Coachella's 25th anniversary opened Thursday night at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, with more than 90,000 people in attendance and Sabrina Carpenter headlining the main stage from 9:05 to 10:35 PM Pacific [1]. The festival that started in 1999 with a lineup anchored by Beck and Morrissey marked the milestone by booking Moby, who performed at both the first edition and this one — a continuity few festivals can claim.

Teddy Swims delivered the night's most talked-about set, bringing out surprise guests Joe Jonas, Vanessa Carlton, and David Lee Roth across a 75-minute performance that social media immediately declared the Day 1 highlight [2]. The xx performed. Nine Inch Nails played a late set. After midnight, Anyma debuted "Anyma presents ÆDEN," a full audio-visual production that extended the festival past 1 AM for those who stayed.

The entire weekend streams live on YouTube across seven channels, making Coachella 2026 the most accessible edition in the festival's history. For a concert that began as a desert alternative to corporate music culture, the irony of universal streaming access is not lost on longtime attendees. But the production scale — and the crowd size — suggest the anniversary edition is leaning into reach rather than exclusivity. Day 2 brings Justin Bieber as Saturday headliner, with The Strokes, Addison Rae, and David Byrne filling the undercard.

-- CAMILLE BEAUMONT, Los Angeles