The Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival started 12 years ago, enough time for more than one broad set of tastes to be pushed aside. And during that period, almost inevitably, it has become a festival about itself.

The innovations of this year’s edition had less to do with programming and more to do with better fences, wider roads, light spectacles. There were no startling reunion sets which runs from media-approved indie bands in their second or third year to a slate of trance and dubstep D.J.’s to million-sellers wanting to use the fests well-branded megaphone.

When performers acted out ambivalence — Julian Casablancas of the Strokes, murmuring jadedly, the pose assumed a little more weight: they were doing this at Coachella, where certain performances now become career markers, this year, live-streamed around the world on YouTube.- NY TIMES.COM

The New York garage-rockers, led by tragically hip frontman Julian Casablancas turned in a vibrant, crowd-pleasing set that ran the gamut from early hits to tracks from their recent “comeback” album.

Rapper Wiz Khalifa performs at day 3 of Coachella.

Damian Marley, the youngest son of Bob Marley, waves to the crowd as he performs during the last day of the Music & Arts Festival.  Marley performs with Nas below.

Arcade Fire delivered its typically awe-inspiring performance during its first Coachella headlining set.  But what really had fans squealing was the dazzling LED-enchanced-beach-ball drop during “Wake Up,” an eye-popping finale.

Justin Vernon was all over Coachella 2011. But if you really wanted to see Vernon in action, his Friday night set with indie supergroup Gayngs was the one to catch.

But no performer brought more of a party than buzzed-about California rapper Lil B, who brought Friday favorites Odd Future to the stage and also announced that he’d be “doing the most controversial thing in hip-hop” by titling his next album, “I’m Gay.” Swag. See Billboard’s TOP TEN at Billboard.com

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