Happy Coachella! Meet your guides to the weekend
After months of waiting, it’s finally here. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival kicks off today and we have a team in the desert covering everything: the food, the fun, and, of course, the music.
We’ll give you updates all weekend long. If there’s something you want to see, let us know. (And if you prefer to interact on Reddit, you can ask me over there at r/Coachella.)
We asked our team of reporters in the field to tell us what they’re most looking forward to this Coachella.
“Finding out what it means for Travis Scott to have ‘designed the desert.’” — Mikael Wood, who first Coachella’d in 2005
“Seeing all the classic punks (Glenn Danzig, Keith Morris, Belinda Carlisle) mingling backstage in the hospitality suites next to all the lip filler influencers and crypto bros.” — August Brown, whose first Coachella was 2006, a.k.a. the Daft Punk pyramid year
“Finally crossing the Go-Go’s off my concert bucket list.” — Vanessa Franko, whose first Coachella was the Rage Against the Machine reunion in 2007 and has covered every year since
“Reaching elder millennial nirvana at Missy Elliott’s set.” — Danielle Dorsey, whose first Coachella was in 2010 and who says, “I think I’ve been six or seven years, but what is time?”
“Though I may claim to be ‘Brat’-fatigued, seeing Charli XCX command a crowd never gets old.” — Cerys Davies, who first attended Coachella in 2017
“Hearing Mother Monster perform ‘Abracadabra’ after practicing my ‘amor-ooh-na-na’s and ‘morta-ooh-ga-ga’s for two months.” — David Viramontes, who is attending his first Coachella
Coachella livestream: How to watch Lady Gaga, Missy Elliott, Lisa, Mustard and more
Lady Gaga’s Coachella performance will air on the festival’s livestream.
Not making the drive to the desert? You’re in luck! Couchella season is in full swing.
Coachella’s YouTube livestream is returning this year with a lineup of the biggest names at the fest. The Main Stage stream is set to feature Lady Gaga’s headlining set, Missy Elliott’s buzzy festival performance and maybe even a Benson Boone backflip or two.
The festival has introduced its own livestream app on iOS and Android, allowing users to see the full schedule synced to their timezone, reminders for the sets and more.
See who is playing on the livestream for Friday:
Main Stage
4:20 p.m. Thee Sacred Souls; 5:40 p.m. Marina; 7:10 p.m. Benson Boone; 9 p.m. Missy Elliott; 11:10 p.m. Lady Gaga
Outdoor Theatre
4:05 p.m. Seun Kuti & Egypt 80; 5:25 p.m. The Go-Go’s; 6:45 p.m. Tyla; 8:20 p.m. The Marías; 10:10 p.m. Parcels; 11:10 p.m. The Martinez Brothers & Loco Dice
Sahara
4 p.m. Chris Lorenzo; 5:15 p.m. Three 6 Mafia; 6:10 p.m. Sara Landry; 7:15 p.m. Austin Millz; 7:45 p.m. Lisa; 9:10 p.m. Yeat; 10:25 p.m. GloRilla; 11:50 p.m. Mustard
Mojave
4 p.m. SAINt JHN; 4:50 p.m. Lola Young; 5:40 p.m. Ravyn Lenae; 6:05 p.m. Djo; 7:20 p.m. Eyedress; 8:35 p.m. Miike Snow; 10:05 p.m. The Prodigy; 11:20 p.m. Chris Lake
Gobi
4 p.m. Maribou State; 4:45 p.m. 4batz; 5:30 p.m. Parisi; 5:55 p.m. d4vd; 7 p.m. A.G. Cook; 8:15 p.m. Artemas; 9:30 p.m. CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso; 10:40 p.m. Indo Warehouse
Sonora
4 p.m. Tops; 5:00 p.m. Julie; 5:45 p.m. Glixen; 6:10 p.m. Kneecap; 7:05 p.m. vs self; 7:30 p.m. Los Mirlos; 8:40 p.m. Speed; 10 p.m. HiTech
Note that there have been livestream delays in past years, so don’t worry if your favorite artist is a few minutes late.
The biggest Coachella fashion surprise so far is …
We are melting in triple-degree heat in Indio and Lady Gaga‘s fans are taking it up a notch.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen this much leather at Coachella. I saw a handful of people early in the day wearing leather pants and one person with a bustier, and I wanted to check in on them to make sure they were drinking water because as I said, it is hot.
But now that the sun is dipping, even more festivalgoers are sporting leather — pants, knee-high boots, miniskirts, chaps, possibly a pair of culottes. It is still above 90 degrees. I commend the Little Monsters for their dedication to the look. And good luck to them if they have to peel off leather pants in the portable toilets.
