more stressful than necessary—especially knowing that I most likely will not make it to half of the acts I’d love to see.
So this year I’m trying something different… Here are five of my favorite up-and-coming-non-top-40 artists (hey, I work in radio, I hear enough of that) that I simply cannot miss, with a fun Single Diaries spin. The result is my shortlist of Superbly Single female artists whom you MUST see at Coachella… no question about it (unless they’re scheduled at the same time, in which case we’ll just have to flip a coin).