Justin Bieber’s Coachella Headline Slot

Justin Bieber took Coachella’s main stage late Saturday, playing his first-ever headlining set at the Indio festival with an 11:25 p.m. Pacific start time. (newsweek.com) Coachella’s official 2026 lineup named Bieber as one of the festival’s headliners for the two-weekend run at the Empire Polo Club on April 10-12 and April 17-19, alongside Sabrina Carpenter, Karol G and Anyma. (coachellavalley.com) Saturday’s Day 2 bill also included The Strokes and Jack White, with Los Angeles station KABC-TV listing Bieber as the night’s marquee act and the festival’s livestream carrying performances for viewers at home. (abc7.com) The slot put Bieber at the center of the first weekend’s biggest Saturday crowd after years in which he appeared at Coachella as a guest, attendee or rumor rather than the top name on the poster. Newsweek said the set was his first time headlining the festival. (newsweek.com) It also extended a broader return to high-visibility live appearances in 2026. USA Today tied the Coachella booking to Bieber’s emotional performance at the 2026 Grammy Awards after what it described as a lengthy hiatus from live performing. (usatoday.com) Coachella’s structure made the booking especially visible: Bieber was scheduled to play the same 11:25 p.m. Pacific slot again on Saturday, April 18, for the festival’s second weekend. (ftw.usatoday.com) For fans not in the California desert, the festival again used YouTube as its main streaming platform, with multiple stage feeds and a Day 2 schedule built around Bieber, The Strokes and other late-night acts. (yahoo.com) By late Saturday, the story around Coachella was simple: a festival that has spent months selling Bieber’s return finally handed him its biggest Saturday stage. (latimes.com)