Backing Beyoncé

Introduced by the staccato beat of a drumline and the blasts of a powerful horn section right out of a vintage HBCU marching band, Beyoncé strutted onto the main Coachella stage.

The night—punctuated by flashes from fans’ phones and their awestruck cries—was historic: The superstar was the first black woman and only the third female solo act to headline the music festival in the California desert. 

Guitarist Ariel O’Neal ’16 (second from left, above) stood in the middle of it all as part of her supporting band.

“I wasn’t nervous when I saw the crowd,” O’Neal says. “It was like a huge party.”

She played in Beyoncé’s widely lauded performances on April 14 and 21, nearly two-hour-long spectacles of singing and dancing with high-profile guest appearances. They were the biggest gigs of O’Neal’s young career, and the moments she had been preparing for.

O’Neal has been playing professionally since the age of 15 and was a student in the Jazz Honors Program at the Levine School of Music and the Julliard Jazz Summer Program, which included performing at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

While she wasn’t accepted into the music program at Maryland—“I think that was for a really good reason”—it worked out for the best, as she graduated with a degree in theatre performance, using her classes to refine her skills on stage.

“Ariel came to us already with a really strong stage presence,” says Mitchell Hébert, professor of theatre performance. “Some people have it and some don’t. She’s confident and relaxed on stage in front of people. She’s very much herself.”

A resident of Temple Hills, she spent her time prior to the performance entrenched in music, whether that be teaching private lessons, playing at local churches or performing at gigs with her band, The Fix. 

While O’Neal isn’t allowed to disclose how she was selected to play with Beyoncé and what the preparation was like, the result speaks for itself. The first Coachella performance, which was streamed live on YouTube, broke viewership records with 458,000 simultaneous viewers at its apex.

O’Neal has seen her exposure rise since then. In days since the first performance, her Instagram account has gained nearly 2,000 followers and her Facebook account has been packed with congratulatory posts and comments.

“It was like I was playing guitar for Beyoncé. That’s how I felt,” says Shahrazad Hired ’17, O’Neal’s sorority sister in Delta Sigma Theta.

While she enjoyed the entire Coachella experience—O’Neal recounts a “huge electric slide line” breaking out during Nile Rodgers’ rendition of “We Are Family”—she’s looking forward to returning home to work on an upcoming EP and perform with her band.

“It’s not just about the music to me,” O’Neal says. “It’s about the actual show. People pay to see you, so it’s important to put on a show.”