Coachella rock standouts

Rock Cellar Magazine’s post-festival Coachella write-up put six guitar-driven sets at the center of Weekend Two: Turnstile, Iggy Pop, Joyce Manor, sombr with Billy Idol, David Byrne and Royel Otis. (rockcellarmagazine.com) Weekend Two ran April 17-19 in Indio, California, the second half of Coachella’s two-weekend format, with many of the same artists returning on the same bill. Turnstile, Iggy Pop, David Byrne, Joyce Manor, Royel Otis and sombr were all part of the 2026 festival lineup. (usatoday.com) The list landed in a year when Coachella’s broader coverage kept circling back to rock acts even inside a pop- and rap-heavy festival. BrooklynVegan’s Weekend Two livestream guide flagged Turnstile, Iggy Pop, David Byrne and Joyce Manor among the sets available to stream. (brooklynvegan.com) David Byrne’s set had already drawn strong notices in Weekend One coverage before Rock Cellar included him again in its Weekend Two roundup. Consequence reported that the 73-year-old played a 13-song set on April 11 built around Talking Heads songs and material from his new album *Who Is the Sky?* (consequence.net) Rolling Stone’s review of Byrne’s Coachella show said he mixed newer songs with “And She Was,” “This Must Be the Place,” “Psycho Killer,” “Once in a Lifetime” and “Burning Down the House.” The magazine also reported that Byrne told the crowd, “Love and kindness are a form of resistance.” (rollingstone.com) Iggy Pop’s desert set also arrived with its own narrative before Rock Cellar elevated it in the Weekend Two recap. Consequence wrote that Pop ran through Stooges and solo material and ended the performance by leaving the stage in a coffin. (consequence.net) Sombr’s set picked up extra attention because Weekend Two changed the guest list. Consequence reported that he brought out Billy Idol and Steve Stevens for “Eyes Without a Face” and also covered Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees.” (consequence.net) Joyce Manor and Royel Otis gave the roundup newer-band weight alongside Byrne and Pop. Setlist.fm logged Joyce Manor at Coachella on April 17 and Royel Otis at the festival on April 11, underscoring how Rock Cellar’s picks stretched from veteran legacy acts to current indie bands. (setlist.fm 1) (setlist.fm 2) Taken together, the write-up reads less like a nostalgia list than a map of how rock showed up at Coachella 2026: hardcore through Turnstile, punk through Iggy Pop and Joyce Manor, art-rock through Byrne, and indie-pop through Royel Otis and sombr. Rock Cellar’s takeaway was that those were the sets worth singling out after Weekend Two ended. (rockcellarmagazine.com)