The headliners for the 2026 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival are Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G. But with greater than 130 different acts, virtually all of them streaming reside, the pageant gives many alternative experiences.
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
disguise caption
toggle caption
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
Coachella is the spring break of the music world: a pair of lengthy weekends within the California desert, that includes over 100 acts throughout eight levels spanning too many genres to rely, from classic teams mounting reunions to the largest pop stars on the planet to rising abilities with viral hits. Nearly your complete occasion is streamed live via YouTube, beginning Friday afternoon, which makes the prospect of catching extra acts simpler — you do not have to dash throughout the grounds of Indio’s Empire Polo Club to make it from one set to the following. But even when you’re watching from house, the prospect of mapping your route by the weekend so as to catch the best attainable assortment of reside experiences might be overwhelming.
To assist, three members of NPR Music’s crew have sifted by the lineup to determine a day-by-day information. Below, you will discover must-see acts and suggestions to make sure you catch the artists you must prioritize when set occasions battle. (Note: All set occasions listed beneath are Pacific.)
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
FRIDAY
Plan by Dora Levite
Must see:
“Young millionaire, man, I feel like Weezy,” says fakemink on his latest EP The Boy who cried Terrified ., a ramp-up to his upcoming album. The 20-year-old London prince of SoundCloud rap has racked up sufficient well-deserved hype by a gentle stream of fantastic hyperpop singles and star-studded cosigns (SZA, Drake, Frank Ocean, Ecco2K) to maintain a large North American tour bookended by Coachella on one facet and Lollapalooza on the opposite.
Naturally, fakemink’s hype has sparked a slew of on-line discourse, which has seemingly had the impact of splitting his fan base in two: day-one devotees who insist the remainder of the world is late, and new appreciators who really feel their valuable consideration is what introduced him to the worldwide sphere. Regardless of the place you fall, that is the must-see set of the day — an opportunity to hear a few of his perfect music and to work out, when you even care, the place you stand in his fandom.
Day plan:
The greatest approach to put together your self for a day at a music pageant is to set up your stage loyalties early. Start with Doom Dave‘s DJ set at 1 p.m. at the Sonora stage, then launch all of your pent-up pageant nervousness with a cathartic scream when Las Vegas screamo band Febuary takes over.
At 2:10 p.m., I’d watch the Cahuilla Bird Singers and Dancers at the Gobi tent, a Coachella staple for the previous few years. At 2:50 p.m., the pop star of the hour, Slayyyter, comes on for her first present with a reside band since her wonderful new album WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA. Head again to the Sonora stage at 3:40 p.m. to catch the vast majority of Wednesday‘s set — the North Carolina band launched one of many best rock albums of 2025 and is a assured stellar reside present.
After that, issues get difficult. Start with Lykke Li on the Outdoor Theatre stage at 5:20 p.m.; final time she performed Coachella in 2015, she was a pageant spotlight, and now with new music on the horizon, she’s doubtless to feed the nostalgia the pageant loves and produce some extra glowing pop. Head over to Mojave no later than 5:50 to hopefully see Central Cee shut out his set with “Sprinter” (cross your fingers for a Dave cameo). Before Dijon begins at the Outdoor Theatre at 6:40 p.m., you will have time to see the primary little bit of CMAT, a recent face in country-tinged theatrical pop, on the Gobi stage.
Next, in fact, is fakemink — the buzziest title of the day. 7:20 p.m. on the Gobi stage.
From there all of it falls into place: Turnstile (8:05 p.m., Outdoor Theatre, sure to be an ideal power increase), Sabrina Carpenter (9:05 p.m., Main stage, each individual ought to see “Manchild” reside as soon as of their life), Ethel Cain (10:35 p.m., Mojave tent, the Coachella haunting expertise), and end the evening with Blood Orange (11:55 p.m., Mojave — possibly latest collaborator Brendan Yates of Turnstile will skip over from the Outdoor Theatre to be a part of the enjoyable).
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
SATURDAY
Plan by Sheldon Pearce
Must see:
There is one thing thrilling about watching Alex G strap on an accordion mid-song for “June Guitar,” from final 12 months’s Headlights, throughout a gig, and that alone may be definitely worth the worth of a Coachella ticket. (OK, in all probability not, however positively value seeing on a livestream at no cost.) The solely factor stopping the DIY king turned major-label convert from being the can’t-miss efficiency of Saturday is a last-minute addition: 2025 Rock Hall inductee Jack White, who joins the primary weekend as a shock set at the Mojave tent. He doubtless will not play “Seven Nation Army” — so what. You do not even actually have to like his previous couple of albums to admire him reside. It’s the one discussion board the place his finicky guitar methods at all times repay large — he’ll seize three to 4 axes, rotate by them throughout the set, and shred like he is enjoying to scrape collectively bus fare out of Indio.