Bands make Three 6 Mafia dance
Talk about ‘90s rap classics. From “Weak Azz B***h” to “Get Fly,” rap duo Three 6 Mafia not only performed its well-loved hits but brought out Machine Gun Kelly, Travis Barker and Wiz Khalifa to complete their star-studded Sahara tent set.
In the midst of the Memphis rappers’ fiery performance, DJ Paul asked if the crowd’s pills had kicked in yet. He confessed to taking a Xanax backstage and was starting to feel “loopy.” Alongside Juicy J, they rapped a verse of Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” and jokingly gave white people permission to say the N-word while singing. As the sun started to set on Coachella Day 1, Three 6 Mafia kept their performance loud and light hearted .
Coachella’s youngest fan
Meg Hope, who traveled to Coachella from New Zealand, twirls her 9-month-old daughter, Calliope Hope-Williams, on the first day of the festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.
Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong joins the Go-Go’s
“Are you frying out there?” Go-Go’s frontwoman Belinda Carlisle asked the crowd of older Coachella-goers sweating under the late afternoon sun before the band launched into its set with the hit “Vacation.”
The band leaned heavily into its debut album, “Beauty and the Beat,” but they brought out a special guest to do a hit off their third album, “Talk Show,” just past the halfway point.
Billie Joe Armstrong, of Saturday night headliner Green Day, joined the band to sing and play guitar on “Head Over Heels.”
It was a nice moment between two generations of California punk bands at a festival started by a California punk show promoter.
The band rounded out its set with other big hits, including “Our Lips Are Sealed” and “We Got the Beat,” the latter with a mashup of Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go.”
Lola Young does ‘Messy’ the right way
A good detail I didn’t include in my recent profile of Lola Young is that this British singer and songwriter has taken to singing the clean version of her viral hit “Messy” in concert so she can more easily remember not to drop the song’s many F-bombs when she’s performing on TV (which she’s been doing a lot lately). Not at Coachella, though: Here she sang the song about not living up to the stifling expectations of a lover in all its explicit glory, leading an overflow crowd in the Mojave tent in what had to be this weekend’s most exuberant singalong so far.
Jumping for joy at Coachella
The Coachella Campgrounds: Where you can do yoga, play tug-of-war and get a tattoo
Under the record-breaking heat of the desert sun, some campers indulged in a cold plunge. Others played ping-pong and pickleball, while a distant trivia game was heard across the field. In the early afternoon, the camping hub was crawling with campers engaging with each of Coachella’s offerings. There were scheduled sound baths and yoga classes, team games like tug-of-war and free slurpees.
In the activity tent, a small group of friends stared intensely at the selection of flash tattoos offered at the tattoo and piercing area. There were some Hello Kittys, Pokémon and small symbols, like hearts and stars.
Lorenzo Licea and Berend Williges have camped during the festival for two years in a row and were seriously debating going home with a new piece of body art. Licea was in the market for a nose piercing and Williges could see himself getting a tattoo — they mentioned that the prices were reasonable ($80 for a nose piercing and $130 for a tattoo, depending on the design).
“The main thing I’m concerned about is the recovery for it. It’s hot, it’s dusty and not really the ideal conditions to get a tattoo or piercing,” said Licea. “But, maybe if I were to get it, it would be like on the last day.”
Williges shared similar concerns, but mentioned how the main draw would be saying that he got a tattoo at Coachella.
What it looks like before the crowds descend at Coachella
Friday afternoon of Weekend 1 is always when the grass at the Empire Polo Club is the most pristine. It’s also when the field is the emptiest and you can wander around freely.
Aperol spritz to the rescue
Waiting for the triple-degree heat to wane at Coachella feels like the kind of world-weary story I’ll relay to my grandkids one day. “When I was your age, I walked from the Coachella stage to the Mojave tent with the sun beating against my back, not a cloud in the sky or a hint of wind.”
After Ravyn Lenae’s funky-soulful set, I found respite in Aperol’s shimmering-orange pop-up, where bartenders quickly poured me a spritz. I left so as not to disturb surrounding photo shoots with budding influencers, but as I settled into a sliver of shade with my drink and watched one of the festival’s balloon handlers wield one end of the sloping string, I thought: I just might survive Day 1 after all.
Coachella kicks off with potential record-breaking desert heat as L.A. cools down
A woman cools off at the mister at Coachella 2025 in Indio on April 11, 2025.
As Southern California sees the end of a “mini heatwave” on Friday, about 100 miles inland Coachella’s doors are opening with potentially record-breaking heat.
