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Coachella Weekend One Recap: Here’s What Went Down in the Desert
Coachella isn’t your average festival. It’s enormous, buzzing, chaotic, hotter than heck, yet still one of the most thrilling weekends in music. With over 170 performances in three days, across eight stages, and crowds the size of small cities, it’s a sweaty celebration in the California desert. Let’s break it down day by day.
FRIDAY
The weekend kicked off hot. Like, 100-degree-scorching-your-chanclas hot. But that didn’t stop anyone. Coachella was packed from the jump, and by the time Lady Gaga took over the main stage Friday night, it was already feeling like a fever dream. Gaga brought Mayhem in the Desert, a massive, two-hour set that looked like a full-blown opera-meets-rave. Her show, “The Art of Personal Chaos,” was theatrical, dramatic, and full of commentary on fame. A manifesto disguised as a concert, with dancers, giant screens, and Gaga arguing with herself onstage.
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Before Gaga blew our minds, the day was stacked. Tyla made her Coachella debut at sunset and came ready. She kicked things off with “Push 2 Start,” dazzled head to toe, and brought out Becky G for their duet “On My Body,” giving us a pure Latina x Amapiano fusion moment. Tyla danced on a tiger, spray-painted her name on it in Brat green, and ended her set with “Water”, complete with a splash in a kiddie pool.
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Missy Elliott hit the stage looking like a transformer and delivered hit after hit. She made it loud and clear: She’s been dominating the game for 20 years and hasn’t missed a beat. GloRilla took her set to the next level with Glochella, stepping out in an alien mask, running through hits like “Yeah Glo,” previewing new music, and creating a memorable “F.N.F.” moment that had the crowd absolutely hyped.
LISA made it clear she’s a lot more than just her White Lotus role. Five outfit changes, dancers on point, and songs like “Dream,” “Moonlit Floor,” and “Money” showcased her complete pop-star prowess. And then there was Benson Boone. He made a grand entrance from the top of a staircase to kick off his set and somehow took it even further. He surprised everyone by bringing out Brian May from Queen for a “Bohemian Rhapsody” performance that gave everyone chills and wrapped it all up with “Beautiful Things,” leaving no dry eyes in the audience.
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The Marias gave us a break from all the madness with their dreamy, late-day set that made it snow in the desert. María Zardoya floated across the stage like a desert angel while fake flakes fell on the crowd. We definitely needed that. Three 6 Mafia wrapped up the night with a surprise guest moment: MGK and Travis Barker stormed the stage, threw on bandanas, and turned “Hit A Muthaf—a” into a mosh pit anthem.
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SATURDAY
Saturday came with clouds and cooler weather (finally), but the energy was still maxed out. T-Pain brought one of the weekend’s most fun sets. Twenty years in the game and is still dancing like it’s prom night. He ran through “Buy U a Drank,” “I’m N Luv,” and even hit a Journey cover.
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Enhypen, the fastest K-pop group to make it from debut to Coachella, showed up in full denim drip and brought a cinematic performance. Burning city visuals, cloud transformations, and hits like “Walk the Line” and “Sweet Venom” had the crowd in it.
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Then came Gustavo Dudamel, the Venezuelan conductor who brought the LA Philharmonic, and half of Latin America, with him. His golden hour set jumped from Wagner to John Williams to Vivaldi but also made room for Becky G, Maren Morris, Ca7riel y Paco Amoroso (who had already performed an amazing set on friday), Zedd, and LL Cool J.
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Charli XCX threw a Bratchella-themed party that had the entire main stage styled like her album cover. She brought out Troye Sivan, Lorde, and Billie Eilish, one after the other. It was chaotic, sweaty, and pure Bratchella energy. Green Day headlined, and the world needed it. Billie Joe Armstrong shouted “Coachella!” like 20 times, twisted the lyrics to call out MAGA, and gave a shoutout to Palestine mid-song. “American Idiot” still rocks in 2025.
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Travis Scott wrapped up the night with marching bands, flying dancers, and sneak peeks of new music like “She Goin Dumb” and “On Jacques.” He rappelled down the stage, walked through fire, and turned Coachella into his own otherworldly venue. And while all that was going on, Rawayana turned the desert into a full-blown Latin American fiesta. The Venezuelan band brought out Danny Ocean and more, making their set a tropical explosion. Absolutely everyone was dancing. Also, on Saturday? El Malilla, representing Mexico with a set so crowded the Sonora tent looked like rush hour.
SUNDAY
By day three, everyone was sunburned, sore, and sleep-deprived, but the lineup was still stacked. Junior H took the main stage and made history as the only Latino headliner on the biggest stage all weekend. He brought a full band, Peso Pluma and Tito Doble P, turning his set into a corrido-powered celebration. The “¡Viva México!” chants were nonstop.
Post Malone wrapped up the weekend all by himself. No special guests and no backup. Just him, a pack of smokes, some heartfelt chats, and a massive screen flipping between desert scenes, cityscapes, and heartbreak moments. He made sure to thank the audience after every single song. We got a mix of pop, country, rap, and everything in between. And when he shouted “They said I was a one-hit wonder, look at me now,” it hit home.
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Before Posty, Megan Thee Stallion came through with high energy and surprised us by bringing out Queen Latifah. On the EDM scene, Spain’s Dennis Cruz packed the Yuma stage with over 5,000 people while Tiesto played nearby. Giant mirrorball sharks. Twelve-hour New Year’s sets condensed into one tight, euphoric hour and a half.
And just like that, Coachella weekend one was a wrap. Dusty boots, sunburned shoulders, new obsessions, and sore legs later, the biggest festival in the world reminded us of something important: music is global now. Weekend two? Let’s go.
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