“Rave-chella” 2024: What to Expect from the 2025 Coachella Lineup
BY LYDIA CHO
The Coachella 2025 lineup just dropped, garnering a mixed reaction from different music fans. The headliners are on trend for recent years of Coachella; Friday features Lady Gaga and Missy Elliot, Saturday features Green Day and Charli XCX, and Sunday features Post Malone and Megan Thee Stallion. None of the headliners except Charli have had exceptionally big years, which is a point of contention for music fans- if Coachella wants to maintain their reputation, there should be more relevant headliners. The general consensus seems to be that there is a lot of variety and uniqueness with so many smaller artists and different genres within the lineup, but people are missing the huge pop stars and international music.
This drop was unexpected from festival fans. Instead of releasing the lineup in January like most years, Coachella released artists in November, with presale beginning on November 22nd. This is likely due to the fact that 2024 Coachella was labeled a “flop” with around 15% lower ticket sales from 2023. The early lineup drop gives people a bigger window to buy tickets, which could potentially increase sales and redeem Coachella’s reputation as one of the biggest and best music festivals.
Fans have titled the festival “Rave-chella;” there is an abundance of techno (Sara Landry, Eli Brown, Amelie Lens, Klangkuenstler, horse girL, Indira Paganotto, VTSS) and tons of more general electronic and house music (Mau P, Tinlicker, Beltran, A&B, Disco Lines, Massano, Infected Mushroom, Layton Giordani, Chase and Status, Boris Brejcha, Sammy Virji, and Interplanetary Criminal). Additionally, punk/hardcore fans are excited for the inclusion of Gel, Viagra Boys, Amyl and the Sniffers, Bob Vylan, Prison Affair.
In terms of Latin music, the only options seem to be Junior H and Ivan Cornejo, and many fans have complained at the lack of classic reggae or Afro-beat music. K-pop fans are excited about Lisa and Jenny, but, given the insane prevalence of K-pop, the fact that only two artists are performing could be a point of weakness for Coachella’s ticket sales.
The lineup does feature some more mainstream indie/pop artists like Clairo and beabadoobee, yet fans are still complaining that their favorite artists aren’t featured. People are missing more mainstream and relevant pop artists, suggesting Lana Del Rey, Sabrina Carpenter, Tate McRae, Chappell Roan, and Billie Eilish.
A point of surprise has been the Saturday lineup, which features both Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil, and the children’s TV band Yo Gabba Gabba. Dudamel is expected to perform some John Williams music- likely from Star Wars or Jurassic Park. Although many people are complaining at the peculiarity of having classical music at Coachella, I personally am excited to see what this performance does for classical music. Gustavo Dudamel and the Philharmonic have made waves with their syncretism of classical musicians and mainstream world, and I look forward to seeing what they come up with for Coachella. Likewise, there is an unexpected performance from Yo Gabba Gabba.
For a festival that has solidified itself as the US music festival, that is in the middle of the desert and costs thousands of dollars, people expect the biggest and best artists, instead of a lineup comparable to All Things Go or Boston Calling.
