Headliners Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G earned it from past Coachella performances, but who will be this year’s rising star?
While texting with friends after the Britpop icons Oasis sold out two nights at the Rose Bowl this month, we ended up in a debate over whether the success of the Oasis reunion might get the band booked as a Coachella headliner for 2026.
The answer came late on Monday, Sept. 15, with the unexpectedly early drop of next year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and it was an unspoken but crystal-clear no.
Pop songstress Sabrina Carpenter headlines Friday – our chat thread nailed that one even before her name leaked a few days ago. Pop/R&B singer Justin Bieber gets Saturday, and Colombian reggaeton-pop star Karol G holds down Sunday night.
Pop, pop, pop goes the rock and roll headliners that used to be standard for Coachella. Which isn’t to say there’s no rock on the bill, there’s plenty, but that’s no longer what packs the festival field at the end of the day. If you wanna see Oasis play a big festival, start saving for a trip to the United Kingdom next summer, we suppose.
We took a dive into the lineup on Tuesday looking for trends and highlights for the festival next spring. Here’s what stood out.
They earned it
Both Sabrina Carpenter and Karol G have played the Coachella main stage in the past.
Carpenter’s sunset set in 2024 was a smash with the fans who cheered when Carpenter predicted the future that’s come to be, saying at the close, “See you back here when I headline!” Karol G also played the main stage in 2022, and now she’s worked her way up to headliner.
Bieber’s never had his own set at the desert fest, but he’s been a guest performer there four times, coming out to sing with Ariana Grande, Tems and Wizkid, Daniel Caesar and Chance the Rapper. So, in a different way, he, too, has earned his way in.
Still rockin’
Just because no rock bands have the clout to headline Coachella now doesn’t mean there’s not a lot of good rock and roll of many different genres to be found.
On Friday’s lineup, Nine Inch Noize, which is the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, plus the electronic music DJ/producer Boys Noize, and hardcore punkers Turnstile have prominent spots on the first line of the bill.
