CELEBRITY
A Friday dining date in L.A. suggested the star couple might skip Coachella, but the billionaire and footballer touched down in the desert Saturday night.
After singer Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, were spotted grabbing dinner at hyped LA restaurant Sushi Park, the chattering class was abuzz.
Why is the star couple seen mainly at sushi spots? What did they order? And did this date mean that rumors that the duo was headed to Coachella were false? At last, we know the answers to these questions. First, sushi is delicious, so why not? Sushi Park is an omakase-only restaurant so they ate what they were given. And no, the rumors were correct, as the couple was seen at at least two of the music fest’s shows last night.
That last concern was a fair worry, though. Coachella 2024 kicked off in Indio, California on Friday afternoon, with a first-night headliner of Swift pal and collaborator Lana Del Rey. But around the time the once-mesh-masked singer was hitting the main festival stage, Kelce and Swift were in a West Hollywood strip mall, grabbing dinner at the beloved-by-celebs restaurant that proudly fails to serve standbys such as California rolls or salads. They were “Skippin’ Out On Coachella,” as TMZ put it, though the venerable online tabloid surely knows that the drive from WeHo to the Coachella Valley is two hours with reasonable traffic.
The couple made that trip on Saturday, though one of them likely knew the way better than the other. Kelce told Vanity Fair in 2023 that he has attended the festival every year since 2018, joined by a regular group of pals. Swift, on the other hand, hadn’t been to Coachella since 2016, when she arrived in a sharply retro platinum blonde do.
The pair rolled into the festival towards the end of day two, as documented by slews of social media-using fans. The couple were first spotted dancing just offstage during the 6:50 p.m. set by Bleachers, the band fronted by Swift producing partner and friend Jack Antonoff.
The pair were later spotted in the crowd at Ice Spice’s 8:30 p.m. set, dancing to her performance of Swift/Ice Spice collab “Karma (Remix).”
Swift was content to remain on the sidelines on Saturday night, but who knows what the rest of the festival might hold. In addition to Sunday’s acts, there’s a whole second weekend of shows from April 19-21. With The Tortured Poets Department set for release on Friday (a word search Easter egg hunt is already afoot) and Swift’s Eras Tour on break until May, the possibilities seem endless.