With the first weekend of Coachella 2025 now in the history books, clear winners have emerged among the dozens of acts who performed, including history-making headliners and small-font breakthroughs.
Best Overall Set: Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga’s headlining set on Friday night was an immediate all-timer: the Mother Monster had created an opera house in the middle of the desert teeming with her own inner demons and mind-blowing choreography that utilized not just the main stage but seemingly every inch of the catwalk and B-stage as well. It was a performance for the ages, and erases her fine-but-not-phenomenal previous performance from 2017 altogether.
Best Non-Main Stage Set: Gustavo Dudamel
When LA Phil conductor Gustavo Dudamel was revealed on the lineup, anyone who’s been paying attention to orchestral moments at Coachella knew to expect something special. In the past, both Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer have played incredible sunset sets on the Outdoor Theater, and it stood to reason that Dudamel would continue the tradition. In fact, he surpassed it, which is no surprise: he’s a music fan first, and his clear joy in, uh, orchestrating orchestra-meets-pop mashups with Maren Morris, Zedd, and especially LL Cool was palpable and incredible. This is the set to watch next weekend: rumors are the guests will be totally different, with Dave Grohl and Cynthia Erivo both rumored to be stepping up.
Best Surprise: Lorde, Billie Eilish and Troye Sivan With Charli XCX
Charli XCX’s main stage set was one of the most well-attended of the whole weekend, but she decided to keep the production itself minimal: for most of the performance, it was just her onstage with glaring white lights and a mid-stage lift at various levels. She made up for it, though, with star-power, first welcoming Troye Sivan on “Talk Talk” before bringing out Lorde (“Girl, Ao Confusing”) and Billie Eilish (“Guess”) for a late-set slew of bestie vibing and singing.
Best Country Moment: Post Malone
Post Malone’s headlining set was a delightful surprise which found the multi-genre singer totally retooling his catalog, y’all-ing up pop hits like “Sunflower” and “Better Now” with a crack eight-piece band backing him up amid pyro that would make Rammstein jealous. Some of the arrangements leaned more Bon Jovi than Waylon Jennings, but all of them would fit on country radio — especially his hit with Morgan Wallen, “I Had Some Help” — making Malone’s transition from hip-hop star to red dirt songwriter complete. Other highlights of the twangy persuasion included Shaboozey, who took the outdoor stage early in the day with Noah Cyrus joining for a sweet duet on “My Fault.”
Best Genre: Rock
Punk stalwarts Green Day are the first true rock headliners to take the Coachella stage since the pandemic (Blink-182 filled in for Frank Ocean last-minute in 2023) but their pyro-and-hit-filled show was just one of a large number of big rock moments. Weezer surprised fans with a set that included a singalong to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” Jimmy Eat World led the crowd through “The Middle,” the Go-Gos reunited to show a new generation of kids where pop-punk’s roots came from (with a guest spot from Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, natch), and the Misfits barreled through late-night horror-core that inspired a circle pit — as did long running LA punks The Circle Jerks.
Best Breakouts: Lola Young and Kneecap
British newcomer Lola Young was the one to watch on day one. While an unquestionable breakthrough moment for the 23-year old, in battling nerves and heatstroke, she literally vomited halfway through the set. Returning to lead the crowd in a singalong of her hit song “Messy,” it felt like a generational statement-of-purpose for outcasts surrounded by so many beautiful people. Elsewhere, Irish rappers Kneecap conjured up Odd Future energy with their combative, barrel-keg Sonora set making good on the promise of their self-titled, Oscar-shortlisted movie. And Viagra Boys delivered a similarly high-energy set to throngs of sweaty revelers in the Gobi tent.
Best Band Member to Perform Solo: Blackpink’s Lisa
Two years ago, Blackpink was the first K-Pop group to headline a day of Coachella; this year, two of the band’s breakout stars played solo sets vying for breakout-star status. Both Lisa and Jennie’s sets were full of fun pop bauble, and it was less a competition than a lovefest (Lisa and fellow Blackpinker Rosé were spotted in the VIP section for Jennie’s Sunday set.) That said, Lisa is riding a pop-culture moment as a breakout star on this season’s The White Lotus, so we’ll give her Friday Sahara set just a bit of an edge.
Best Food: Outstanding In The Field
The decade-old dinner series Outstanding In The Field may be a pricy add-on to a Coachella ticket at more than $350, but it always delivers a welcome and delicious respite for a couple hours and this year was no exception. Sunday’s dinner from chef Tara Monsod included a salad full of much-needed actual fresh veggies, a sweet-and-sour pork tenderloin, and a gorgeous grapefruit cocktail from Gray Whale Gin. Of course, there are tons of less-bougie options on the field: the go-to meal this year seemed to be paella, but burritos from chef Eric Greenspan and sandwiches from Florence’s All’Antico Vinaio were among the hand-hold winners.
Best New Attraction: Red Bull Mirage
Traditionally, Coachella has debuted new structures on the field, and this year one of the most visible additions was the Red Bull Mirage, a pyramid-meets-apres-ski structure facing the DJ-heavy Quazar stage. The price is a turn off for many — the structure houses a pop-up Nobu restaurant with $350 omakase dinners — but its mark on the field, especially in the dance-adjacent areas, was undeniable.
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