Coachella is just around the corner and even if festivals aren’t your scene, it’s hard to deny that the 24th Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has a little something for everyone. The 2025 edition of the fest will be held in Indio, California at the Empire Polo Fields over two weekends (April 11-13 and 18-20) and promises to be an event for the ages — for a multitude of reasons.
To begin, fest organizers nailed it with the headliner formula. Among the landmark performances is Lady Gaga, who kicks off a run of dates behind just-released album Mayhem on Friday night, providing a preview of what’s to come for her legions of Little Monsters. Her performance holds even more significance as it will be her first fully realized Coachella headline set; her 2017 stand-in for then pregnant Beyoncé was relatively last-minute while this one arrives with months of planning, sure to be spectacular.
Read more: 2025 Music Festivals Guide: Lineups & Dates For Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza & More
As with the past two years, West Coast rock legends will grace the main stage. It happened by accident in 2023 when Blink-182 stepped up to fill Frank Ocean’s shoes on the final Sunday, satisfying both nostalgia and a burning thirst for the return of rock headliners. No Doubt (technically not a headliner, but practically one given the audience they drew) reaffirmed the strategy in 2024. And this year it’ll be Green Day, who reliably draw rabid fans from every generation. To boot, the band is currently on a victory lap celebrating 30 years of Dookie and 20 years of American Idiot, which they’ve played in full.
While Green Day sits atop Saturday’s lineup on the poster, the night will be closed by Travis Scott. The rapper conceived an installation near the Sonora tent, which will “curate a Cactus Jack takeover as part of ‘a fully immersive and experiential world within the desert’,” according to a representative who talked to Complex.
Post Malone will close out both Sunday nights — a grand finale that's likely to be peppered with enough starpower to spark a supernova. Post has so many hits and collabs (see his work with Future and the surviving members of Nirvana, backup vocals for Taylor Swift and crooning twangy tunes with Jelly Roll) and previously brought out Ty Dolla $ign and 21 Savage when he closed out the Sahara tent in 2018. Who knows what he’ll bring to the Chella main stage Sunday night.
And that's just the big text. Skip to the second line and Coachella's lineup just gets better and more diverse: you’ve got the First Lady of Rap, Missy Elliott on Friday, the queen Brat herself, Charli xcx, plus punk rock progenitors the (original) Misfits on Saturday, and head honcho hot girl Megan Thee Stallion on Sunday.
Learn more: Meet The Coachella Die-Hards: 5 Super Fans You'll Find In The Desert
And of course, so much more amongst the lineup’s undercard. That realm is often where some of the weekend’s biggest moments occur: with the up-and-comers, the scrappy garage bands in Sonora, the underground EDM wizards and international breakouts ready to make their first mark in the States. Read on for a rundown of 11 must-see acts embedded in the Coachella lineup’s smaller print.
Lisa and Jennie
Two years after making history as the first K-pop group to headline Coachella, BLACKPINK is, once again, in your area. At least, half of the fearsome foursome — Lisa and Jennie — will return to Indio for respective solo sets on Friday and Sunday of both weekends. The former released her first solo album, Alter Ego, on Feb. 28, and Jennie’s full-length, Ruby, arrived precisely one week later, both debuting at No. 7 on the Billboard 200.
True to their styles within the framework of BLACKPINK, the albums lean heavily on hip-hop and feature a slew of guests: Rosalía, Raye, Doja Cat, Future and Megan Thee Stallion on Alter Ego; and Childish Gambino, Kali Uchis, Dominic Fike, Doechii, Dua Lipa and FKJ on Ruby. As most of those artists are Coachella alumni, it stands to reason that both sets could be loaded with killer cameos.
Learn more: Breaking Down Every Solo Act From BLACKPINK: From LISA's "Money" To JENNIE's 'Ruby'
Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic
GRAMMY-winning conductor Gustavo Dudamel is poised to make history by bringing the LA Phil to Coachella on April 12 and 19, marking the first time an orchestra will perform its own set at the desert fest. While past performers like Hans Zimmer featured an orchestra, this will be the first appearance by a fully insular organization.
