The 25 most memorable things we saw at Coachella 2025

2 weeks ago 28

What makes the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival consistently the astir talked-about unrecorded euphony lawsuit of the twelvemonth is that it continues to beryllium a kaleidoscopic melting cookware of popular culture.

A sweltering opening play astatine the Empire Polo Club successful Indio that saw temperatures scope triple digits didn’t dampen the highlights, which included Lady Gaga’s Coachella stone opera, a astonishment quality by Bernie Sanders to present Clairo, a steampunk T-Pain starring tens of thousands of radical to 2-step and Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Philharmonic backing up LL Cool J connected “Mama Said Knock you Out.” And it was each topped disconnected by Post Malone’s Sunday nighttime country-fied headlining acceptable that would person worked conscionable arsenic good astatine sister festival Stagecoach.

Our unit retired successful the tract compiled the 25 things they’ll retrieve astir this year’s variation of Coachella, which has an encore adjacent weekend.

FRIDAY

Lady Gaga proved she’s music’s top kook successful campy Coachella thriller

Over 2 hours, 20 songs and arsenic galore costume changes arsenic Coachella’s tightly managed livestream would allow, Lady Gaga mounted a lavish spectacle built astir this year’s “Mayhem” medium connected Friday night, which has been wide received arsenic the singer’s instrumentality to high-concept popular aft a fewer years of acting and jazzing (and falling successful love). Would you accidental the production, which she broke into 4 acts and a finale, carried a coherent oregon easy discernible story? You would not — though a voice-over astatine the outset suggested it had thing to bash with 2 selves battling for power of a soul. (Mikael Wood)

Missy Elliott gets her freak on

Zooming done the vintage hits that made her 1 of hip-hop’s brightest stars successful the precocious 1990s and aboriginal 2000s, Missy Elliott inactive seemed to beryllium peering into the aboriginal successful a rowdy main-stage acceptable that served arsenic a benignant of triumph thigh aft the long-overdue arena circuit she yet mounted past year.
“Work It,” “One Minute Man,” “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)”: Each sounded arsenic crazily inventive contiguous arsenic it did decades ago, Missy’s gum-snapping rhymes laid implicit her slithering beats conscionable so. Extra props for wearing a succession of intricate costumes — including a benignant of wind-tunnel inner-tube look — successful the sweltering godforsaken heat. (Mikael Wood)

Lisa demolished the Sahara Tent arsenic a solo star

Blackpink fans saw Lisa connected the Sahara Tent signifier successful 2019 and the main signifier arsenic precocious arsenic 2023, but her Coachella acceptable connected Friday was a newly-assured popular prima blowing done her ain lane. Emerging connected a monolithic pillar to “Thunder,” Lisa wore a bodysuit rippling with metallic claws and singing immoderate of the astir virtuosic pb lines and, veering into the heaving trap of “FXCK Up the World,”double clip rapping I’ve heard from a K-pop enactment astatine Coachella. Of people she’s large astatine this, but successful this caller setting, you could really, definitively perceive it. (August Brown)

On a blistery time successful the desert, the Marías made it snowfall astatine Coachella

As María Zardoya stood atop a raised level successful a achromatic gown, it began to snowfall connected the Outdoor signifier during the Marías’ set. Performing “Lejos De Ti,” a melancholic Spanish ballad, the four-piece set brought a tempest of faux snowfall to the godforsaken to lucifer the wintertime mood. Throughout their set, Zardoya waved a Puerto Rican flag, called retired for her Latino household successful the assemblage and adjacent went down to the barricade wherever she got up adjacent and idiosyncratic with respective fans. Taking the assemblage done the band’s antithetic eras, the radical performed tracks specified arsenic “Heavy” disconnected debut medium “Cinema” and “Only successful my Dreams” from an aboriginal EP arsenic good arsenic caller azygous “Back to Me.” (Cerys Davies)

Benson Boone stands connected a soft adjacent to Queen guitarist Brian May

Benson Boone performs ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ with stone royalty

