Clipse’s Coachella surge
Clipse delivered one of Coachella’s most talked‑about hip‑hop sets on Sunday, and Travis Barker joined the duo on drums for part of the performance. Rolling Stone called the show “thoughtful” and hard‑hitting, marking it as a standout rap set on Day 3 of the festival (rollingstone.com) (x.com).
Clipse turned a Sunday afternoon slot at Coachella into one of the festival’s most discussed rap sets, with Travis Barker joining on drums for part of the show. (rollingstone.com) Pusha T and Malice played the Outdoor Theatre at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, on April 12, 2026, during Weekend 1 of Coachella. Coachella’s official site lists Clipse on the 2026 lineup, and the festival’s livestream page shows Sunday, April 12, as part of the first weekend. (coachella.com 1) (coachella.com 2) Setlist data from the show lists 13 songs, with Barker attached to the opening run of “Chains & Whips,” “P.O.V.,” “Popular Demand (Popeyes)” and “Inglorious Bastards.” The same setlist shows the group closing with newer material including “The Birds Don’t Sing” and “So Far Ahead.” (setlist.fm) The performance landed in the middle of Clipse’s return as a working duo after years of sporadic reunions. Grammy.com wrote in July 2025 that Pusha T and Malice had reunited around *Let God Sort Em Out*, their first Clipse album since *Til the Casket Drops* in 2009. (grammy.com) That comeback has turned into a full 2026 touring schedule. Clipse’s official store lists Coachella on April 12 and April 19, followed by dates including Governor’s Ball on June 7, Bonnaroo on June 14 and Lollapalooza across July 30 to August 2. (letgodsortemout.com) Coachella also gave the set a much larger audience than the crowd in Indio. The festival said its 2026 edition streamed free on YouTube across seven stages on April 10 to 12 and will do the same again on April 17 to 19, with the Outdoor Theatre among the stages available in 4K. (coachella.com) (forbes.com) Rolling Stone said the set hit hardest when Clipse leaned into the newer songs rather than treating the booking as a pure nostalgia run. That is the version of the duo Coachella amplified on Sunday: not just a reunion act, but a group still building momentum a year after its first album in 16 years. (rollingstone.com)
