INDIO >> Surprise guests were definitely the fashionable accessory onstage during the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival as several unannounced performers turned up during sets by Guns N’ Roses, Ice Cube, Calvin Harris and more.

That there would be some surprise performers, however, was not in question. As the approximately 99,000 attendees converged on the grounds of the Empire Polo Club, one of the biggest pastimes was making guesses at which unscheduled artists might show up.

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The first weekend also featured reunions or partial reunions of several of the headliners, including Ice Cube’s former group N.W.A and more.

As well as the music, the festival is known for its large interactive art installations — creating some of the most iconic social moments at the festival — including last year’s caterpillar, which transformed into a colorful butterfly. But there was no roaming art and, to judge by the reaction of the crowds, some less-than memorable installations this time around.

Another element that was largely (but not totally) missing from the first two days was the notoriously blustery winds, known to be a nemesis for acts and dubbed “Windchella” by festivalgoers.

Getting the band together

Guns N’ Roses was the biggest reunion of the weekend, as original guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan joined lead singer Axl Rose to headline Saturday night. The group didn’t disappoint fans as Rose proved he could still belt out “Welcome to the Jungle” and “November Rain” (despite remaining mostly seated because of a recently broken foot) while Slash played his well-known riffs and wore his trademark top hat.

LCD Soundsystem, which performed Friday night, recently reunited after disbanding in 2011 (and releasing a film, “Shut Up and Play the Hits,” about their final show) to once again play the hits, from the set closer of “All My Friends” to the David Bowie cover “Heroes.”

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Ice Cube offered a near reunion of N.W.A as former members MC Ren and DJ Yella performed with him on the songs “Straight Outta Compton” and “F*** the Police.” There was no mention of the absence of fellow member Dr. Dre — although Yella wore Beats by Dre headphones — while group leader Eazy-E, who died of AIDS-related complications in 1995, got a shout out from the stage from Ice Cube.

The Last Shadow Puppets, featuring Arctic Monkeys lead singer Alex Turner as well as Miles Kane, James Ford and Zach Dawes, provided perhaps a lesser-known reunion. They were active from 2007-2008 and then reunited to record their just-released album, “Everything You’ve Come to Expect.” They performed inside the Mojave tent on Friday night.

One recently reunited act that didn’t perform was Lush. The English four-piece, best-known for its hit “Ladykillers,” recently reunited after nearly 20 years apart but were forced to cancel their first weekend Coachella performance and reschedule some other U.S. dates due to a visa snafu. The group plans to perform for next weekend’s crowd.

Full of surprises

The festival’s first big unscheduled moment came the first night as hip-hop superstar Kanye West made two unscheduled appearances.

The first was during A$AP Rocky’s Friday night set at the outdoor theatre. There was some controversy though: after West performed his song “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1,” the microphones cut out and Rocky threw his microphone in disgust when he couldn’t finish his set, apparently due to safety issues from the wind.

West also made an appearance during the set by Jack U, an electronic music act made up of performers Skrillex and Diplo, later that night on the same stage, standing and smiling as his song “Power” played in the background.

AC/DC guitarist Angus Young, fresh off the announcement that Guns N’ Roses frontman Rose would be joining that band for some tour dates, showed up during Guns N’ Roses’ covers of his band’s “Whole Lotta Rosie” and “Riff Raff.”

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Via video, presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced the performance by Run the Jewels on late Saturday afternoon. Sanders said in the video one of his highlights was getting to know member Killer Mike and to “Keep up the great work.” Hip-hop artist Nas and guitarist Gary Clark Jr. also appeared with the rappers.

During electronic artist Zedd’s set, Kesha made a not-so-secret return — as it had been announced on Twitter before the performance — but lots of fans were audibly surprised. Kesha made no comments before or after her song “True Colors,” which marked her first performance since her recent legal battle with Dr. Luke, but the lyrics seemed to provide a message to the audience: “I won’t apologize for the fire in my eyes.”

Eagles member Joe Walsh and former Pacific Gas & Electric member Glenn Schwartz, at age 78, made an appearance with the Arcs, the band founded by Black Keys member Dan Auerbach.

Disclosure almost deserves its own special guest section as their Saturday night Coachella stage had a star-studded set featuring Lorde, Sam Smith and even San Dimas born and raised singer Brendan Reilly.

Sunday’s performers didn’t shy away from special guests either. Harris pulled out the biggest show stopper when Rihanna performed her hit song “We Found Love.” Big Sean and John Newman also made appearances during the headliners set.

Sia’s emotional performance before Harris included prerecorded videos of Paul Dano and Kristen Wiig.