Coachella is back again in Indio, California for another fun weekend of artistry and musical guests. This year features headliners Lady Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone and Travis Scott. Other big sets include performances by Missy Elliott, Charli XCX, the Original Misfits, Megan Thee Stallion, and Zedd.
Weekend 1 took place April 11th to the 13th, with some amazing performances. Day 1 of the 2025 season may be the hottest Coachella has ever been, clocking in at a scorching 104 degrees, 15 degrees higher than the average temperature for the area.
On the main Coachella Stage, pop-rock singer-songwriter Benson Boone owned the stage in an all white vest and pants outfit, highlighted with baby blue belts. His performance included his live debut of “Mystical Magical” and his unreleased song “Young American Heart.” For his two song encore, legendary founding member of Queen, Brian May came out and flawlessly performed on guitar the classic “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Boone’s own, “Beautiful Things.”
South African singer-songwriter Tyla slayed on the Outdoor Stage with her unique pop fusion melodies. After upbeat songs like “Truth or Dare” and “SHAKE AH,” singer Becky G joined Tyla onstage for a run through of “On My Body,” throwing in some sultry hip gyrations. Tyla closed out her set with her fan-favorite and TikTok viral song “Water” that got the crowd moving.
Lola Young, a London artist most popular for her song “Messy” that went viral on TikTok sang her heart out on the Mojave Stage. As someone not so used to the sweltering heat of California, Young struggled on stage with sickness, frequently drinking water and having to look away to stop from throwing up. Despite her heat struggles, Young absolutely powered through her nausea and was able to offer an energy filled 10-song setlist that included “Messy” and new emotional song “Spiders.”
The 1980’s all girl band, The Go-Go’s brought some throw-back tunes on day 1. All five founding members of the band: Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin, Charlotte Caffey, Kathy Valentine and Gina Shock played together for the first time in years. Carlisle brought out Green Day’s frontman Billie Joe Armstrong and fellow pop-punk singer for “Head Over Heels,” one of the group’s biggest hits. The rest of the set featured other hits like “Our Lips Are Sealed” and “We Got The Beat,” mixed playfully with Chappell Roan’s “Hot To Go.”
On the Sahara Stage, Three Six Mafia, a Tennessee based hip-hop group delivered a beat filled sixteen song set with special guests MGK, Travis Barker, Project Pat, and Wiz Khalifa. The group opened with bangers “Who Run It” and “Tear da Club Up.” MGK joined the group for “Hit a Muthafuka” with Travis Barker on drums. Project Pat rapped alongside Mafia for “Poppin’ My Collar” and “Chickenhead.” Wiz Khalifa surprised the crowd by joining Mafia for a Mike-WiLL Made-It cover of “23.”
Guyanese-American rapper and double GRAMMY award winner SAINt JHN celebrated his first time at Coachella in the Mojave Tent. JHN opened with “Never Met Superman” and continued on with songs like “Hunting Nirvana” and “Guyanese Moshpit.” On stage was a giant cross, laid on its side and illuminated by soft white lights. JHN mingled with guitarist April Kae on stage as he leapt onto the cross to sing. He ended his set with his most popular 2019 hit, a remix of his own song “Roses.”
GloRilla had a late-night set at Sahara, coming out on stage in a monster-esque mask of her own face and a black and gold outfit, accompanied by back-up dancers. Her set was a whopping 21 songs long, featuring high-energy songs including “LET HER COOK,” “Lick or Sum,” and “TGIF.” GloRilla also threw in a fun cover of Big Boogie’s “BOP” and Tyler, The Creator’s popular song “Sticky.” Her set ended on a high note with her hit song “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” and “Yeah Glo!”
Experimental rapper Yeat drew in a huge crowd, including Justin Bieber watching. Yeat stood on top of a 50-foot-tall brass bell as he opened with his unreleased song “THE BELL.” Fans sang along and danced in the crowd as Yeat rapped, running around the stage. His set included two surprise covers of Drake’s: “IDGAF” and the emotional “Feel No Ways” that the crowd immediately recognized. It was unexpected for Yeat to stray from his usual sound and perform Drake’s “Feel No Ways,” an emotional side many of his fans have never seen from him.
Lady Gaga closed out the main stage with an epic decades spanning set that may have been one of the most involved and iconic we’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, Gaga did not allow press in for the performance, but seeing this with my own eyes was even better than through the lens of a camera. The set opened with Gaga on top of a larger than life red dress to a mash-up of hit songs “Bloody Mary,” “Abracadabra,” and “Judas.” The set featured dozens of back-up dancers, multiple costume changes and ended on a full circle moment of “Bad Romance” era Gaga coming to life to perform the song.
DJ and record producer Mustard was the highlight of the day. Straight off the Super Bowl with Kendrick Lamar, Mustard brought all the hits and friends. Mustard was joined by Tyga, 2 Chainz, Ella Mai, Big Sean, YG, and Roddy Rich. He opened with “Rack City” with Tyga and followed with “I’m Different” with 2 Chainz. After DJ’ing a few songs, Mustard was joined by YG for a stretch of four songs including “Who Do You Love?” Big Sean came out on stage for a cover of “I Don’t F*ck With You,” followed by Roddy Rich coming out for “The Box” and “Ballin’.” Ella Mai took to the stage and performed “Boo’d Up” and “Trip,” leading Mustard into his closing mixes, ending the night on a great note.
Check back tomorrow for our coverage of Day 2 at Coachella 2025!