Coachella’s big Sunday acts
Sunday of Coachella Weekend 1 closed with heavy attention on Karol G and a comeback set from K‑pop group BigBang, which multiple outlets flagged as the day’s defining performances. (latimes.com) Smaller moments also cut through — for example, indie act Wet Leg brought a DJ wearing a hyper‑realistic horse mask during their main‑stage set. (latimes.com)
Coachella’s first weekend ended Sunday, April 12, with Karol G’s history-making headlining set and a long-awaited BigBang reunion drawing the night’s biggest attention. (latimes.com) (hollywoodreporter.com) Karol G closed the main stage in Indio as the first Latina artist to headline the festival, according to the Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter and Rolling Stone. Her set on Sunday night followed a 9:55 p.m. scheduled start and began at about 10:30 p.m., The Hollywood Reporter reported. (latimes.com) (hollywoodreporter.com) (rollingstone.com) (consequence.net) The Colombian singer filled the set with guests including Becky G, Mariah Angeliq, Wisin and Cigarettes After Sex’s Greg González, while moving through reggaeton, salsa and mariachi arrangements. Rolling Stone reported that she also covered Gloria Estefan’s “Mi Tierra” and finished with “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido.” (hollywoodreporter.com) (rollingstone.com) Her set landed three years after Bad Bunny became Coachella’s first Spanish-language headliner in 2023, giving Sunday’s finale a second recent milestone for Latin music at the festival. The Hollywood Reporter said Karol G used the stage to speak directly about Latinas and Latinos facing pressure in the United States. (hollywoodreporter.com) BigBang played opposite Karol G at the Outdoor Theatre in a 10:30 p.m. slot that had been listed on Sunday’s official livestream schedule. Consequence described the performance as one of the day’s most anticipated sets, and multiple outlets framed it as the group’s comeback moment at Coachella. (consequence.net) (latimes.com) (forbes.com) The reunion carried extra weight because BigBang had originally been booked for Coachella in 2020 before that festival was canceled during the coronavirus pandemic. ABS-CBN reported the 2026 appearance also comes ahead of a tour tied to the group’s 20th anniversary, with G-Dragon, Taeyang and Daesung performing and T.O.P not participating. (abs-cbn.com) (chosun.com) Sunday’s lineup also showed how smaller acts could cut through on a festival-closing day packed with bigger names. The Los Angeles Times reported that Wet Leg brought out horsegiirL, the masked DJ known for performing in a hyper-realistic horse mask, during the band’s 4:45 p.m. main-stage set. (latimes.com) (consequence.net) That cameo landed during “CPR,” according to a fan-edited setlist posted after the show, and it gave one of the day’s earliest sets a visual that traveled fast beyond the polo fields. The contrast with the night’s late marquee performances helped define Sunday’s shape: blockbuster headliners at the top, left-field images in the middle, and a closing night built around range. (setlist.fm) (billboard.com) Weekend 1 now turns into Weekend 2 on April 17 through April 19, when Coachella will test whether Sunday’s biggest sets play as one-night peaks or the start of a broader 2026 festival narrative. (coachella.com)
