1732308855-0/17-Lede-(Image)1732308855-0.jpeg "gaga will return to the festival after eight years photo file")
Music enthusiasts unite for one of the most anticipated music events of the year, which is finally gearing up for its return in 2025. Coachella has released its lineup as well as presale information on its website. With registration beginning on November 22 at 11 AM pacific time, those wishing to score tickets are urged to opt for Weekend 2.
Friday frontmen
The informative poster lists all the dozens of artists performing for the two-weekend festival, which will be held in April next year. Among those headlining and performing on the Friday dates are Lady Gaga, Missy Elliot, LISA, FKA twigs, Tyla, and many more.
Gaga last performed at the event in 2017 as an eleventh-hour replacement for Beyoncé, who was pregnant at the time. This year marks Gaga’s second time setting the stage at the annual event.
Although next year will hallmark LISA’s solo debut on the big stage, she and the rest of her band BLACKPINK have history at Coachella already. In 2019, the quartet became the first K-pop girl group to mount the stage. And in 2023, BLACKPINK established itself as a star attraction by performing for two weekends. “Still feels surreal that we did this,” the members told Rolling Stone.
Saturday and Sunday stars
For the Saturday dates, the poster highlights rock band Green Day and pop musician Charlie xcx as the top acts among others. Additionally, this section includes Clairo, who has taken the stage at the festival in 2019.
And good news for K-pop fans, first-timer group ENHYPEN will be another industry act who will be taking the stage aside from the experienced LISA. This puts ENHYPEN on top as the K-pop group to make the fastest debut at Coachella since the members officially began their journey as a band.
The third and final Sunday dates will feature Post Malone, Megan Thee Stallion, Zedd, JENNIE, Ty Dolla $ign, and Mohamed Ramadan among many others. Much like her BLACKPINK bandmate LISA, JENNIE too is familiar with the festival, though this will be her first time performing solo at Coachella.
This isn’t the first time Megan will see the stage, as just this year the rapper performed at the festival, hence making her upcoming performance a consecutive return. Post Malone has also seen the stage twice before, with 2018 marking his debut on the big stage and 2023 affording him a special guest appearance alongside Bad Bunny.
Desert’s designer
What’s more is that Travis Scott has been picked to curate the experience, which qualifies as his return to the festival after eight years. Aside from the opportunity of designing the desert, he will also perform on the first and last days of the weekends.
According to HipHopDX, the rapper promised a “Cactus Jack desert takeover”, which will “curate a fully immersive and experiential world within the desert.” Furthermore, Travis assured that his Saturday night performances “will debut an entirely new era of music to the world.”
Before this, the 33-year-old rapper was all set to perform at Coachella in 2020. However, the crisis of the pandemic compelled the cancellation of the event entirely. In 2022, however, Travis made the list once more, but his performance was called off due to the Astroworld controversy.
In 2021, the SICKO MODE singer found himself at the centre of a tragedy at his Astroworld festival when a throng of his audience charged forward in the crowded space. This resulted in the deaths of ten people with many left injured. He spoke to GQ about the incident for the first time.
“Those fans were like my family. You know, I love my fans to the utmost,” Travis said. “It has its moments where it gets rough and yeah. You just feel for those people. And their families.”
However, he and fellow performer Drake were in hot water at the time, as onlookers accused them of keeping the concert going despite the catastrophe at hand. The fire chief at Houston commented that the rapper should have stopped performing much longer ago, confirmed BBC. Travis later confessed that he wasn’t aware of just how awfully the situation had escalated.
Later that year, a petition was launched on change.org, appealing for the removal of him as a Goldenvoice performer. The petitioner’s grounds were Travis’ “gross negligence and sheer lack of compassion for human life”. The controversy resulted in the rapper being replaced by Kanye West, who later also dropped out of his slot.
However, it is evident that the fire of the past has dulled as Travis has been invited back to the festival, now being entrusted with the additional responsibility of a designer.
The star-studded lineup of Coachella 2024 saw Lana Del Rey, Doja Cat, Tyler the Creator, and No Doubt as the headliners of the event. This year’s list also celebrated a variety of rising acts like Khruangbin, while also giving the spotlight to those already at the top of their game, such as Lil Uzi Vert, Grimes, and Deftones.