The high in Indio, where the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is held annually, is forecast to reach about 102 degrees Friday, which will not crack the record high for the area of 106 degrees, set in 1904.
Ready for Gagachella
Marley Diaz, of Echo Park, who is attending her fourth Coachella, arrives with her “Gagachella” window dressing on her car while picking up passes at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
We’ve seen our first celeb of Coachella 2025
The famously influencer-filled fest is a people-watching bonanza. But the first celebrity sighting at Coachella 2025 was none other than a popular commercial star often seen at events around L.A.
Jake from State Farm was hanging out at the Village by Cactus Jack. He took photos with passersby as he was surrounded by a group of people decked out in his signature bright red outfit.
Also seen at the Travis Scott brand activation? Festivalgoers splayed out on daybeds in the shade provided by the massive scaffolding structure surrounding the Village. This first-time attendee is making a note of the primo shade offered by Cactus Jack.
The Prodigy’s Liam Howlett on playing Coachella after Keith Flint’s death — “It was like jumping off a building”
When the Prodigy first played Coachella in 2002, they were outlaws. The brash electronic group’s 1997 LP “The Fat of The Land” had topped charts in the U.S. and heralded the mainstreaming of underground rave culture, which would morph into the EDM boom here a decade later. They were MTV staples for grimy videos like “Breathe” and “Firestarter,” where the dual-mohawked singer/dancer Keith Flint skulked around an empty subway tunnel, sneering in kohl eyeliner and an American flag sweater.
Liam Howlett, the Prodigy’s founder, recalled his band’s debut at Coachella as “a real British invasion. It was quite a different festival back then,” he said. “I remember it being quite loose and unregulated.”
The gates are open and Coachella is officially underway
Hello and happy Coachella! My car said that the temperature was already in triple digits and it was a hot walk inside. Bring a bottle of water to drink on the walk to the gate. As I’ve said before, dehydration is serious business.
However, I am not letting the heat get me down. I am going to see Mother Monster tonight! Before then, I am going to find some shade.
While the gates opened on time, some vendors were still waiting for things like soda and water and napkins right at 1.
Must-see Latino acts at Coachella 2025: Junior H, The Marías and more
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is known for elevating some of the best up-and-coming Latin acts in the industry — and this year will be no different.
Despite the downsize from last year’s historic 21 Latino performers, the diverse lineup, from música Mexicana stars to experimental pop singers, will pack a punch at the Empire Polo Club in Indio for the next two consecutive weekends. Most of the billed acts will be making their Coachella debut.
Coachella may be ‘notorious,’ but Kneecap just needs ‘12 Irish’ to get the crowd going
It’s 12 p.m. in Bali, and two-thirds of Kneecap are sitting on a couch for a Zoom interview. DJ Próvai is in Ireland, spending time in Derry, while Móglaí Bap and Mo Chara are soaking in the Indonesian sun, eagerly preparing for their “date with a f— swimming pool.”
“How many people go to Coachella?” Chara asks.
Lola Young conquered TikTok with ‘Messy.’ Now she’s looking for more
“I’m a cocky little s—, so obviously I want to talk about myself,” says Lola Young.
When Lola Young visits Los Angeles for work — something the singer-songwriter from South London has been doing with increasing frequency over the six years since she signed a major-label record deal at age 18 — she usually stays among the young and creatively inclined in Silver Lake.
“But right now we’re in Bel-Air,” she says with a slightly sheepish expression on a recent morning.
Coachella 2025 food lineup is stacked with heavy hitters. Here are the spots to visit
It’s not just residents and local bands emptying out of Los Angeles and trekking to Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival this year. Some of the region’s best restaurants and chefs are joining them too.
The Go-Go’s are back again, still real, raw and ready for Coachella and Cruel World
Perhaps no one is more excited about the reunited Go-Go’s upcoming slate of high-profile gigs than Gina Schock. The 67-year-old drummer missed the band’s last big Los Angeles shows — in 2022 at the Crypto.com Arena and a three-night stand at the Hollywood Bowl in 2018 — due to health issues that required surgery on her thumb and to fuse three vertebrae together in her neck, respectively.
Now, however, Schock is healthy and looking forward to powering the band through a club set at one of their old haunts, the Roxy, on Wednesday, and then Friday and April 18 at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. After playing dates in San Francisco and Las Vegas, they’ll wrap it up at the Cruel World festival in Pasadena on May 17, making the Go-Go’s one of the few bands to play the larger, more eclectic and current Indio festival and the ’80s-leaning Pasadena fest in the same calendar year.