You knew he’d deterioration a sparkly disco singlet. You knew he’d bash a melodramatic backflip (or three). But what you didn’t cognize — unless you happened to cheque Brian May’s Instagram up of time, that is — is that Benson Boone would execute an exceedingly faithful rendition of Queen’s immortal “Bohemian Rhapsody” arsenic helium made his Coachella debut connected the festival’s main signifier Friday night. Backed by the 77-year-old Queen guitarist arsenic good arsenic a ample gospel choir successful angelic robes, the mustachioed pop-rock dreamboat nailed Freddie Mercury’s lung-busting theatrics — and, much important, seemed to beryllium having a blast arsenic helium moved done each of the song’s galore rock-operatic twists and turns. (Mikael Wood)

Behind the velvet enactment astatine the Nobu x Red Bull Mirage pyramid

The astir extravagant eating acquisition astatine Coachella this twelvemonth came courtesy of the planetary Japanese edifice concatenation from cook Nobu Matsuhisa. Housed successful the Red Bull Mirage pyramid successful a multi-level terrace that faces the Quasar stage, the Nobu pop-up featured an omakase antagonistic and open-air booths wherever guests tin acquisition vessel work from Red Bull and a la carte items from Nobu’s menu. (Daniel Dorsey)

Three 6 Mafia brings retired Travis Barker, Machine Gun Kelly, Wiz Khalifa

Talk astir ‘90s rap classics. From “Weak Azz B—” to “Get Fly,” rap duo Three 6 Mafia not lone performed its well-loved hits but brought retired Machine Gun Kelly, Travis Barker and Wiz Khalifa to implicit their star-studded Sahara structure set. (Cerys Davies)

Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong joined the Go-Go’s

“Are you frying retired there?” Go-Go’s frontwoman Belinda Carlisle asked the assemblage of older Coachella-goers sweating nether the precocious day prima earlier the set launched into its acceptable with the deed “Vacation.” The set leaned heavy into its debut album, “Beauty and the Beat,” but they brought retired Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong to bash a deed disconnected their 3rd album, “Talk Show,” conscionable past the halfway point. (Vanessa Franko)

SATURDAY

Travis Scott had a batch riding connected his long-awaited Coachella return

There were moments of Travis Scott’s Saturday nighttime closing acceptable that were immoderate of the astir astounding pieces of stagecraft we saw astatine Coachella. Dancers dangling from cables to look similar they were lifted into a fog-strewn ether (or hung similar Mussolini). Scott rapping portion walking vertically down a partition astatine an intolerable angle, astir 50 feet up. Kicking done a moat with a brass set connected an in-the-round riser that vaulted him implicit the main signifier field. It’s nary coincidence that Scott would usage his agelong awaited Coachella instrumentality to asseverate complete, full mastery of his carnal abstraction onstage. Scott is inactive recovering from the aftermath of the 2021 Astroworld disaster, wherever 10 fans died and helium mislaid power of everything. (August Brown)

Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day holds his arms up astatine Coachella

Green Day whipped done its decades of pop-punk hits astatine Coachella

Nearly 40 years aft Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt founded the Bay Area trio successful 1987, Green Day is arsenic polished and reliable a stone set arsenic immoderate connected the roadworthy these days. The radical (which besides includes drummer Tré Cool, who joined successful 1990) whipped done its decades of pop-punk hits with velocity and precision, adjacent erstwhile the size of the venues it visits — past twelvemonth Green Day toured stadiums to people anniversaries of 1994’s “Dookie” and 2004’s “American Idiot” — means it has to play to the inexpensive seats. Here, arsenic 1 of the uncommon stone acts to header Coachella implicit the past decennary oregon so, Armstrong and his bandmates knew conscionable however to prosecute the elephantine festival assemblage with call-and-response routines and crisp video production.
As he’s been doing for years, Armstrong tweaked a lyric astir “a redneck agenda” successful “American Idiot” to protestation “a MAGA agenda”; helium besides changed a enactment successful “Jesus of Suburbia” to explicit his interest for “the kids from Palestine.” (Mikael Wood)

Bernie Sanders surprises Coachella, warns fans against ignoring Trump: ‘Turn distant astatine your ain peril’

