Coldplay kicked off the iTunes Festival at SXSW on Tuesday, March 11, performing an hour-long set mixing old hits with brand new songs from their new album Ghost Stories.

“We’ve been away a long time, and I can’t think of a better place to come back into the world,” frontman Chris Martin told the crowd before launching into their first song.

Over the course of their set, Coldplay debuted four new songs off their upcoming album: “Always In My Mind,” “Another’s Arms,” “Midnight” and “Magic.” Ghost Stories will be released May 19.

The band performed for almost 3,000 people at the Moody Theatre in Austin, but the concert was also streamed live worldwide. The Tuesday night lineup also included London Grammar and Imagine Dragons.

Martin took some time to dedicate a song to the passengers of the missing Malaysian Airlines flight, sending “good vibes and love across the ocean” before performing “Fix You.”

The iTunes Festival continued Wednesday, March 12, with Schoolboy Q, Isaiah Rashad and Kendrick Lamar.

Capital Cities, Band of Skulls and Soundgarden are set to perform Thursday, March 13, with G.R.L., ZEDD and Pitbull taking the stage on Friday, March 14. The iTunes Festival at SXSW will end on Saturday with a night full of country performances from Mickey Guyton, Willie Nelson and Keith Urban.

Olivia Truffaut-Wong

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