Chris Lake’s Coachella campground dance party boosts morale of road-weary festgoers on Day Zero
Before releasing his debut album later this summer, Chris Lake spins a few unheard tracks for Coachella’s campers.
Chris Lake isn’t one to plan.
Minutes before he’s set to perform at Coachella’s campgrounds, the British DJ sat in the front seat of a Jeep Wagoneer, uploading music to several USBs. He spent the day mulling over which direction he wanted to take this first-of-its-kind Coachella set. Before the festival gates officially open on Friday, Lake’s Thursday night performance marked the first year a musician played the campground for “Day Zero” festivities.
Kicking off Coachella with a Thursday night dance party
The Thursday before Coachella officially begins — when campers begin arriving at the festival grounds — is colloquially known as Day Zero.
One of the new things for 2025 is a performance specifically for those Day Zero campers. Chris Lake and Sincerely, Manolo performed Thursday night for thousands of campers, many of whom braved long lines and waited hours to get into the campground.
Tips for a successful Coachella from an Indio resident
Rory, a reader who lives in Indio, wrote in to share a few tips for those headed to Coachella this weekend and next.
- You will have bad weather: Either heat or a windstorm. Prepare for both.
- Wear a thin layer for day and a bring a flannel/jacket for nighttime.
- Hydrate more than usual beforehand.
- Don’t go hiking beforehand. It will drain you.
Thanks, Rory!
We’re definitely feeling the heat for Weekend 1 with possible triple digits today, but as someone who still has nightmares about Dustchella back in 2013, I recommend not skipping a hoodie and making sure you have extra masks whenever there’s wind in the forecast.
My Coachella motto for at least 15 years has been “Dehydration is serious business.” I started the hydration a few days before — pay attention, Weekend 2 folks!
The hiking tip is also a crucial one. However, if you have time in the desert after the festival or you have plans to visit during a more temperate time of the year, we have a list of free hikes around Palm Springs.
Everything you need to know about this year’s Coachella
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival returns to the Empire Polo Club in Indio April 11-13 and April 18-20.
Festival season is upon us. As our team embarks on its annual trek to the desert to cover Lady Gaga, Green Day and Post Malone, the art, the food and more at the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, we have some helpful information and tips.
Want to know what to pack? What to eat? What Coachella-themed parties and events are open to the public? How to watch from the comfort of your couch? We got you.
The artists you don’t want to miss at Coachella on Friday
Whether you’re headed to the festival or watching from home, these are the artists playing Friday at Coachella you don’t want to miss.
7 shops and restaurants that show why Indio is a must-see beyond Coachella
Downtown Indio is attracting new restaurants and shops.
Hundreds of thousands of people descend on Indio each year for Goldenvoice’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach, but few venture beyond the festival grounds. In the past, there wasn’t much to do in the desert city besides grab chips and a decadent Tamale Boat from Arriola’s Tortilleria or shop at Yellow Mart for western wear or a crossbow. Now, that’s all changing. Thanks in part to a business-friendly city government that is investing in art and infrastructure, downtown Indio is growing at an unprecedented pace.
New restaurants like Marcel Ramirez’s Gabino’s Creperie East, Roman Whittaker and Skip Paige’s popular gastropub Indio Taphouse and elevated Italian speakeasy Italica are drawing more people to and around the single-street stripthan have been there in decades. Thrifters can shop for vintage goods at Daniel Mata’s Urban Donkey, and those looking for an alternative nightlife scene can check out Adrian Romero’s Rosemary HiFi to sip beer and natural wines while listening to records on high-end stereo equipment.
Read more about where to eat and what to do in Indio outside of the festival.
Pack these books for Coachella: Your music festival reading lineup
“Whether you’re heading out to Indio, or enjoying the annual exodus of Angelenos, here are some books that give Coachella Valley vibes,” writes Meg Zukin.
It’s festival season. And no, I don’t just mean The Times’ Festival of Books happening at the end of the month (see you at my panel…?). I’m also talking about Coachella and, unfortunately, Stagecoach. Whether you’re heading out to Indio, or enjoying the annual exodus of Angelenos, here are some books that give Coachella Valley vibes. As usual, you’ll also find the latest in lit news below, plus, we hop on the phone with the Best Bookstore in Palm Springs.
What do you want to know about the Coachella festival?
Festivalgoers pose for photos at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Tell us what you want to know about the event.
Our crew consists of veterans who have been covering the festival for decades as well as some first-time Coachella attendees. We’ve chronicled the food, the art, the fashion, the vibes — and, obviously, the music.
We are privileged to have a unique vantage point into one of the world’s biggest music festivals. So we want to know — what do you want to know? And what do you want to see from our live coverage at the festival?