The astir consequential cameo of Coachella connected Weekend 1 was an unbilled impermanent slot from Sen. Bernie Sanders. Fresh disconnected a packed rally astatine Gloria Molina Grand Park successful downtown L.A. that drew tens of thousands, Sanders (flanked by congressman Maxwell Frost, a Gen Z inheritor of his vision), Bernie spoke conscionable up of Clairo’s Outdoor Theater acceptable astatine 8:15 p.m.
“This state faces immoderate precise hard challenges. The aboriginal of what happens to America is babelike upon your generation,” Sanders said. “You tin crook distant and disregard what goes connected but if you do, you bash it astatine your ain peril.” (August Brown)

Post-’Brat’ summer, Charli XCX reminds Coachella who she truly is

To many, the satellite of Charli XCX consists of lime green, high-profile collaborations and hard drugs. But the British popular star’s Coachella show reminds us, she’s overmuch more. Before she took the stage, murmurs took implicit the green-clad crowd. Could Billie Eilish marque an appearance? What astir Troye Sivan? No, it has to beryllium Addison Rae. In her each achromatic attire, the vocalist appears connected the Coachella main stage, causing the assemblage to roar. Behind her blacked-out glasses, she sets the tone, exclaiming, “What the f—?” (Cerys Davies)

Laufey and Gustavo Dudamel, Music and Artistic Director, LA Phil

Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Phil people large with star-packed Coachella set

L.A. Phil players and Gustavo Dudamel looked similar they were having the clip of their lives up determination for the sundown set, celebrating conductor’s 17-year tenure earlier departure for the New York Philharmonic adjacent year. While the classical programme ran done large assemblage pleasers (Beethoven’s Fifth and Strauss’ “Also sprach Zarathustra” are up determination with the top riffs of the millennium), the delightfully eclectic scope of popular guests covered the full of the festival. Zedd wowed the assemblage with a gospel choir and the astir soaring backup arrangements of his life. Argentine rap duo Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso performed implicit galloping Latin percussion. Maren Morris, Becky G and Laufey each had a regal tally with the orchestra connected their popular hits. But Dudamel looked positively rapt locking successful with LL Cool J, spinning John Williams’ “The Imperial March” from “Star Wars” into LL’s “Rock the Bells.” LL gave him 1 of his trademark hats arsenic a parting gift. Here’s hoping Dudamel keeps the memento, arsenic Coachella 2025 volition go portion of his legacy. (August Brown)

Yo Gabba Gabba unleashes Coachella’s inner-child with Flavor Flav, Thundercat and Portugal the Man

Beaming with excitement, fans dashed toward the Mojave structure to drawback the Coachella debut of Yo Gabba Gabba. The 5 brightly-colored characters helped the assemblage to get its “wiggles” retired and sang the deed “Party successful My Tummy.” No substance their age, members of assemblage sang on to tracks similar “Don’t Bite Your Friends” and played games akin to Simon Says. For “Beat of the Day,” Public Enemy rapper and “Flavor of Love” prima Flavor Flav, beatboxed and sang astir loving antithetic kinds of bugs. DJ Lance Rock, the archetypal big of the children’s program, joined his “Yo Gabba Gabbaland” successor Kammy Kam. To decorativeness the show, Thundercat joined the formed successful a pinkish furry feline suit to sing “The Orange Cat’s Special Time Outdoors” and stayed onstage to execute with Portugal the Man, Paul Williams and “Weird Al” Yankovic. The full acceptable carried a wholesome, nostalgic vigor successful keeping with each that Yo Gabba Gabba conjures. (Cerys Davies)

T-Pain connected the Coachella Main Stage

T-Pain was a surviving deed instrumentality

“It took maine 20 years to get connected this stage,” T-Pain said adjacent the extremity of his show connected the main stage, and that meant cipher could halt the pioneering hip-hop and R&B prima from singing faithful renditions of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” and the state modular “Tennessee Whiskey.” T-Pain besides ran done medley-ized snippets of his galore early-2000s hits and had his DJ play Michael Jackson’s “P.Y.T.,” which Kanye West famously sampled for his “Good Life” successful 2007, arsenic helium roamed crossed a post-apocalyptic signifier set. Am I the lone 1 who didn’t cognize that T-Pain had gone steampunk? (Mikael Wood)

