Sunday afternoons at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival have a special vibe all their own.

Everyone’s feeling the effects of the first two days in the desert. “Is that your hangover walk?” a festival staffer teased as fans straggled slowly from the parking lot to the gates just before 3 p.m. Sunday.

Hmm. Maybe a bit of the old punk rock is what you need to put a little pep in your step.

The English punk rock duo made up of Bobby and Bobbie Vylan opened their set with only a drum set and vocals, but they didn’t need anything else to fully submerge the crowd at Sonora. Bob Vylan’s punk anthems are often geared toward their unapologetic flair of fighting racism, fascism and income inequality. The group performed “We Live Here,” “Hunger Games,” and “I Heard You Want Your County Back,” which got the crowd chanting back some of the lyrics in each chorus.

An hour or two later, another U.K. punk duo, Soft Play, took over the Sonora tent with a nearly packed crowd. While most of their music can be characterized as heavy, there is an element of groove that you can’t help but bop your head to. They’re also a lot of fun to watch, from jokes about writing music to the perspective on Keanu Reeves’ “John Wick” character and the guys making space for an all-girl mosh pit. The energy aspect is also relentless, with Isaac Holman (lead vocals, drums) and Laurie Vincent (backing vocals, guitar, and bass. At the end of the set, they brought out fellow English duo Bob Vylan, who joined them to perform “One More Day Won’t Hurt.”

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Outside in the hot afternoon sun, Meute, a techno marching band from Germany, had the crowd at the Outdoor Stage grooving to their brass-and-percussion arrangements of techno classics.

With baritone and bass saxophones, and a tuba to boot, the low bass lines got your booty grooving, while trumpet, alto sax and a glockenspiel cut clearly through the high notes.

That the 11 guys in the band seemed to be having such a good time despite the heat that surely broiled them inside their red wool band jackets only further impressed.

To escape the heat and catch one of the most buzzed-about shoegaze sets of the weekend, fans packed into the air-conditioned Sonora Tent for Wisp.

Known for weaving in unexpected nu-metal and dream pop, her set rippled with distortion-heavy guitars and airy vocals that felt haunting. “If you don’t know me yet, I’m Wisp,” she said to the packed tent, where heart-shaped fans bobbed in the crowd like a soft sea of devotion.

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Between fuzzed-out choruses, she asked fans to jump along, building a real-time connection. “I’ve been working on my album this past year,” she shared before introducing a brand-new, still-unnamed track. She closed with another unreleased single due out next week.

For many, it was a chance to catch an underground star in the glow-up phase. Highlights included “Your Face,” “Enough For You” and “Sword.”

Next door in the Gobi Tent, the Canadian indie band Beaches rocked out to an overflow audience. The all-female band had a sparkling sound on stage and lyrics with a fun point of view.“One thing about Canadian girls, we love beer,” one band member said by way of introducing the song “Shower Beer.” Their set ended with lead singer Jordan Miller’s song “Blame Brett,” a tune written specifically about her ex — she gave him a heads up ahead of time — that had the crowd all singing along: “Don’t blame me, blame Brett / Blame my ex, blame my ex, blame my ex.”

Phew. Feel for you, buddy

Shaboozey, the country-hip-hop artist, opened his set with an impressive stage production dubbed “Coachella’s Country Hour” at the Coachella Mainstage. The set was designed to emulate a desert scene with cacti and brown, yellow, and orange plains projected on the screens. He performed “Blink Twice,” a new song, live for the first time, and a guest duet of “My Fault” with Noah Cyrus. He closed his set with his hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which he performed at last year’s festival to a much smaller crowd.

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As the desert sun dipped lower, beabadoobee transformed the Coachella stage into a floral escape, complete with cherry blossom trees and lush greenery that softened the edges of her grungy, ’90s-inspired sound. “Coachella, you have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen,” she said sweetly before launching into “Pretty Eyes,” her voice airy and rich as ever.

Born in the Philippines and raised in London, beabadoobee (aka Bea Laus) has become one of the defining voices of Gen Z guitar rock, channeling the lo-fi melancholy of bands like The Cranberries and The Sundays while giving it a modern edge. The crowd swayed through “10:36,” shouted along to “Talk,” and melted during “The Perfect Pair.”

“This song is very special for me, and I get to play it with you guys,” she said before easing into “Beaches,” one of the emotional high points of the set. Later, she dedicated “She Plays Bass” to “the girls,” giving a heartfelt shoutout to her bassist Lydia: “Give it up for Lydia on bass! beabadoobee’s performance was a love letter to alternative rock.

Originally Published: April 13, 2025 at 8:00 PM PDT