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USA – Coachella: The Desert Becomes a Music Cathedral. Green Day, Charli XCX, Benson Boone—What a Show
Two weekends (April 11–13 and 18–20) of music, history, and color: the coolest event of the year has kicked off. Gaga is the superstar of Day 1. Benson Boone’s tribute to Freddie Mercury, joined by legend Brian May, is already one for the books.
Lady Gaga lit up Coachella with a 3D chess match alongside her Poker Face dancers, capping off a gothic nightmare-style performance in front of a massive crowd. Fresh off the release of her latest album, Mayhem, Gaga delivered a nearly two-hour set featuring themes of death and rebirth—such as the dramatic Disease number, where she appeared next to a skeleton—alongside new dance-pop tracks and beloved hits like Paparazzi and Bad Romance.
With an attendance of 125,000 people per day, the two weekends of this iconic April festival in Indio, California, have become a cornerstone of pop culture, influencing global trends in music, art, and fashion through unforgettable performances and unexpected collaborations with some of the world’s biggest stars.
The first weekend of open-air music in the desert kicked off yesterday with sweltering temperatures and major access issues—many fans reported waiting in 12-hour lines with no access to restrooms, food, or drinking water. Despite the chaos, Missy Elliott brought down the house with a headliner-worthy performance filled with psychedelic visuals, laser beams, and iconic hits like Lose Control, Get Ur Freak On, and Work It.
Lisa from BLACKPINK, fresh off her acting role as Thidapon “Mook” Sornsin—the ambitious resort employee in Thailand from The White Lotus—set the stage ablaze with a solo set, having previously performed twice at Coachella with her bandmates.
Green Day performed for an hour and a half, delivering fan favorites like Basket Case and Boulevard of Broken Dreams, as well as fresh tracks from their 2024 album Saviors, including Bobby Sox. Just beforehand, on a nearby stage, U.S. Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders made a surprise appearance. “The future of America depends on your generation,” he said. “You can ignore what’s happening, but you do so at your own peril. We need you to rise up and fight for justice.” He introduced pop singer Clairo and thanked her for using her platform to speak openly about ending the war in Gaza.
Travis Scott returned to Coachella years after being slated as the headliner for the canceled 2020 edition due to the COVID pandemic. His show, themed “Redesigning the Desert,” opened with a brass orchestra and played with themes of gravity and surrealism.
Benson Boone, alongside legendary Queen guitarist Brian May, delivered one of the most epic moments of this year’s festival. Boone performed his hit Beautiful Things and honored Freddie Mercury with a powerful rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. A video of Boone’s acrobatic feat on stage—a somersault jump with a flawless landing—has already gone viral.