When No Doubt broke through with “Just a Girl” almost 30 years ago, it was instantly clear that frontwoman Gwen Stefani wasn’t “just” anything. And at a main-stage reunion Saturday night (April 13) at Coachella, Stefani proved that the band’s debut hit — and the band itself — remains as vital as ever in its third decade.
“You tell me, but I feel like this song could be more relevant now than it’s ever been,” Stefani said to intro “Just a Girl,” which includes lyrics like “I’m just a girl, all pretty and petite/ So don’t let me have any rights.”
It’s unclear how anyone could underestimate Stefani, or womankind for that matter, after seeing the display she put on Saturday along with her band – bassist Tony Kanal, drummer Adrian Young, guitarist Tom Dumont, trombonist/keyboardist Gabrial McNair and trumpeter/keyboardist Stephen Bradley – for the one hour and 20-minute set. She was constantly running the length of the stage, or prowling the catwalk into the crowd, or high-kicking the air, or climbing the scaffolding — all while maintaining the powerhouse vocals that made No Doubt’s songs cut through the noise in the mid-’90s and beyond.
While they weren’t the day 2 headliner (that was Tyler, The Creator), No Doubt treated their performance like Saturday night’s main event, offering up a history lesson of the ska music that inspired their early sound through to their Rock Steady radio domination. And their influence remains evident, especially in surprise guest Olivia Rodrigo, who had just gushed in a Nylon cover story last week that Stefani’s songs all feel like they’re “ripped from the diary of the coolest girl you know.”
Below, find our five favorite moments from No Doubt’s Coachella reunion, from Rodrigo’s cheeky cameo to the band’s heart-warming group photo.