As there’s no precedent and few details announced, speculation abounds for what the performance might entail. Dudamel’s resumé — which spans his 15-plus years as music director for the renowned orchestra — also includes collaborations with the likes of Billie Eilish, Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera, suggesting that the set may transcend a merely classical configuration.
Pete Tong x Ahmed Spins
What happens when one of the world’s most iconic DJs joins forces with a rising star nearly four decades his junior? It’s anybody’s guess, but Coachellans will be the first to find out on April 11 and 18 when Pete Tong links up with Ahmed Spins. The former is a fixture of the Ibiza and Miami DJ scenes, and an instrumental figure in cementing the EDM as a cornerstone of BBC Radio 1 since becoming host of multiple shows on the station in the early ‘90s. Meanwhile, the 26-year-old Moroccan (real name Ahmed Akhannouch) is a newcomer, whose 2022 Anchor Point EP has surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify. That release, which leans heavily on deep and Afrohouse music, drew the attention of Tong, who included Ahmed on his best of 2023 Hot Mix.
The upcoming live collaboration suggests Tong has taken Akhannouch under his wing, perhaps positioning the young DJ/producer as a new global ambassador for contemporary EDM that retains a classic vibe. Whether the set takes place in the massive Sahara tent or within the intimate confines of the Yuma tent, this spotlight on a veteran paired with a veritable prodigy at one of the world’s most prestigious festivals is an essential addition to your schedule.
Darkside
When Darkside — the brainchild of Chilean American composer and musician Nicolas Jaar and his multi-instrumentalist touring mate Dave Harrington — first emerged in 2011, there was no indication that the band would become more than a side project. Jaar was already considered an enigmatic experimental electro fixture for his landmark debut Space Is Only Noise and well on his way to forge a robust solo career. Indeed, their stint proved short-lived – the group announced an indefinite hiatus three years later with one full-length album, Psychic, under their belt.
To the delight of fans who’d experienced the psychedelic splendor of their live shows — which often featured mind-bending optical elements like a circular mirror that at once absorbed and reflected light akin to some portal to a heavenly plane — Darkside unexpectedly returned to the limelight with new music in 2020. The following year, they released sophomore album Spiral.
Though they’ve played overseas since, their Coachella performance is Darkside's first Stateside tour in 11 years. Their Saturday sets come hot on the heels of third album Nothing (released Feb. 28), which added drummer Tlacael Esparza to the mix. The trio’s Soundcloud describes the record as "nine transmissions of negative space, telepathic seance, and spectral improvisation … a search for form borne out of spontaneous elliptical jams, acoustic riffing, and digital levitations [featuring] serpentine guitars, extraterrestrial static, and cavernous drums." In short, the ideal desert trip.
The Dare
Under the guise of the Dare, singer and musician Harrison Patrick Smith produces music that is simultaneously playful and polished, groovy and goofy, and overall guaranteed to start a party. The infectious vibes shine through on 2024 debut album What’s Wrong With New York?, particularly on lead single "Girls," a 2-minute banger that echoes the styles of LCD Soundsystem and other distinctly NYC-bred dance rock outfits.
Smith’s rise over the past year has been meteoric. He joined Charli xcx as opening act for several dates of her Brat tour and produced the album’s deluxe edition track "Guess," plus a remix of the song featuring Billie Eilish. It bodes well that the Dare and Charli are both scheduled for Chella performances on April 12 and 19, and Eilish has a penchant for making surprise appearances at the fest.
Glass Beams
Counter to the wave of rock-oriented Australian artists currently crashing into U.S. shores, Glass Beams arrived as a gentle, meditative tide. Conceived by Indian Australian multi-instrumentalist and producer Rajan Silva (who plays drums in the three-piece band), Glass Beams offers hypnotizing, psychedelic grooves. Their songs are purely instrumental save for softly sung, wordless melodies and bewitching chants (think Khruangbin with more distinctly Eastern overtones).
