Stagecoach Day 3: Post Malone, Hootie

Post Malone closed Stagecoach on Sunday, April 26, ending the three-day country festival after final-day sets from Hootie & the Blowfish, Brooks & Dunn and Third Eye Blind. (latimes.com) (desertsun.com) Stagecoach 2026 ran April 24 through April 26 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, with Cody Johnson headlining Friday, Lainey Wilson on Saturday and Post Malone on Sunday. (billboard.com) (desertsun.com) Billboard said more than 100 artists played across seven stages, including the new Mustang Stage presented by Boot Barn. Its recap listed Hootie & the Blowfish, Ludacris, Pitbull, Counting Crows and Third Eye Blind alongside the festival’s country headliners. (billboard.com) Rolling Stone said Stagecoach’s biggest through line was nostalgia, with Post Malone closing Sunday while Hootie & the Blowfish and other throwback acts helped draw Mane Stage crowds through the weekend. (rollingstone.com) That mix is now central to what Stagecoach sells: a country festival where a headliner can be Post Malone, a Sunday bill can include Hootie & the Blowfish, and rock acts can sit next to mainstream Nashville stars. (billboard.com) (rollingstone.com) The crossover moments started before Sunday. Rolling Stone reported that Cody Johnson brought out Boyz II Men on Friday to sing the group’s 1994 hit “On Bended Knee.” (rollingstone.com) Saturday’s schedule was briefly disrupted by high winds. Billboard and Rolling Stone both reported a temporary evacuation, with Journey and Riley Green among the acts affected before Lainey Wilson’s headlining set was delayed to 10:30 p.m. (billboard.com) (rollingstone.com) By Sunday night, the festival had returned to a full-closing arc: legacy singalongs earlier on the bill, then Post Malone as the final headliner in Indio. (latimes.com) (desertsun.com)