Benson Boone was joined by surprise guest Brian May of Queen as he covered “Bohemian Rhapsody” in suitably epic fashion at Coachella.
The 22-year-old singer-songwriter from Monroe, Washington was performing at the Californian festival for the first time.
Towards the end of his 11-song set, Boone donned an ermine-fur cloak reminiscent of Queen singer Freddie Mercury’s famous ensemble from his band’s farewell tour in 1986.
He then sat at the piano to begin performing Queen’s classic 1975 single. When the song reached the guitar solo, 77-year-old May rose up out of the stage on a platform to play it.
The guitarist was lowered back into the stage and disappeared from view after the solo before reemerging to finish the song. At one point, Boone leapt over his head while he continued playing.
May then remained on stage to perform on Boone’s final song, the singer’s own 2024 breakthrough single “Beautiful Things”.
Earlier this week, May’s wife Anita Dobson said her husband is “very well, back to his old self” following his stroke last year.
May revealed in an Instagram post last September that he had lost control of one arm after a “minor stroke”.
He said the health scare had been “a little scary” in a video posted to Instagram on September 4, but in recent months had appeared to have recovered, posting updates on social media of him going on trips.
Earlier in the day at Coachella, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong made a surprise appearance with The Go-Gos, joining the reunited band for an exuberant performance of their 1984 single “Head Over Heels”.
Attendees at this year’s festival have complained about long queues and a lack of facilities, branding the experience of arriving at Coachella as “worse than Fyre Festival.”
In addition to Benson Boone and The Go-Go’s, today will also see a headline set from Lady Gaga, who returns at the top of the bill after headlining the festival in 2017, and performances from Missy Elliott, The Marías, White Lotus star and BLACKPINK member LISA, The Prodigy, Parcels, Mustard, and Mau P.
Those not attending the festival in person can livestream performances on Coachella’s YouTube channel or via the new Coachella Livestream app, beginning at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET each day.
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