Photo Credit: Bill Kelly

On Friday, April 12, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival commenced at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif. On the first of two weekends in the desert, expectations were high in hopes of the unexpected, a vital feature of the annual event known for boasting unannounced collaborations and guest appearances. Amongst the surprises was the arrival of Paris Hilton during Vampire Weekend’s festival set. The known reality personality and DJ turned up as on-stage entertainment while her hosts delivered a medley jam, dubbed “Cocaine Cowboys,” which featured samples of Phish and the Grateful Dead. 

Alluding to what was to come in the final minutes of their performance, Vampire Weekend took the stage to Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers Band’s “All the Gold in California” before picking up their instruments and cutting into material off their fifth studio LP, and first new set in five years, Only God Was Above Us, “Classical.” Next, they turned to the Contra favorite, “Holiday,” and Modern Vampires of the City originator, “Unbelievers.” 

The seasoned artists continued the aforementioned motif, intermixing new tunes with seasoned plays like “Cousins” and “A-Punk.” The highpoint of the band’s festival set occurred next, dubbed “Cocaine Cowboys Medley” and featuring on-stage entertainment from Hilton. The Simple Life star played cornhole while Vampire Weekend conjured monumental background rumblings, combining their own, “Married in a Gold Rush,” with set walk-out “All the Gold in California,” while also sandwiching “Sin City” with Grateful Dead’s “Cumberland Blues” and Phish’s “Possum.”  

Watch Hilton’s Vampire Weekend set appearance below.