Lady Gaga headlined the festival last Friday night with a nearly two-hour set full of both new songs and classic hits, plus several elaborate costume changes, and larger than life sets that looked like a gothic garden party. For “Poker Face” she staged a chess battle with her dancers as living game pieces. “Perfect Celebrity” and “Disease” had her writhing in a shallow grave surrounded by the undead. For “Paparazzi” she donned pieces of chrome armor and strutted across the stage on a pair of crutches.
“Beautiful Things” singer – and impressively acrobatic performer – Benson Boone made his Coachella debut on the main stage in style. Boone performed on Friday night and brought out Brian May, the original and legendary guitarist for Queen, to accompany him on the guitar while he sang a cover of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Boone, of course, wore his signature light blue bodysuit.
Sen. Bernie Sanders made an appearance on Saturday to introduce indie-pop singer Clairo.
“This country faces some very difficult challenges and the future of what happens to America is dependent upon your generation,” Sanders said on stage, addressing the young-skewing crowd. “We need you to stand up, to fight for justice. To fight for economic justice, social justice and racial justice.”
Charli XCX took the main stage on Saturday just before headliner Green Day and put on a show with some extra starpower. The British singer performed hits off her Grammy-winning album “Brat” with the help of Coachella veteran Billie Eilish, plus Lorde and Troye Sivan. Eilish appeared on stage with Charli XCX to sing their collaboration “Guess” together, while Sivan joined her on “Talk, Talk.” Lorde assisted with a performance of their hit “Girl, so confusing”.
Green Day’s Coachella debut had a powerhouse setlist made up of decades worth of hits. The political punks began their performance with “American Idiot,” the title track from their Grammy winning 2004 album. Though the song was originally designed as a rebuke of George W. Bush’s Iraq War politics, the band updated the tune to take aim at Donald Trump, with Armstrong notably declaring “I’m not a part of a MAGA agenda.”
Rapper Travis Scott made a powerful return to Coachella 2025, delivering a high-energy set that not only showcased new music but also featured a heartwarming moment — a special shout-out to his daughter, Stormi. Post Malone closed out the first weekend of the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Sunday night (April 13). This is the second time in Malone’s career that he’s played the Indio, California festival.
