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<\/p>\nAmerica’s most internet-famous festival, Coachella, has wrapped the first of two massive weekends of live music in the Californian desert.<\/p>\n
This year skewed towards big pop headliners, namely Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Colombian star Karol G, but there were plenty of surprises beyond the top billing.<\/p>\n
With seven stages available to stream online for the first time this year, it cemented Coachella as an event that was as much for those at home as those who made the trek.<\/p>\n
Here’s a few highlights and talking points from three packed days of live music action.<\/p>\n
Sabrina is on top<\/p>\n
Last time Sabrina Carpenter was on a Coachella stage, she told the audience she’d see them all back here when she headlined.<\/p>\n
Two years later and this manifestation has worked. By the end of her show, it was clear top billing was where she belonged.<\/p>\n
After a chilling opening short film starring Sam Elliott, Carpenter emerged from a classic car set up on one of the two stages that made up her set and barreled through tracks from her Man’s Best Friend and Short n’ Sweet albums.<\/p>\n
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Her glossy, sleek, ultra-horny earworms were undeniably infectious and unabashedly sunny.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the budget for her sets and costumes must have been staggering, Carpenter also proved her natural star power in spades: her step count must have been enormous, and even with all its deeply choreographed twists and turns, the whole things came together with finesse.<\/p>\n
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It featured perhaps one of the least-expected cameos of the weekend. Susan Sarandon delivered the bleakest moment of a decidedly sunny set, her monologue as a somewhat jaded older Sabrina as compelling as it was incongruous.<\/p>\n
Will Ferrell was as powerful, but it’s rare that he’s not funny and just having him and his physical comedy in the moment felt like a power move. By the time we got to the pre-recorded message from Samuel L Jackson, it just felt like Sabrina was showing off. But that’s kinda her thing.<\/p>\n
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Sabrina Carpenter gave Coachella a splashy farewell on its opening night. (Getty: Kevin Mazur)<\/p>\n
She closed out the set in typically ostentatious fashion, back in that classic car. This time its seat was a dozen feet in the air as water gushed from its trunk. A silly, fun way to close out a set that few could deny was a dynamite display of all the things that have made Carpenter so endearing.<\/p>\n
Justin Bieber stokes mixed reactions<\/p>\n
It’s safe to say there was fevered anticipation over what Justin Bieber would do in his first official Coachella performance. And the Canadian pop superstar was not planning to play by the standards set by previous headliners.<\/p>\n
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Justin Bieber’s headline performance at Coachella this weekend has drawn mixed reviews.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In stark contrast to memorable sets from Lady Gaga, Beyonc\u00e9, and even Sabrina Carpenter the previous night, the Biebs intentionally avoided spectacle in favour of a pared-back set.<\/p>\n
Besides a few special guests \u2014 The Kid LAROI for mega-hit Stay<\/a>; Afrobeats stars Tems and Wizkid; collaborators Dijon and Mk.gee \u2014 Bieber largely performed alone inside of a stark sunken-bowl set.<\/p>\n For one stretch, he sat alone at a stool, pulling up YouTube clips on the jumbo screen, singing along to old music videos for hits like With You, Sorry, and Where Are \u00dc Now. He even shared footage of concert mishaps and his “it’s not clocking to you” meme.<\/p>\n Loading Instagram content<\/p>\n Some reactions have already criticised the performance, pointing out that Beiber’s reported $10 million performance fee could’ve been used to budget for more. Visuals, dancers, something beyond just a laptop and an ad-free YouTube subscription.\u00a0<\/p>\n Less, however, was the point. While some have derided it as lazy karaoke, puzzling, and pointed out the inequalities<\/a> if a female pop star staged similar<\/a>, long-term fans are already hailing Bieber for bringing something unique.<\/p>\n Despite the air of low-key spontaneity, Bieber’s performance was more of a career statement on a grand scale. And that shouldn’t surprise anybody who caught the warm-up: performing solo \u2014 in boxer shorts and a guitar<\/a> \u2014 at the Grammys.