Coachella Weekend 2 Rock Picks

Coachella’s second weekend put rock back in the conversation, with recent festival coverage singling out six acts from Turnstile to David Byrne as standout sets. (rockcellarmagazine.com) Weekend 2 ran April 17-19 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, with the same lineup structure as Weekend 1 and a seven-channel YouTube livestream that included Turnstile, Iggy Pop, David Byrne and Joyce Manor. (pitchfork.com, brooklynvegan.com) The rock names highlighted in Rock Cellar’s roundup spanned generations: Iggy Pop and Byrne from earlier eras, Joyce Manor and Turnstile from the punk and hardcore lane, Royel Otis from indie rock, and Sombr sharing a moment with Billy Idol. (rockcellarmagazine.com) That mix matched the broader 2026 lineup, which placed artists such as David Byrne, Iggy Pop, Turnstile and Joyce Manor on a bill led largely by pop, Latin pop and electronic headliners. (undertheradarmag.com, post-punk.com) Byrne’s set drew some of the strongest individual notices from the festival. Rolling Stone reported that he played the Outdoor Theatre on Saturday, April 11, opening with “Everybody Laughs” and closing a 13-song performance with “Once in a Lifetime” and “Burning Down the House.” (rollingstone.com, consequence.net) NME said Byrne’s performance leaned heavily on Talking Heads songs including “Psycho Killer,” “This Must Be the Place” and “Burning Down the House,” while keeping the choreography and theatrical staging that have defined his recent shows. (nme.com) Iggy Pop landed on the same short list after a set that Consequence said ended with the singer leaving the stage in a coffin after a run through Stooges and solo material. (consequence.net) Sombr’s set got attention for a guest spot from Billy Idol and a cover of Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees,” according to Consequence’s Weekend 2 coverage. (consequence.net) Joyce Manor and Royel Otis represented the newer end of the rock spectrum. The Desert Sun said Joyce Manor’s Friday set tapped 2010s pop-punk nostalgia, while setlist records show Royel Otis played Mojave on April 11 and worked in covers of “Murder on the Dancefloor” and the Cranberries’ “Linger.” (desertsun.com, setlist.fm) Turnstile was part of that same rock showing. Loudwire counted the band among the opening weekend’s major rock moments, and BrooklynVegan listed Turnstile on the official Weekend 2 livestream slate. (loudwire.com, brooklynvegan.com) By the end of Weekend 2, the rock story at Coachella was less about one revival set than a full lane of programming, with legacy stars and younger bands sharing space on the same desert bill. (rockcellarmagazine.com, yahoo.com)