Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Bird Singers and Dancers discuss Coachella set with Blur

During both weekends of the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Blur made headlines after frontman Damon Albarn announced the two performances would likely be the band's last.

But there was something else happening during Blur’s performances that didn’t receive as much attention, the guest appearances by the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Bird Singers and Dancers for three songs. Even though Blur didn’t perform to crowds seen during Peso Pluma and Sabrina Carpenter during both Saturday shows at the Coachella Stage, the Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Bird Singers and Dancers elevated the band and were a highlight of the festival.

The Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians are one of the nine nations of Cahuilla Indians, which includes the first known inhabitants of the Coachella Valley as well as Riverside and San Diego counties and the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountain areas.

“Being Torres Martinez, representing my people, and sharing knowledge with others through pop culture, art and music, it’s a beautiful experience. This is our way of getting our name out there, and not just through casinos or gaming,” said dancer Kristen Butcher.

The 15 members — nine men and six women — performed one of its traditional songs before backing the band on “Death Of A Party” and later reappeared for the last tune “Tender.” The chorus of "Oh my baby, oh my baby. Oh why, oh my" filled the air by the band, the singers and the crowd.

Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Bird Singers vocalist Derek Duro described the melody of “Tender,” a melancholy song about Albarn’s 1998 breakup with Elastica frontwoman Justine Frischmann, as “smooth and elegant.”

“We have songs that are slow like that, it clicked and worked well. We were very happy that it was something we were used to doing in our music” Duro said.

It was the third consecutive year the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Bird Singers appeared at the festival. The group was connected to Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett by Chris Spellman, the founder of Comic Con Palm Springs.

“We did land acknowledgments the previous two years on the Gobi stage, which is smaller and it was earlier in the day. Being able to perform our social dances and songs with a crowd like that, and to share the experience with my daughter was amazing,” said dancer Faith Morreo.

The Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Bird Singers perform traditional songs that reflect the story and traditions of the Cahuilla people using gourd rattles made by tribal members. Tribal members must be chosen as bird singers and then trained. Duro and many of his family members were trained by his late uncle, Ernie Morreo.

“Not just anybody can pick up a rattle and start singing, that’s not how it’s done,” Duro said. “(Morreo) was the last spiritual advisor who did things according to the old ways. We were the third group that he taught and made sure we were going to abide by the rules because there are protocols that go with these things. Every time we sing, we keep a piece of him alive. And it’s not just a piece of him, but part of our culture, traditions, ways, and people. We don’t just think of ourselves and who we’re singing in front of, we’re singing for the people who have passed away, for our ancestors and letting people know we’re still here.”

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Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @bblueskye.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla represented at Blur's Coachella set