<\/p>\n The image of Bieber looking up and singing harmony with his 13-year-old past self on the biggest of festival stages was a way of reflecting the past but also exorcising it. He concluded the set turning back to the hookiest moments from SWAG and SWAG II \u2014 the pair of hazy, indie R&B surprise albums released last year.<\/p>\n Your mileage may very much have varied based on your investment in Justin Bieber’s redemptive arc. But you didn’t necessarily have to be a Belieber to appreciate the subversive attitude, or offer valid criticism.<\/p>\n Coachella’s biggest special guests<\/p>\n Coachella always features a bevy of unexpected special guests \u2014 usually in person, sometimes as holograms \u2014 and you could have put together a whole other festival line-up with those who showed up over the weekend.<\/p>\n And headliners Sabrina Carpenter and Justin Bieber weren’t the only ones using their star power to bring some big names the party.<\/p>\n While many were hoping UK star PinkPantheress would have Swedish collaborator Zara Larsson onboard at her set, they had to settle for actor Tyriq Withers, hyped producers Horsegiirl and The Dare, and an excellent turn from bassist Thundercat.<\/p>\n Thundercat also joined up with his old band Suicidal Tendencies on the final day of the festival, while Horsegiirl also popped up with Wet Leg on the final day of fun.<\/p>\n Loading Instagram content<\/p>\n Teddy Swims gave Vanessa Carlton her deserved flowers at his massive main stage set, which also featured Joe Jonas, while David Lee Roth joined in on a version of Van Halen’s Jump.<\/p>\n The incredible Jennifer Lopez proved a highlight of David Guetta’s Saturday night set, Kehlani sang Folded with Giveon, and Californian icon Snoop Dogg joined Hugel for a take on The Next Episode.<\/p>\n Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan made his first ever Coachella appearance as a guest of Sombr, who performed classic 1995 track 1979.<\/p>\n Khalid jumped up with Disclosure to perform his 2019 smash Talk, Lizzo ducked into both KAYTRANADA and Sexyy Red’s sets, hip hop icons Clipse brought out Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, and M.I.A. and Diplo seem to have buried the hatchet<\/a>, as the two reunited for a version of Paper Planes during Major Lazer’s main stage set.<\/p>\n Loading Instagram content<\/p>\n One of the biggest moments of the festival came very early, as global girl group KATSEYE brought out EJAE, Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna, the three voices that make up fictional K-Pop group HUNTR\/X from the inescapable K Pop Demon Hunters.<\/p>\n The two groups smashed through a rendition of Golden that felt like one of many victory laps after that song’s dominance in the past 12 months.<\/p>\n Nine Inch Noize refreshes Nine Inch Nails<\/p>\n One of Saturday’s most buzzed-about sets came from Nine Inch Noize, essentially a raved-up refresh of Nine Inch Nails between project mastermind Trent Reznor and German dance producer Boys Noize.<\/p>\n Having worked together on the 2024 film score for tennis love triangle drama Challengers, Nine Inch Noize’s Sahara tent debut was an extended version of a mini-set they’d incorporated into a recent NIN arena tour.<\/p>\n Loading Instagram content<\/p>\n Reworking cuts from the band’s industrial rock songbook (e.g. The Downward Spiral’s Heresy and Closer plus cuts from political concept album Year Zero) into pulsing dance jams animated by filthy synths and throbbing beats.<\/p>\n Reznor was joined on vocals by wife and creative partner Mariqueen Maandig and flanked by NIN bandmate Atticus Ross and Boys Noize manning keys and electronic stations.<\/p>\n Loading Instagram content<\/p>\n Augmenting the experience of attending a vampire’s nightclub was an intense light-and-laser show that bathed the audience in reds, blacks and strobing effects.<\/p>\n The quartet were bunkered at the centre of a brutalist architectural structure over which a cadre of white-painted dancers writhed, frog-marched or lay disturbingly lifeless. The most striking moment came during the carnal Closer, where the bodies clawed their way up toward Reznor and dragged him into sliding down the concrete structure.<\/p>\n Geese live up to the hype<\/p>\n One of the most hyped indie rock acts of recent years, Brooklyn quartet Geese were guaranteed to pull a massive crowd to their sundown slot. The “saviours of rock” accolades have been powered by Getting Killed, the band’s thrilling third album<\/a>, and frontman Cameron Winter’s<\/a> critically adored solo album Heavy Metal.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even fellow acts Sabrina Carpenter, David Byrne and Jack White migrated to watch Geese deconstruct classic rock inspirations and re-forge them into strange, intoxicating new possibilities.