GAY POP Picks: The Highlights (& Lowlights) of Coachella 2025
Weekend one of the music festival-cum-influencer convention is over. What were the best and worst bits?
Highlight: Gagachella
Be honest, you knew this would make the list. Though this isn’t Gaga’s first headline slot at Coachella, her performance this year transcended her 2017 show in every feasible way: a theatrical, choreo-heavy show that immediately climbed the ranks as one of the festival’s all-time best performances. Despite the comparisons to Beychella being, at this point, exhausting (there’s a post coming about that very issue sometime next week), Gaga made it clear that she is a pop star through and through. The breath control! The chess setpiece! The ‘Garden of Eden’ dance break! God, I’m so gay! (Then, again, this is a publication called GAY POP.)
Lowlight: Dead crowds
It’s been well-documented that US audiences are usually more subdued than the rest of the world. But Christ alive, no-one at Coachella seemed to be having any fun this year! This year was a new nadir for the seas of phones in crowds (which is absolutely a byproduct of inviting every influencer on God’s green earth), who seemed to do little more than shuffle politely. British artists in particular got the short end of the stick; the crowds for rock acts Beabadoobee and Sam Fender seemed like they’d rather be anywhere else, while ravers The Prodigy elicited little more than a mild two-step. Come back to the UK, guys. We’ll show these IG models how to party.
Highlight: Bernie Sanders’ Coachella debut
Of all the items on everyone’s Coachella bingo card, Clairo being introduced by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders was probably absent. But that’s exactly what happened, when Sanders gave an impassioned speech late Saturday night on the Outdoor Theatre stage denouncing Trump and his oligarchal minions. For Clairo, who’s something of an activist herself (advocating in support of a ceasefire in Gaza, for one), an appearance from Sanders was mutually beneficial, helping to spread the word about the importance of Gen-Z voters while bolstering the image of each. (For what it’s worth, the Clairo set that followed Sanders’ speech was typically lovely – or, well, charming.)
Lowlight: The heat
This year’s Coachella was hotter than usual, with temperatures reaching triple digits in Fahrenheit – close to forty degrees in Celsius. Not only were attendees struggling to cope, but the acts themselves appeared to get a bit flustered. One such notable case was Lola Young, who – in the midst of delivering a frankly great set – threw up at the side of the stage. (Admirably, she apologised and continued singing.) There’s a darkly humourous irony in a festival like Coachella, which occurs in a desert and consumes insane amounts of resources like water, being directly affected by climate change. A new meaning for ‘the grass is always greener’?
Highlight: Guests, guests, guests
We always knew there’d be special guests at Coachella. There always are. This year, though, the sheer breadth of special appearances by artists in other artists’ sets seemed to best the festival’s previous standards. There were the welcome, safe predictions (Kali Uchis joining Jennie, Becky G joining Tyla) alongside unpredictable combos (Queen’s Brian May doing guitar on Benson Boone’s cover of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, Danny Brown rapping over ‘party 4 u’ at A.G. Cook’s D.J. set) and batshit crazy collabs (LL Cool J linking up with the Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic Orchestra – I know, I didn’t think I’d ever write that sentence either). The highlight of all these was not unforeseen but was nonetheless overwhelming: the hat-trick dopamine rush of Charli xcx introducing Troye Sivan, then Lorde, then Billie Eilish. That photo of them together? That’s my Mount Rushmore.
Lowlight: The Charli xcx discourse
Speaking of xcx, the Twitter thumb warriors had a field day with her performance. (I know this is a strictly online gripe and not a lowlight of the festival itself, but fuck it.) Much of the furore was directed at the minimalism of the set itself, as well as a photo of xcx at an afterparty wearing a sash that reads ‘Miss Should Be Headliner’. To the former, I’ll say this: xcx’s performance wasn’t for you, it was for people actually present at the festival – the lack of intricate stage design or elaborate graphics only accentuated xcx’s electrifying performance.
The latter, though? If you think xcx’s ego is truly that huge, you might not be a true fan. Back in 2019, for instance, she jokingly claimed that her self-titled album was ‘the best fucking album in the world’, so what the keyboard trolls have ostensibly perceived as narcissism is truly just an extension of xcx’s sarcasm. As one of our most self-aware artists, she knows as well as you do that she’s got at least a couple more smash-hit albums to go before she reaches the level of a Green Day or a Gaga. Let her have some fun! (She clearly seemed to.)
Highlight: Two acts auditioned for headline slots
Two of my personal favourite sets both occurred on the Sunday, on very different stages at very different times. Ghanaian singer Amaarae, though far too underrated to be a headliner just yet, made a striking case as to why she should be, in a mid-afternoon slot at the mid-sized Gobi Stage. Over the course of forty-five minutes, she raced through cuts from Fountain Baby, her excellent 2023 album, and previewed her upcoming third album with energy and vigour. If that wasn’t enough, she also sang several songs from her native Ghana, interpolated tracks from Travis Scott & Playboi Carti, and shaved her head.
Later that evening, Megan Thee Stallion gave headliner Post Malone a run for his money with a spirited performance that encompassed Bigfoot (nice one, Megan), appearances from Queen Latifah, Ciara & Victoria Monét, and copious amounts of ass-shaking. If fellow bad-ass Doja Cat can get top billing at Coachella, there’s no reason why Megan – with several hits to her name – shouldn’t get the same treatment. For now, I’ll happily settle for rewatching this stellar performance. (Or, at least, what she did perform before they cut her off.)
Lowlights: Quickfire round
The queues – an uninteresting, logistical lowlight, but worth a mention. Reports came in that some people waited up to twelve hours just to get from the entrance to the campsite.
The outfits – more than any other year, this Coachella felt like everyone had gone into Urban Outfitters blindfolded and rocked up to the festival in whatever they’d picked up.
The male performers’ outfits – you have the budget for a stylist, so use it! I’m looking at you, John Mayer and Post Malone.
Influencer culture – we know that Coachella, at this point, is less of a music festival than it is a fashion show and social media marketing opportunity.
Timothée and Kylie’s PDA – I respect both people, and wish nothing for the best for them, but their embrace out in the Indio sun was sickening to watch. Maybe I just hate straight couples.
Marina performing ‘CUNTISSIMO’ – more a gripe about the song itself, but Marina’s predictably solid performance was marred by the live debut of this god-awful, pandering single.
Tyla not performing ‘BACK to YOU’ – there’s thirteen songs in your setlist and you’re not performing your best one?
The fact that I wasn’t there – the FOMO is real.