County supervisors tentatively OK pay hikes
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday tentatively approved double-digit pay hikes for themselves and five other Riverside County elected officials based on comparative surveys, but several members of the public complained the raises were self-serving and without merit.
“I don’t believe this board deserves any type of increase,” Rancho Mirage resident Brad Anderson said ahead of the 4-1 vote on the two ordinances establishing revised pay scales. “This is about pandering to the ... (county) employees, rather than the people who live in this county.”
Only Supervisor Kevin Jeffries, the most senior member of the board, opposed the hikes, which he has consistently refused for himself since first elected in 2012, making him the lowest paid of the entire board.
“This puts us in a bad position with the public,” Jeffries said. “I truly believe this is a terrible mistake, and it’s not going to sit well with taxpayers out there who probably make, at best, 60% of what we are proposing for ourselves. This is not the path we should take. You shouldn’t take a vow of poverty to serve as an elected official, but it is a choice to be in the political arena.”
The initial vote by the board, which must be followed by a second reading of the modified salary ordinances and a final public hearing next month, set
on the Coachella Stage, she lived up to her status, and her dark and uplifting songs resonated with the crowd.
In April, she made several guest appearances during the festival, including one during headliner Lana del Rey’s set and a surprise solo performance of three of her songs at the Do Lab.
Bad Bunny
In 2023, Bad Bunny became the first Latino solo artist to headline. Post Malone, Jhayco, Ñengo Flow and Jowell & Randy appeared during his Weekend 1 set. For Weekend 2, he surprised the crowd with Grupo Frontera and José Feliciano. Both sets were a celebration of Mexican and Puerto Rican culture.
Would the “King of Latin Trap” appear again two years after headlining the 2023 festival? He’s behind Eilish at 14.3%, but there are a couple of reasons why Bad Bunny likely won’t headline in 2025. His most recent album, “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana,” was released last October, and he’s been on a world tour since February that will end with a June concert in his hometown of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
There haven’t been any rumors of him recording new material since 2023, but the singer and producer put out the albums “YHLQMDLG” and “El Último Tour Del Mundo” in 2020 and “Un Verano Sin Ti” in 2022. If Bad Bunny has something new to promote in 2025, he could headline the festival.
Doja Cat
In April, Doja Cat became the first female rapper to headline Coachella. The arty and sometimes erotic performances during both weekends were crowdpleasing, and the singer and rapper shined from start to finish.
Even though Doja Cat is third on the list at 14.3%, it would be unprecedented for the festival to book her as a headliner two years in a row. After releasing her fourth album, “Scarlet,” and touring the U.S. in 2023, the last scheduled concert of her world tour is in July at the Wireless Festival in London.
Beyonce
Queen B is fourth on the list at 11.1%, but after the release of her lauded country crossover album, “Cowboy Carter,” in March, Beyoncé could definitely headline Coachella or the Stagecoach country music festival in 2025. Even though she hasn’t announced any tour dates yet, a plane flew around both festivals in April with a “Cowboy Carter” banner, which could be interpreted as promoting the album or hinting at what’s to come.
It feels like no headliner has topped her Coachella headlining performance in 2018, and fans have expressed hopes of her coming back ever since.
If we don’t hear any tour announcements from Beyoncé before the Stagecoach lineup (historically in the fall) or the Coachella lineup (typically in January) are released, it wouldn’t be surprising to see her name as a headliner at either festival, or maybe even both.
The XX
The XX is the most compelling pick on the list at 11.1%. Ever since the British indie band released its selftitled debut album in 2009, only two more followed, and it felt like The XX faded from memory after “I See You” in 2017. The band never officially announced a hiatus or break-up, but Jamie xx has enjoyed a successful solo career. Oliver Sim and Romy Madley Croft have also released recent solo albums.
But Croft told NME in January that The XX have been back in the studio recording a new album. In February, the band shared a playlist that included a brief sample of new music. Reddit users discovered some possible details about the upcoming release in March on the music app Shazam and posted screenshots that revealed “I See You” as a possible album title.
The XX last performed at Coachella in 2017 and Jamie xx played a DJ set this year on the new Quasar stage.
SZA
SZA is also at 11.1%. In 2022, the singer and rapper released “SOS” and received critical acclaim and several accolades, and fans have been excited for her upcoming album “Lana” since it was announced in 2023. She performed at the festival in 2016 and 2018, and was rumored to headline in 2023. Following the success of “SOS” and the anticipation for “Lana,” 2025 could finally be the year.
Desert Sun reporter Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @bblueskye.