BINI made history as the first all-Filipino girl group to earn a slot at Coachella, set for April 2026. The milestone has been rightly celebrated in local headlines, but Coachella’s latest lineup has plenty more surprises.
Since launching in 1999 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, the festival has been about blending spectacle with artistry. What began with a lineup featuring rock bands like Beck, Tool, and Rage Against the Machine has evolved into an art form of curating headliners across a wide spectrum of genres. In doing so, Coachalla has set a global standard for multi-day festivals and today, the unveiling of each year’s bill is a cultural moment in itself.
With various musical acts all thrown together in Indio, the 2026 lineup shows how far Coachella is willing to push itself. Beyond the headlines, here are the lineup choices that have people turning heads.
The Biebs Going Full Mk.gee and Dijon Mode
Justin Bieber is headlining the second day of Coachella 2026, signaling a shift in his long-running career. Instead of leaning on his older catalog of radio hits, he is expected to debut a slate of material from his newest albums SWAG and SWAG II. The albums, which lean toward the moody textures of producers Mk.gee and Dijon, mark a notable departure from the glossy pop sensibilities that defined his early years.
For longtime fans, this move presents a new era. For Coachella’s eclectic audience, it positions Bieber as a wildcard headliner. Sabrina Carpenter, who is fresh off her own mainstream breakthrough with her latest release Man’s Best Friend, co-headlines Day 1, which balances the bill with a more traditional pop shine. Latin powerhouse Karol G also steps up as a headliner, cementing her dominance as one of reggaeton’s global forces. Meanwhile, Young Thug makes his long-awaited Coachella return after years of legal battles, setting the stage for one of the most exciting rap sets of the weekend.
In a twist few predicted, Addison Rae lands her first solo headlining slot, a move that confirms her transition from TikTok fame to full-fledged pop star status.
Nine Inch Nails and Boys Noize Collab?
The most cryptic moment of the lineup reveal came with Nine Inch Nails (NIN) listed under the name “Nine Inch Noize.” The unusual billing suggests NIN members Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are collaborating with German electronic producer Boys Noize, the latter of which announced the partnership in a Facebook post with the caption, “Double penetration in the desert at Coachella!”
For a band with a history of boundary-pushing live shows, it would not be the first time NIN leaned into a spectacle built for a festival: Reznor and Ross both organized their own festival called Future Ruins Festival. Taking place on November 8 at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, Future Ruins consists of a line-up of film score composers performing their material in front of a live audience; in doing so, the eclectic selection of producers bring to life cinematic soundscapes at a scale of epic proportions.
The idea of NIN merging with an electronic music powerhouse like Boys Noize is not entirely leftfield. The producer’s gritty, industrial-informed beats share DNA with NIN’s darker catalog. Fans still recall 2023 when Skrillex, Four Tet, and Fred again.. stepped in for Frank Ocean’s canceled headlining set, which was a career-defining weekend for the trio.
With the booking of such a unique collaboration, Coachella 2026 could give audiences another exclusive collaboration that never leaves the desert.
Radiohead Coming Back Under ‘Kid A’
Sharp-eyed fans spotted a small but unmistakable addition to the bottom of this year’s flyer: Radiohead. The band has been on hiatus from full-scale touring, with members focusing on side projects such as The Smile, but the fine print hints at a return to an experimental project from the early 2000s. Many believe the listing points to an art exhibit of their archival work “KID AMNESIA,” which reintroduced audiences to the twin albums Kid A and Amnesiac alongside unreleased material.
The English art rock outfit will curate a live exhibit showcasing the unreleased artwork and material exploring the universe of both albums. In 2001, Kid A and Amnesiac polarized critics for its sonic departure but quickly became recognized as one of the most ambitious records of its generation, blending electronic textures with Thom Yorke’s alienated vocals and abstract instrumentation. An exhibit revisiting their material on Coachella’s grounds would connect directly with the festival’s reputation for once-in-a-lifetime sets.
Strong Alternative Presence
Slowcore singer-songwriter Ethel Cain will bring her haunting, cathedral-sized ballads, offering a sharp tonal shift from the polished pop spectacle of idol groups. English cloud rap artist Fakemink and digicore figure Jane Remover add further variety, representing genres that rarely land on major festival posters. Then there is Joyce Manor, a California pop-punk staple, bringing raw guitarx energy to the desert. This unlikely mix is emblematic of Coachella’s 2026 approach, putting disparate worlds on the same stage.
Party Like it’s 2009
Nostalgia runs heavy in the 2026 lineup, with several acts recalling the peak of Coachella’s heyday throughout the 2000s and 2010s. English indie trio The xx are back, a decade after their breakthrough minimalism became a festival staple. On day two, New York’s The Strokes step in as headliners, reaffirming their legacy as one of the most important indie rock bands to rise out of the garage revival during the early aughts. Their presence feels both celebratory and elegiac, a nod to the bands that gave Coachella its indie credibility in its second decade.
Elsewhere, indietronica group Foster the People returns, riding the enduring popularity of “Pumped Up Kicks” but also pointing to a catalog that aged more gracefully than many expected. Together, these names give the bill a retrospective flavor, a callback to a time when Coachella was synonymous with discovering new indie heroes. For veteran festival goers, it is a reminder of when the festival shifted from niche indie hub to global spectacle. For younger audiences, it offers a crash course into a sound that defined an era of festival culture.
In a lineup that stretches from BINI to Bieber to Ethel Cain, this nostalgia trip is Coachella remembering its own roots.
