At the 2018 Coachella festival, what historic first did Beyoncé achieve as a headliner?

At the 2018 Coachella festival, Beyoncé became the first Black woman to headline Coachella.

She headlined the festival’s two weekends in April 2018, after postponing a planned 2017 appearance because she was pregnant with twins. Her performance used a large ensemble of musicians, dancers, vocalists, and marching-band performers.

The set drew heavily on the traditions of historically Black colleges and universities, including step-show elements, brass-band arrangements, majorette-style dance, and a strong emphasis on Black cultural history. It featured appearances by Destiny’s Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, as well as Beyoncé’s sister Solange during one weekend.

The achievement is sometimes shortened to “the first woman to headline Coachella,” but that wording is inaccurate because women had headlined the festival before. The specific historic distinction was becoming its first Black female headliner.