For many musicians, performing at Coachella is a bucket-list dream. For Nicholas “Nick Anthony” Recktenwald, a 2019 graduate of the Youth Performing Arts School (YPAS) at duPont Manual High, that dream became a reality this week.
Performing in front of a crowd of nearly 15,000 people with rising star Gigi Perez, Recketenwald says he’s still processing the magnitude of the moment.
“It was an out-of-body experience,” he said. “I had to let the subconscious work—the rehearsing and everything we had done take over. A lifetime of performances kind of prepared me for this.”
From JCPS classrooms to a global stage
Recktenwald’s musical journey started young. His father, a musician with the Louisville Orchestra, gave him a trumpet for his fourth birthday. From there, he developed his skills and passion through the support of his family and music education at Bloom Elementary, Noe Middle, and YPAS.
“The first 18 to 20 years of my life, and the success that I’ve had since then, has come from how JCPS and the music programs that they fund prepared me for this,” he said. “I owe it all to my band directors at YPAS, Mr. Essig. I owe it all to my middle school music teachers and elementary school teachers and everyone who supported me the whole way.”
After high school, Recktenwald continued his studies at Indiana University Bloomington, where he double-majored in jazz and classical trumpet on scholarship. He later served as a teaching assistant in the jazz program at Michigan State University before deciding to pursue music full-time in Los Angeles.
The road to Coachella
Moving to the west coast just ten months ago, Recktenwald has quickly carved out a niche as a music producer. He is part of a collective called Incomplete, which recently signed with the management group Bankroll Got It.
His work spans genres—from “spinning stuff for Megan Thee Stallion’s next album” to rock and Afrobeats collaborations. He works with emerging talent while also contributing to major artist projects.
"It’s a lot of late nights,” Recktenwald said. “It’s so creative, and I’m so grateful for that lifestyle."
The Coachella opportunity came through a stroke of networking luck. After meeting Gigi Perez’s drummer and musical director at a concert and becoming friends, Recktenwald was asked to send over a video of himself playing trumpet. Initially, he expected to perform on just one song—Perez’s hit “Sailor Song.”
"She really liked it, apparently," Nick said. "I ended up playing on four or five songs.”
With only a few days of rehearsal before the performance—and just days after meeting Perez— Recktenwald stepped onto the biggest stage of his career. He returns to Coachella for "Weekend 2" this Sunday, with the performance set to stream live on Coachella’s YouTube page.
A message for future JCPS musicians
Recktenwald remains grounded in the family and community that shaped him. He emphasized the importance of arts education and encouraged continued support for school music programs.
“Every student can do what I did just from the JCPS curriculum and the arts associated with it,” he said.
Want to follow Nick’s journey?
Catch his next Coachella Performance on Sunday, April 19: Stream the performance live for free on YouTube—https://www.youtube.com/Coachella.
Follow him on Instagram: @nickanthony.music