The xx return to festivals

The xx played Coachella on Friday, April 10, in their first festival set since 2018, putting the London trio back on one of pop’s biggest stages. (theguardian.com) The group — Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim and Jamie Smith, who performs solo as Jamie xx — took the Coachella Stage from 7:00 p.m. to 7:55 p.m. during the festival’s first weekend in Indio, California. (coachella.com) The return came one week after the band’s first full concert in eight years, a sold-out April 3 show at Pepsi Center WTC in Mexico City. NME reported the trio also played two more Mexico City dates before Coachella. (consequence.net) (nme.com) Reviews from Coachella framed the set as one of Friday’s central talking points. The Guardian called it “spellbinding,” while the Los Angeles Times said the band came back “bigger, brasher than ever.” (theguardian.com) (latimes.com) The gap matters because The xx had not mounted a full live return while each member pursued solo work after the band’s 2017 album *I See You*. Romy released *Mid Air* in 2023, Oliver Sim released *Hideous Bastard* in 2022, and Jamie xx released *In Waves* in 2024. (nme.com) Their solo period did not mean a complete shutdown. Romy and Oliver Sim appeared on Jamie xx’s 2024 track “Waited All Night,” and the three reunited onstage during Jamie xx’s LIDO Festival set in London on June 7, 2025. (nme.com 1) (nme.com 2) Coachella also gave the comeback a much larger audience than the Mexico City theater dates. The festival’s official YouTube stream is carrying all seven stages across both April weekends, including the main stage where The xx played. (coachella.com) (blog.google) The band has not announced a full comeback tour in the reporting around these shows. For now, the clearest fact is that after eight years away from festival stages, The xx are back in the desert and back in the conversation. (consequence.net) (theguardian.com)