Weezer performs astatine Coachella pursuing incidental with police

Walking onstage Saturday day successful the Mojave tent, Scott Shriner pumped his fist and drew a immense circular of cheers from the overflow assemblage of respective thousands. An occurrence betwixt constabulary and writer Jillian Lauren Shriner happened Tuesday during an unrelated manhunt for respective radical suspected of fleeing a hit-and-run connected the 134 Freeway. The hunt led officers to a location adjacent the couple’s, wherever they accidental they recovered Shriner with a weapon that she utilized to occurrence astatine police; the officers fired back, hitting Shriner, who was transported to a infirmary with non-life-threatening injuries and aboriginal arrested connected suspicion of attempted murder. Shriner posted $1 cardinal enslaved and was released from custody precocious Wednesday. (Mikael Wood)

Post Malone performs connected the Coachella main stage

SUNDAY

Post Malone keeps going state astatine Coachella

Post Malone closed retired the archetypal play of this year’s Coachella festival connected Sunday nighttime with a 90-minute show successful which helium remade immoderate of his smash pop-rap hits arsenic down-home state jams. Sauntering onstage holding a reddish integrative cupful and a cigarette, the 29-year-old vocalist — who went Nashville successful 2024 with the chart-topping “F-1 Trillion” aft years of dominating popular and hip-hop vigor — opened his acceptable with twangy renditions of “Texas Tea,” “Wow” and “Better Now” that felt similar they could’ve been performed astatine Coachella’s state cousin, Stagecoach (where successful information Malone launched his state signifier past year). (Mikael Wood)

Ty Dolla Sign took YG, Tyga and Wiz Khalifa to the situation yard

Set the Tycoon Correctional Facility, Ty Dolla Sign showed up to the Sahara structure successful handcuffs and a look mask. The signifier was wholly transformed into a situation yard, implicit with barbed ligament fences, bunk beds and outdoor gym equipment. Regarded arsenic 1 of hep hop’s astir featured artists, it’s nary daze that his show was filled with his rapping peers. He brought retired YG to sing “Toot It and Boot It, ” joined Blxst and Tyga successful “Chosen,” sparked up with Wiz Khalifa during “Something New” and adjacent enactment the spotlight connected Leon Thomas, truthful helium could sing his breakout single, “Mutt.” (Cerys Davies)

Megan Thee Stallion’s star-studded acceptable included Queen Latifah, Ciara earlier getting chopped disconnected by festival

In the midst of her fiery deed opus marathon, Megan Thee Stallion ran disconnected 1 broadside of the stage. The camera pans to the different extremity and erstwhile rapper and daytime TV big Queen Latifah appeared successful the halfway of Thee Stallion’s backup dancers. When she strutted down the aisle and it took the assemblage a infinitesimal to recognize who it was — arsenic Latifah seldom performs anymore. Thee Stallion reappeared connected signifier and reached retired to springiness Latifah a large hug. The duo performed Latifah’s 1993 deed “U.N.I.T.Y Together, they gave a multi-generational acquisition successful influential pistillate rappers. (Cerys Davies)

Jennie from Blackpink shines arsenic a solo enactment with an eclectic acceptable astatine Coachella

Without a hugely fashionable HBO vacation-murder amusement to thin on, Jennie of Blackpink arguably had the harder occupation of her band’s 2 solo shows this weekend. So it’s immense recognition to her that she perfectly packed the Outdoor Theater for a acceptable that went mode beyond clubby pop, and showcased the genre twists and regal ballads that her solo vocation yet makes country for. (August Brown)

For the 2nd twelvemonth successful a row, Junior H and Peso Pluma disturbance the Coachella crowd

As the archetypal música Mexicana enactment to grace the main signifier each weekend, Junior H brought his bittersweet lad vigor to Coachella’s biggest stage. The “Y Lloro” vocalist had performed connected the aforesaid signifier past year, arsenic a impermanent of 1 his closest friends, Peso Pluma. Now it was his crook to reciprocate.
During “Luna,” a dilatory pain disconnected Pluma’s 2023 medium “Génesis,” the corrido tumbado singers articulation forces to present the a heartfelt show of the romanticist ballad. (Cerys Davies)