<\/p>\n What makes Geese special live is they have a synergy that cannot be faked. Never mind that they’ve been touring relentlessly \u2014 including eight Australian shows in a week around Laneway festival \u2014 these 20-somethings have been jamming together since they were young teens.<\/p>\n On songs like 100 Horses and the caustic Trinidad, with its explosive chorus of “There’s a bomb in my car!” it seems their wiry energy could fall off the rails any moment. But they don’t, and are able to funnel the same chaotic energy into sing-along moments like the sentimental Au Pays du Cocaine, gorgeous Cobra and cathartic Taxes.<\/p>\n Loading Instagram content<\/p>\n Oh, and they even cheekily snuck in their cover of Justin Bieber’s Baby amid the rock-pocalypse spasms of prog-leaning original 2122. The result is the kind of set and band that’ll have future audiences boasting “I was there”.<\/p>\n Aussies like Ninajirachi, Ecca Vandal do us proud<\/p>\n Besides The Kid LAROI popping up in Bieber’s headline set, there were many homegrown acts flying Australia’s flag in the Californian desert.<\/p>\n One of them was Ecca Vandal, cutting a fascinating figure at the Sonora stage. Mixing metal, hip hop and pop to dizzying effect, she showcased tracks from her forthcoming album Looking For People To Unfollow.<\/p>\n Much like her fashionable patchwork outfit, Vandal’s music fuses unlikely elements together into a stylish whole. She can be growling and spitting over distorted riffs one moment, soaring to a candy-coated chorus melody the next.<\/p>\n She’s primed to be the breakout genre-mashing star following in the successful footsteps of Genesis Owusu and Ninajirachi.<\/p>\n The latter, a multi-ARIA and J Award winning electronic producer from the Central Coast, is clearly breaking through in the States.<\/p>\n Ninajirachi’s Coachella debut had as much energy as one of her hometown shows, the crowd singing loudly along to the fizzy hooks of EDM pop bangers like I Love My Computer and Infohazard.<\/p>\n In a full-circle moment, Porter Robinson, one of Ninajirachi’s biggest influences and idols, joined her onstage to debut an unreleased collaboration titled WannaCry.<\/p>\n Loading Instagram content<\/p>\n It was a cherry on top \u2026 Ninajirachi didn’t need the co-sign to prove herself as one of the most exciting names in electronic music right now. Already in high demand, tickets for her upcoming US and Australian tours are certain to be the hottest in town now.<\/p>\n On the final day of proceedings, The Chats delivered a flawless set of their breakneck punk rock, Eamon Sandwith proudly flying a Queensland State of Origin flag on his amp and encouraging those in the tent to call everyone watching online “a dickhead”.<\/p>\n Nobody moves like FKA Twigs moves<\/p>\n British visionary FKA twigs has a penchant for wild choreography and bracing stagecraft. Her Sunday set did not disappoint.<\/p>\n FKA Twigs has always been cutting edge and did not disappoint at Coachella. (Getty: Katie Flores)<\/p>\n Beginning her set lying on a bed, it was an intimate start to what swiftly escalated into a steamy, elaborate show packed with multiple costume changes and expressive, escapist dance moves.<\/p>\n Twigs herself brought some of the most elaborate body geometry, exhibiting sexual liberation in Drums of Death or stylishly gyrating through Sushi before having a red-dreaded wig installed onstage.<\/p>\n Combining mercurial melodies with experimental beats, FKA Twigs’s music has always been cutting-edge. But the dancier injection of last year’s excellent EUSEXUA album, along with more bumping moments from 2022 mixtape CAPRISONGS<\/a>, has really levelled up the engagement. And sweat factor!<\/p>\n FKA twigs also provided a platform for diversity and expression. There was a whip-cracking dancer, a woman spinning on chains and authentic nods to ballroom culture in several club-inspired transitions and an entire mid-set stretch dedicated to frenetic voguing from a cadre of dancers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Whether decked out as gothic royalty but singing like an angel for Eusexua or inducing a “body high” for the ’90s ravetronica of Perfectly, FKA twigs delivered a mainstage-worthy performance.<\/p>\n How to watch Coachella<\/p>\n If you missed out on the fun this weekend, the festival does the whole thing all over again next weekend.<\/p>\n Australians will be able to stream most of the same sets as this weekend via the festival’s YouTube channel. Keep an eye out for confirmed times during the week.<\/p>\n![\"FKA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/9b3044a1b08df4d9a1f32642c5eb7434.jpeg\")
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