Of the three live musicians, only Silva’s identity is known, and all of them wear ornate masks woven of what look like gold and diamond jewels, adding another layer of mystique to the already enthralling sonics. Glass Beams have become a staple at festivals since releasing their debut EP Mirage (2021) and full-length Mahal (2024), but it’s hard to imagine a more perfect setting than the desert landscape of Coachella. Here’s hoping they score a golden hour time slot to complete the dazzling display when they arrive April 12 and 19 for their debut at the fest.
Beth Gibbons
It’s been nearly two decades since Beth Gibbons has graced a Coachella stage. The last time was with Portishead in 2008, a performance that is among the festival's most legendary, both for its rarity (one of a tiny handful of U.S. fest appearances the band ever did) and larger-than-life presentation.
Gibbons returns April 12 and 19 to perform selections from her debut solo album Lives Outgrown, a hauntingly beautiful tapestry of grief-stricken yet life-affirming songs released last year. It feels unlikely that the production will match the epic heights of the storied Portishead set, but why should it? This is Gibbons in her most vulnerable and evolved form, an occasion that calls for the intimacy of something more stripped down. Added to that, it’s one of only a baker’s dozen of U.S. shows (and the final tour dates to boot), so there’s no argument against its making an historic impact.
Clairo
If you’ve caught one of Clairo’s shows supporting her GRAMMY-nominated album Charm, you know that she’s having a huge moment. Fans emphatically sing back every word of each song, and her stage presence is overflowing with a captivating confidence that makes her somewhat timid demeanor of past tours seem like a distant dream.
If you haven’t witnessed this pivotal shift, Clairo's return to Coachella on April 12 and 19 will be the ideal opportunity. It’s hard to imagine she won’t graduate from her Mojave tent placement in 2018 to at least the Outdoor Theatre – one of her biggest fest appearances yet and a fitting platform for an emerging queen of boldly soulful and jazz-imbued indie-pop. These are also two of the final eight dates on this jaunt, so whether you’re a diehard fan or merely a curious live music lover looking for a surefire stunner, attendance is critical.
Amyl & the Sniffers
Coachella isn’t sleeping on one of Australia’s most ferocious punk rock exports. After a 2022 showing in the Sonora tent (rescheduled from the canceled 2020 edition), Amyl and the Sniffers are already headed back to Indio for appearances on April 13 and 20. It’s no wonder considering their momentum: three albums released since 2019 (the latest, Cartoon Darkness, dropped last October) and relentless touring, including opening slots for Green Day, Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins and Jane’s Addiction.
The band’s onstage antics are as unyielding as their work ethic, and they’re every bit authentic – as snotty, raw and rowdy as punk rockers come (they don’t hold back in their songwriting either … see latest single "Jerkin’"). Namesake Amyl Taylor is a certified wild woman; the type to get a bloody nose mid-show and continue to snarl, thrash and crowdsurf while her mullet-headed band mates beat and shred the hell out of their instruments without skipping a beat. Any venue they touch transforms into a garage show riot. So, regardless of which stage they land on, Coachella should be no different.
Rema
Nigerian singer and rapper Rema has released just two albums – 2022’s Rave & Roses and last year’s GRAMMY-nominated Heis — and is already being heralded as one of the chief innovators and global ambassadors of Afrobeats. Part of his exposure to the world stage came from a collaboration with Selena Gomez on a remix of his 2022 single "Calm Down," but since then he’s single handedly carved out a space among popular music for himself and his Afrobeat peers.
Rema will make his Coachella debut on April 13 and attendees need only look to his appearance at the 2024 BRIT awards for an indication of what he plans to bring to the desert. During a performance of "Calm Down," Rema was backdropped by an elaborate stage setup, and flanked by a full band and highly choreographed and costumed backup dancers. It was the type of meticulously thought-out visionary production you might see on an even larger scale at some of Coachella’s most memorable tailormade sets. The bar is set, and odds are Rema will raise it higher.