It’s still 2024, but the 2025 music festival season has already arrived. Which is to say, the Coachella lineup is here.
On Wednesday evening, America’s preeminent music festival released the poster for next year’s bill, including headliners Lady Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone, and Travis Scott. Further down, there’s everyone from Charli XCX to Basement Jaxx, Anitta to GloRilla, Keshi to Kraftwerk. It’s a stacked lineup, one that invites a few questions. Let’s begin with the most pressing matter…
1. Did One Band Make History On The Coachella Poster?
The first name that drew my attention on the Coachella 2025 poster wasn’t headliners Lady Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone, or Travis Scott. It wasn’t Megan Thee Stallion, in a victory lap from her mighty 2024, or FKA twigs, who will put on a high-concept spectacle, or Japanese Breakfast, even though her inclusion means we should be getting the follow-up to 2021’s excellent Jubilee next year. It was The Misfits. Specifically, The Misfits logo. Is this the first time a band’s font has appeared on a Coachella poster? The closest other examples I can think of are AC/DC in 2015 and Prince in 2008, but this is more unusual. Unprecedented even. Those were symbols; this is a specific font. Hopefully there’s plenty of french onion soup to go around.
2. Green Day Over Charli XCX?
No offense to Green Day, who are out on the road playing a pair of all-time classics (Dookie and American Idiot) from front to back, but it’s a little surprising that they got the Saturday headliner slot over Charli XCX. Over 30 years after releasing their first album, Billie Joe Armstrong & Co. are still more recognizable to the general public than Charli XCX, but for the Coachella crowd, the queen of Brat is a bigger and more zeitgeist-defining draw. I’m sure Green Day will put on a great show — they always do — and in the long run, they have the lead in historical significance. But right now, it’s Charli, baby.
3. Can Lady Gaga Top Her 2017 Headlining Set?
It’s been an up and down year for Lady Gaga. Joker: Folie à Deux flopped at the box office, and “Disease,” the first single from her upcoming album, stalled at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100. Yet, even with those speed bumps, she helped kick off the 2024 Olympics and her collaboration with Bruno Mars, “Die With A Smile,” is one of the most-streamed songs of the year. Gaga previously headlined in 2017 (this was also the year she filmed scenes for A Star Is Born on the Empire Polo Club grounds), albeit as a replacement for Beyoncé. This time, she has months to prepare for “a massive night of chaos in the desert.” Gaga will find a way to one-up herself.
4. What Is Travis Scott Up To?
All the bottom of the poster, even below the smallest-font Sunday acts (shout out to Yulia Niko), it reads, “Travis Scott Designs The Desert.” What does that mean? Well, according to a press release, the “Mo City Flexologist” rapper is “headlining the main stage on Saturday night where he will debut an entirely new era of music to the world.” He will also “curate a fully immersive and experiential world within the desert.” Scott was supposed to headline in 2022, but he was dropped from the bill following the Astroworld tragedy.
5. Who Will Post Malone Bring Out As Special Guests?
This year alone, Post Malone has been on songs with Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Morgan Wallen, Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, Luke Combs, Lainey Wilson, Jelly Roll, and Chris Stapleton, among many others. It’s a near-certainty that he’ll be joined on Sunday by some surprise famous faces. Probably not Taylor or Beyoncé (Posty popping up during the Cowboy Carter Netflix halftime show on Christmas is more likely), but nonetheless, get ready for a star-studded set.
6. Can We Expect A Blackpink Mini-Reunion?
In a recent interview with Billboard, Lisa was asked how the members of Blackpink keep in touch during their respective solo careers. “We know each other so well and know how much energy we have to put into every single project,” The White Lotus star said. “So we want to support and say, ‘You did really well!’ Like, Jennie and Rosie just released their own songs, and we’re on texts, we’re on FaceTime. They’re like family.” Will Coachella double as a Blackpink family reunion? Lisa gets a prime spot on Friday, while Jennie is scheduled to perform on Sunday. What, no Rosé on Saturday?
7. Yo Gabba Gabba?
Yo Gabba Gabba.
8. Who Will Be This Year’s Knocked Loose?
Metalcore greats Knocked Loose went viral in 2023 for their wild Coachella set. To quote one tweet, “Influencer babes are stage diving during Knocked Loose’s Coachella set.” Billie Eilish was there, and she was vibing. So was everyone in the circle pit. But who will be this year’s Knocked Loose, the heavy band that captivates Coachella beyond their usual audience? My money’s on either Gel, who released the heavy-and-hook-filled Persona EP over the summer, or Australia’s Speed. They have Only One Mode and it’s ferocious.
9. Where’s The Country?
Since the beginning of July, the top of the Billboard Hot 100 has been dominated by three artists: Post Malone, Morgan Wallen, and Shaboozey. Some combination of that trio has had the No. 1 song in the country for every week but one, when Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” took over the world. That’s an incredible run, and Post Malone and Shaboozey are playing Coachella. But they’re the only country or country-adjacent acts on the bill. No Cody Johnson, no Kacey Musgraves. Maybe Coachella didn’t want to double-book with Stagecoach, which takes place later that month, but you would think arguably the biggest genre of 2024 would be better represented.
10. What Will Be The Most Talked-About Non-Headliner Set Of The Weekend(s)?
Somehow, Missy Elliott — one of the most electric, unique, and influential artists in hip-hop history — has never performed at Coachella. To make up for the long-overdue slight, she gets second billing on Friday night. Elliott played all the hits during her first-ever headlining tour earlier this year: “Sock It 2 Me,” “Get Ur Freak On,” “Work It,” “Gossip Folks,” “WTF (Where They From),” “Lose Control.” Expect a crowd-pleasing set from an icon.
