Okay, we need to talk about Weekend 1 of Coachella 2026 because it genuinely altered our brain chemistry.
The lineup this year? Chef’s kiss. Someone sat down and built this thing specifically to make sure every single person in that desert found their moment, and they pulled it off.
The headliners alone were incredible obviously. Sabrina Carpenter opened the weekend and absolutely blew us away. The production was insane, the setlist was perfect, and honestly she set a bar that the rest of the weekend had to live up to. Then Justin Bieber came back and… yeah. If you were there, you know. If you weren’t, just picture thousands of people losing their minds and crying simultaneously. That was that. Also fun fact, Reports indicate over 100 million people tuned in to watch the “Bieberchella”. INSANE. Watching JB sing to his younger self was just such a beautiful moment, and we are so grateful to have been a part of it.
Now let’s talk Karol G. Closing out the weekend as the first Latina headliner in Coachella history? Historic doesn’t even cover it — and honestly, that phrase feels almost too small for what actually happened on that stage.
From the second she walked out, it was clear this wasn’t just a performance. It was a statement. The production was massive, the visuals were stunning, and she commanded that crowd like she’d been headlining Coachella her entire career. But what made it feel genuinely different from any other headlining set was the weight of it. You could feel it in the crowd, especially for the Latinas in that audience who have been waiting for this moment for decades.
She didn’t just show up and perform her hits (although she absolutely did that too, and the crowd knew every single word). She brought the culture with her. The dancers, the fashion, the way she moved between Spanish and English like it was the most natural thing in the world, because it is. It was fully, unapologetically her, and it was exactly what that stage needed.
But what had us running between stages all weekend was the depth of the undercard. The Strokes and Ethel Cain for the indie kids. Iggy Pop and David Byrne making you feel like you were experiencing something timeless. And the electronic programming was genuinely one of the strongest we’ve seen — Disclosure, Martin Garrix, GRiZ, Lane 8, Subtronics?? Yeah he created a new genre this weekend. The Sahara and Yuma tents did not let up for a second. House, bass, techno, all of it. It low-key felt like three different festivals happening at once and we were trying to be at all of them.
Hip-hop heads were well fed too. Playboi Carti, Gunna, Don Tolliver — the energy was unmatched.
And can we just appreciate how global this lineup felt? K-pop, Latin, international DJs, surprise guests, collaborations you did NOT see coming, every set had a “wait, are they actually doing this right now?” moment. The kind of thing that ends up on your For You page before you even make it back to your campsite.
Weekend 1 delivered, full stop. It wasn’t just a great lineup — it was an experience, which is really the only thing that matters at Coachella anyway.
Weekend 2… you’ve got a lot to live up to. And we are certain you will <3
XOXO,
The Festival Babes