Day plan:
To get the most effective Saturday expertise, begin your stream at 2:40 p.m. with the primary 20 minutes of Blondshell‘s set at the Outdoor Theatre earlier than flipping over to catch Jack White within the Mojave tent.
Stretch your legs, seize a chew, stroll the canine, then faucet in for Ecca Vandal, a South African-born, Melbourne-raised punk-rock rapper who performs the Sonora stage at 4:20 p.m. Hit Alex G (5:10 p.m., Outdoor stage) and the gripping (and polarizing) band Geese (6:15 p.m., Gobi) again to again.
You can choose in or out of greatest new artist Grammy shortlister Sombr‘s 7:05 p.m. set at the Outdoor theatre — possibly you need to see what all of the hype is about or possibly you want to step away from the display for a spell — earlier than embracing the exuberant Afropop pioneer Davido (7:50 p.m., Gobi).
In the primary main battle of the day, catch PinkPantheress at 8:55 p.m. within the Mojave tent as an alternative of The Strokes over on the principle stage; certain, she’s nostalgic for the period the band bought well-known in, however her time is now, post-Fancy That? and her Alysa Liu cosign. If you are actually craving for post-punk revivalists from NYC’s aughts indie scene, don’t have any concern: Interpol is on at Mojave proper after. Then keep up late for no matter Swag hijinks Saturday headliner Justin Bieber has deliberate for the principle stage.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
SUNDAY
Plan by Anamaria Sayre
Must see:
My mates: Little Simz. This something-for-everyone artist who retains her personal unmistakable aptitude has graced the desert stage earlier than, showing in tiny print on the 2019 poster and making a visitor look with Gorillaz in 2023. On Sunday, the U.Okay. rapper is again with area to launch the total Simz circulate on a a lot bigger stage.
Simz has at all times had a present for taking a reside alternative to hit you over the pinnacle along with her rapid-fire circulate. She unleashes venom with spectacular management and is at all times sure to combine equal components slam and R&B. In this late afternoon solo slot, she may have a possibility to fill out her set with a good reside band or possibly sneak in some strings, all the higher to symbolize a sound that will get greater and brighter with every new document.
Day plan:
The desert is a marathon, not a dash. You’ve made it to Sunday (whether or not on the bottom or digital) so that you’re well-versed in pacing. We have to begin out gradual and possibly somewhat unhappy, so first cease is Samia (enjoying the Mojave tent at 3:15 p.m.), main instantly into Little Simz on the identical stage.
From there, maintain the power up by hopping over to Clipse (5:15 p.m., Outdoor Theatre) for what’s certain to be a efficiency as gripping as their off-kilter beats. Do a fast flip midway by to make it over to the Sonora stage by 5:50 p.m. for the final half of Los Retros. It’s certain to be sonic whiplash, provided that these younger romantic crooners convey front room vibes, but it surely’s definitely worth the dash, and anyway, by this level within the weekend you are a professional at juggling disparate sounds. When that is over, when you wanna lean into the temper shifts and go for another heart-rate spike by way of hardcore cleanse, you possibly can simply make the final quarter-hour of Suicidal Tendencies again at the Mojave tent.
Take somewhat breather, get some sustenance, and hop again to it for some straight-from-Norway dance flooring aptitude with Röyksopp. If you are watching the reside stream, you might have to skip the Norwegian gathering (Yuma stage is not at the moment included on the YouTube schedule) and commerce it for a bumping celebration nearer to house — Georgia-bred rapper Young Thug on the principle stage.
Now we’re sprinting to the end: You’ll cut up time at a pair of worthwhile overlapping units by beginning with avant-garde English singer FKA twigs (innovation is twigs’ most tried and true mode of being, so there’s sure to be one thing we have by no means seen earlier than), and (when you can tear your self away earlier than the tip) shifting on to catch the tip of Chicago’s personal French Police. Close out the evening on the principle stage, beginning at 9:55 p.m. with the primary Latina to ever headline Coachella, la bichota herself, Karol G.