The champion spot to chill disconnected astatine Coachella

One the last time of Coachella Weekend 1 we were each struggling to lucifer the gait we acceptable astatine the opening of it. But the somesthesia was successful the mid-90s without a unreality successful the sky, and the now-brittle writer astatine the Empire Polo Club grounds seemed to agelong connected forever. Frequent breaks, icy drinks and changeless shadiness are required for a time similar this. We recovered respite astatine the tiki barroom that’s hidden toward the backmost of the 12 Peaks VIP area, adjacent to the Menotti java stand. (Danielle Dorsey)

Drummer Isaac Holman plays portion Laurie Vincent leaps successful the aerial with his guitar

Up adjacent and idiosyncratic with Soft Play successful the Sonora tent

Seeking immoderate respite from the vigor and a pick-me-up connected the vigor front, we made our mode to the air-conditioned Sonora tent, which is fundamentally a stone nine wrong Coachella. It’s wherever you tin drawback astir of the punk bands connected the festival measure and it is 1 of the coolest spots, virtually and figuratively.
We caught a beautifully chaotic punk acceptable from British punk duo Soft Play. Both drummer Isaac Holman and guitarist Laurie Vincent hopped disconnected the signifier and into the assemblage and seemed to beryllium having truthful overmuch amusive that they mislaid way of clip and had to revamp their acceptable to acceptable Coachella’s schedule. (Vanessa Franko)

Shaboozey brings state euphony to Coachella

Dressed successful a form-fitting Nudie-style suit successful spite of the 100-degree heat, Shaboozey brought an hr of state euphony to Coachella connected Sunday afternoon, 2 weeks earlier he’s booked for the festival’s state cousin, Stagecoach. (A motion connected his signifier acceptable virtually said “Coachella’s Country Hour.”) The singer-songwriter welcomed Noah Cyrus to the signifier to bash their opus “My Fault,” and helium sang “Blink Twice,” a caller azygous from the deluxe variation of his Grammy-nominated 2024 LP. But this assemblage was intelligibly waiting for “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Shaboozey’s Hot 100-topping smash from past year, which inspired a hearty singalong from folks wearing cowboy hats and faux-vintage harvest tops. (Mikael Wood)

The hottest enactment playing Coachella connected Sunday day was Meute, literally

Meute was already a spectacle unrecorded — they’re a German marching set playing techno music, but they besides had to beryllium among the hottest acts astatine Coachella connected Sunday day successful portion due to the fact that the members wore their set uniforms, including long-sleeved reddish jackets. They inactive got a sizable assemblage to dancing nether the punishing vigor and sunshine. (Vanessa Franko)

Bonus: Chris Lake’s Coachella campground creation enactment boosts morale of road-weary festgoers connected Day Zero

Previously, “Day Zero” has ever been an other time for campers to get settled and get a caput commencement connected partying. But erstwhile DJ Chris Lake was announced to execute connected the caller Desert Sky stage, the festival’s pregame became a spot much official. Which was sorely needed aft the other agelong hold campers endured to get into the campground earlier the festival, with hold times stretching upwards of 8 hours. But erstwhile Lake deed the signifier astatine the campground, seemingly each was forgiven. Under the circus-like tent, trains of fist-pumping fans began to congregate successful the circular space. Inflatable flamingos and waving flags whizzed by and clouds of marijuana fume thickened.

Within the crowd, immoderate seized the accidental to debut their archetypal festival look — wearing trendy, crochet tops and headscarves. Others had taken a much casual, camping approach, dressed successful what seemed to beryllium pajamas. In the mediate of the camping hub (that consisted of a wide store and respective lounge spaces), determination were adjacent immoderate listeners, hairsbreadth bedewed from the communal showers and toiletries successful hand, who stopped by to perceive Lake’s blend of dense bass and popular music. (Cerys Davies)

Read Entire Article