Photos Of Coachella 2017, Day 1: Empire of the Sun, Banks, Dillon Francis And More

INDIO, CA — Like a well-oiled machine, the first day of this year's Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival got underway on Friday. Tens of thousands of music lovers flocked to the desert to enjoy great weather, entertainment and fun.

Radiohead headlined the performances Friday night. Gates opened at 11 a.m. and performances began at noon at the Empire Polo Grounds, 81800 Avenue 51. Scroll down for our photo gallery of performances by Allison Swing, Banks, Big Gigantic, Bonobo, Broods, Capital Cities, D.R.A.M., Dillon Francis, DJ Shadow and Empire of the Sun.

Lady Gaga headlines Saturday, while Kendrick Lamar is set to take on headlining duty on Sunday. Lady Gaga was tapped after Beyonce pulled out on her doctor's orders since she's carrying twins, but she promised to perform at next year's festival. With Saturday's appearance, Gaga will top a lineup of more than 50 Saturday acts, including Bon Iver, Gucci Mane, Future, and more.

The festival figures to be the best-attended Coachella festival in history, thanks to the Indio City Council's unanimous decision to expand the festival's attendance cap from 99,000 to 125,000.

Travelers began streaming into the desert Thursday, contributing to heavy traffic near the polo grounds, according to Indio police. Festival-goers and residents alike have been warned of traffic expected to clog local roads and freeways. On Friday, traffic developed both on surface streets and freeways heading east from the Los Angeles area.

To reduce traffic, festival goers were encouraged to use Uber and other ridesharing services and could even win prizes for carpooling with four or more people by displaying the word "Carpoolchella" on their vehicle. Prizes include a VIP pass for life beginning in 2018, backstage passes, merchandise, vouchers and more.

Those who can't attend in person can still watch the festival via livestream at www.youtube.com/coachella, where viewers can watch three separate performances simultaneously and even enjoy a 360-degree camera for certain acts. Viewers will also be able to pre-plan their schedule so the stream will automatically switch to selected acts when the time comes.

— City News Service contributed to this report / All photos courtesy of Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival 2017