Coachella’s 25th weekend
Coachella marked its 25th edition in Indio, California, headlined this year by Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G. (latimes.com) Local critics said the weekend’s music outshone the installations — the Desert Sun described the festival art as largely forgettable while praising Sabrina Carpenter and noting Anyma’s cancellation on Day 1. (desertsun.com)
Coachella opened its 25th edition in Indio on April 10 with a lineup led by Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G. (coachellavalley.com) The festival is running across two three-day weekends, April 10-12 and April 17-19, at the Empire Polo Club, with Anyma, the xx, the Strokes, Young Thug and BigBang also on the bill. (coachellavalley.com) Weekend 1 quickly turned into a test of whether the anniversary would be defined by spectacle or songs. The Desert Sun said Day 1’s “good far outweighed the bad,” praising Sabrina Carpenter and the xx while calling the art around the grounds less memorable. (desertsun.com) The sharpest setback came Friday, when high winds forced Anyma to cancel. The Los Angeles Times also reported the weather-related cancellation in its Day 1 live coverage. (desertsun.com) (latimes.com) Carpenter’s set landed as one of the weekend’s clearest star-making moments. The Los Angeles Times said she headlined opening night, and the Chicago Tribune described her performance as a burst of “Hollywood glamour” built around a vintage convertible, red lipstick and a gold minidress. (latimes.com) (chicagotribune.com) Saturday brought a different reaction. The Los Angeles Times framed Justin Bieber’s headlining show as “YouTube karaoke,” while Yahoo’s live blog said his “laptop set” divided viewers online. (latimes.com) (yahoo.com) Sunday’s close belongs to Karol G, who was scheduled to headline Day 3 as Weekend 1 wrapped on April 12. Coachella’s official lineup lists her as one of the three top-billed acts for the 2026 edition. (yahoo.com) (coachella.com) The anniversary framing reaches back to the festival’s first edition in October 1999, also in Indio. Coachella’s 2026 materials and multiple anniversary retrospectives tie this year’s event to that 25-year mark. (coachellavalley.com) (parade.com) Even with the anniversary branding, the 2026 playbook is still built around scale and reach. Coachella said YouTube returned as the exclusive livestream partner for both weekends, extending the festival far beyond the desert. (coachellavalley.com) That leaves the first weekend with a simple split screen: a 25th edition sold on giant names, and an opening stretch remembered more for Carpenter’s set and a wind-blown cancellation than for the installations between stages. (desertsun.com) (coachellavalley.com)
