Carpenter’s cameo‑heavy set
Sabrina Carpenter headlined Coachella’s opening night and brought out Susan Sarandon and Sam Elliott as onstage guests, with Will Ferrell also appearing during the performance. ( ). The night’s music was disrupted by violent winds that forced delays and led EDM artist Anyma to cancel a late‑Friday main‑stage set, according to festival coverage. ( )
Sabrina Carpenter opened Coachella’s first night with a headlining set built like a Hollywood production, then filled it with actor cameos. (pitchfork.com) Carpenter played the main Coachella Stage in Indio, California, on Friday, April 10, during Weekend 1, with a scheduled 9:05 p.m. to 10:35 p.m. set. Festival set times had Anyma slated to close the same stage at midnight. (usatoday.com, yahoo.com) Pitchfork and Deadline reported that Susan Sarandon and Will Ferrell appeared during Carpenter’s performance, while Sam Elliott was featured in a pre-recorded opening film that set up the show’s old-Hollywood framing. (pitchfork.com, deadline.com) The guest list turned a festival headline slot into a crossover TV-and-film moment, not just a pop concert. The Hollywood Reporter said Carpenter staged the show as “Sabrinawood,” extending the visual world she brought to the desert. (hollywoodreporter.com, people.com) That mattered on a night when Coachella’s scale was also visible in a different way: weather reshaped the schedule. The Los Angeles Times and Billboard reported that strong winds disrupted the grounds and forced the cancellation of Anyma’s late-Friday main-stage set. (latimes.com, billboard.com) Billboard reported that Anyma’s set was called off about 15 minutes after its scheduled midnight start. Mixmag said winds in the Coachella Valley were reported at up to 45 miles per hour, with videos showing tents and campground gear whipped around by gusts. (billboard.com, mixmag.net) Anyma said he was “heartbroken” and told fans he was working on a solution, but People and Billboard reported there was no immediate replacement slot announced for Friday night. At press time, Billboard said he remained scheduled for the festival’s second weekend. (people.com, billboard.com) Carpenter had played Coachella before, but 2026 gave her the Friday-night headliner role and a 90-minute main-stage window. By the end of the night, the festival had produced both of its clearest opening-night images: a cameo-packed “Sabrinawood” set and an empty stage after midnight. (pitchfork.com, consequence.net)
