Just over a year after the release of debut full-length album Feel Your Feelings Fool!, Los Angeles-based punk outfit The Regrettes finally earned their home-state dues in the form of back-to-back Coachella sets – April 13 & 20 – in the intimate Sonora tent.

A couple hours before the quartet take the stage during Weekend Two - vocalist/guitarist Lydia Night, lead guitarist Genessa Gariano, drummer Maxx Morando and bassist Sage Chavis - sat down with Setlist.fm to discuss their experiences at Coachella and other music festivals, plus strategies for formulating the most impactful fest sets possible.

Setlist: How was Weekend One? It was your Coachella debut, right?

Lydia: So fun, but so, so tiring. Honestly the day after our show was more tiring than our show day.

Sage: We had a lot of press. We were just running from stop to stop, not even just at the festival.

Genessa: It was sweaty.

Was that different than other festivals you’ve done? Did you feel like your were playing the press game harder?

All: For sure.

Sage: It’s a good thing. People care about us.

Genessa: I think we’re at Coachella because we made a really good record and then they’re wanting it because of all of those things – big pot of goodness.

Sage: I’ll have a ramen bowl of goodness, please.

How do approach a festival set versus a club show or somewhere else?

Lydia: We have to think about the fact that at a club show the people are all there for us, and at a festival you’re trying to make a lot of new fans. So we just kind of pack in all the bangers. We try to play a lot of super upbeat songs people can dance to – people are going to a festival because they wanna have fun, so we’re trying to give them that experience through our set.

You mentioned the “bangers”? Which song is your biggest fest crowd-pleaser?

Genessa: “You Won’t Do.”

Sage: Yeah that’s a crowd pleaser. There are a lot of buildups in the song. A lot for people to get rowdy to. I think my favorite or what gets the crowd going the most - “Picture Perfect” or “WHATTA BITCH.”

Lydia: “Picture Perfect” … that’s one of the songs where I don’t play guitar so I have more leverage and control with the crowd. Then the rest of the set they’re finally warmed up.

Genessa: “And she’s able to get in closer and people love that. When they see Lydia dancing they realize it’s OK to dance, and then they’re like, ‘Oh wait, I can do that, too!’ and then it’s weird for them not to be dancing, then they continue after.”

How do you measure the success of a festival set? What makes it a good one?

Lydia: Just the feeling we have after a set, usually. I think that if people are dancing and moving around lot, then we’ve done our job right, and if they’re not … we feel kinda shitty.

Sage: Plus, there’s just an energy you get from a crowd – you can tell when you look at them while you’re playing if they’re enjoying themselves or not. I’m sure there are some people that are hard to read and I’ve noticed in the past. There have been people at shows that I get really pissed off at because I see the just staring and standing, but I’ve also done that at shows that I’m having a lot of fun at, because I’m just entranced by whatever’s going on …

Yeah, everybody’s got a different style of taking it all in.

Sage: Yeah, but I think overall it depends on the energy that you’re getting, the response you feel.

Genessa: It’s the amount of fun the crowd has. I’m definitely a people pleaser, so I think I want them to have fun, so my level of happiness is based on their level of fun.

Y’all have been playing since the end of 2015 – how many festivals have you hit since then? What was the first and how did that go?

Lydia: Like three major ones …

Maxx: North by Northwest was the first … it was a lot of fun. It was very small, and it was a very eclectic mix of bands. Post Malone was headlining and Twin Peaks were also playing. It was interesting, but a lot of fun.

Lydia: I didn’t like that one that much … we played really early. I liked the festival itself, but no one knew who we were. It feels extremely vulnerable for me personally playing a show when you’re in a new city and no one knows who you are. It’s a lot scarier than playing for a bunch of fans because you’re having to put on more of a show than actually believe what you’re singing – it doesn’t feel as genuine.

Did it feel genuine here last weekend?

Lydia: Totally. All the other festivals have. That was just right when we were starting, too.

Genessa: And now we appreciate the times that aren’t like that way more.

Lydia: That’s what I was getting to. Now it’s totally like, when we have shows and really connect with everyone, it’s like ‘Oh, my god.”

Genessa: It’s so special to have the contrast.

Who are you excited to share this bill with?

Lydia: BEEE-yoncé, St. Vincent! SZA. David Byrne.

Sage: Yeah, all the powerful ladies. Pregnant Cardi B …

Mark: I was more excited for Brockhampton, which I missed. King Krule was really good.

Lydia: I would stay tomorrow because I wanna see Beyoncé again, but I’ve got prom …

Prom?!

Sage: Yeah, she’s seventeen.

Well, holy shit, that’s amazing.

Lydia: It’s not my prom. It’s my friend’s – it’s at my old school.

Sage: But it’s still her big moment – she’s gonna crash it.

Going back to fests, what was the most memorable experience for y’all?

Sage: There was this kind of weekend thing we did … we were playing on the beach, like literally in sand on the beach in Ventura, California. And we were like two songs into our set and the power went out. They just didn’t take care of the generators they had out there and everyone was just like, ‘Well, you can wait now or you can leave.’

Genessa: No, we weren’t allowed to get off the stage. They made us wait. Lydia’s little brother got up and started playing drums – it was so funny. There were lots of interesting people there too – not our typical crowd – so it was a funny thing to happen surrounded by strange people.

Sage: It felt like we were in some warp.

Lydia: That’s why when the power went out, I was almost just like, ‘Thank you, god.’” It was really funny.