# Björk at Coachella drone show – Drone Stories

> Björk asked Studio DRIFT to join her Coachella set: 864 drones, live-synced to her orchestra and light design for the whole performance, the longest drone…

Source: https://dronestories.com/drone-shows/coachella-drone-show/

The longest drone story ever flown at a festival

# Björk at Coachella

Björk asked us to join her headline set at Coachella. For the whole performance, 864 drones flew live-synced to her orchestra and her light design: not a finale, but a second stage in the sky, for hundreds of thousands of people on the field.

| | |
|---|---|
| Client | Björk · Coachella |
| Location | Indio, California |
| Drones | 864 |
| Show length | 2 hours |
| Audience | Hundreds of thousands |
| Type | festival |

More [drone shows in Indio](/drone-shows/in/indio-california/)

## The story behind the lights

Björk performed with a full orchestra, conducted by Bjarni Frímann, and wanted the sky to be part of the arrangement. So we flew in flocks, alternating through the set: an ocean wave rolling over the field in blue, a red grid tightening and releasing with the music, formations that answered each song rather than interrupting it. Everything was cued live, to the second, over two hours.

Created as Studio DRIFT, produced by Drone Stories: the longest drone sky story ever flown at a festival, and a show built to serve a musician rather than to upstage her.

## In Björk’s words

After the show, Björk wrote to her audience that she had been “joined with 864 drones tonight”, and explained why: she had asked Studio DRIFT to join her because of a long fascination with digital notation, the idea of tonality made visible, and the hope that the audience would get, in her words, “slashes of synesthesia” while watching. She and creative director James Merry chose the theme for the shapes: architectural and biological movements, curves. She closed by saying she hoped they enjoyed it.

Show by Drone Stories with Studio DRIFT · Drones by Nova Sky Stories ([two different companies](/about/#nova-sky-stories)). Creative direction for Björk’s team: Björk and James Merry. From the Drone Stories Instagram post of 17 April 2023.

Impact

## What it did online

Our own posts about Björk at Coachella on Instagram, and what the audience wrote back.

| | |
|---|---|
| Likes | 1k |
| Comments | 30 |

* “What a beautiful reply, wish I'd been there! ❤️❤️❤️”

 @cocoabeanluv · Instagram

## More shows

[All shows](/drone-shows/)

[### FORMULA 1 LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX

Formula 1 · Las Vegas - USA · 1,000 drones](/drone-shows/f1-las-vegas-gp-2023/)[### Shakira at Copacabana

Shakira · Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro · 1,500 drones](/drone-shows/shakira-copacabana/)[### Desert Swarm, Noor Riyadh

Noor Riyadh · Noor Riyadh festival, Riyadh · 3,000 drones](/drone-shows/desert-swarm-noor-riyadh/)

Let’s collaborate

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