Damon Albarn Had A Tough Time At Coachella 2024, Vowing That Blur Would ‘Never’ Return After An Audience Issue

Coachella is ultimately all about having a good time; Uproxx’s Aaron Williams sure did. Somebody who had a tougher go of things this past weekend, though, is Damon Albarn of Gorillaz and Blur fame.

Blur performed at the festival on April 13, and Albarn seemed perturbed by the audience’s level of enthusiasm and participation. At one point, he tried to get the audience to sing along with “Girls & Boys,” but after that didn’t work out too well on multiple attempts, he eventually said, “You’re never seeing us again so you might as well f*cking sing it, know what I’m saying?”

Worth noting, and perhaps part of what prompted Albarn’s comment, is that he previously suggested the band is going on hiatus.

Albarn actually may have seen this coming, though. As Consequence notes, in a pre-show interview with KROQ, he said, “It’s a weird one, Coachella, when it comes to audience. They’re quite so on their own planet.”

Things went better when the band played “Song 2,” a more recognizable hit among American audiences. Albarn said (as the Independent notes), “This song has been so good to us. But I did get shown a TikTok of it being kind of performed by a vacuum cleaner which is you know… it is humbling and inspiring at the same time.”

Here’s the video in question, by the way:

Check out the band’s full Coachella setlist below, via setlist.fm.

Blur’s 2024 Coachella Setlist, Weekend 1

1. “St. Charles Square”
2. “Popscene”
3. “Trouble In The Message Centre”
4. “Beetlebum”
5. “Goodbye Albert”
6. “Trimm Trabb”
7. “Out Of Time”
8. “Bird Song” with Torres Martinez Cahuilla Bird Singers
9. “Death Of A Party” with Torres Martinez Cahuilla Bird Singers
10. “Girls & Boys”
11. “Song 2”
12. “The Narcissist”
13. “Tender” with Torres Martinez Cahuilla Bird Singers

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.