15 Coachella 2025 acts you don’t want to miss at the festival or on livestream

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Let’s be clear: There is too much music at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival for anyone to be able to experience it all – or more than a fraction of it over the three days of the festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio on April 11-13 and April 18-20.

Since 2017, the festival has booked its seven permanent stages almost nonstop for more than a dozen hours a day. That adds up to roughly 150 different acts over the course of the weekend.

Add to that all the distractions — Ferris Wheel! Merch tents! Art installations! — and it can be overwhelming.

Relax. We got you.

After listening to almost every artist on the lineup and reading page after page of background on them all, we’ve picked 15 you should catch, whether in person on the festival grounds or on the livestreams that cover many of the performances each day. (Note: Set times, the livestream schedule, and last-minute lineup changes may affect which acts can be seen at home or on the festival grounds.)

Put your earbuds in and fire up the music streaming service of your choice. It’s time to get ready for Coachella 2025.

0. Lady Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone: We know you’ll see the headliners, so this one’s a freebie and won’t count in our 15, because everyone wants to watch the headliners.

Lady Gaga filled in for a pregnant Beyoncé as a headliner in 2017. This time, with her new album “Mayhem” freshly released, expect the kind of spectacle Gaga has always known how to deliver on Friday night.

Somehow, Green Day has never played Coachella, which seems … odd. They’ll right that wrong on Saturday night. Post Malone was early in his ascent to superstardom when he packed the Sahara Tent at Coachella in 2018. The likeable, versatile, and, yes, very tattooed Postie headlines Sunday.

1. Missy Elliott: If anyone has a chance at upstaging Lady Gaga on Friday, it’s Missy Elliott, whose hip-hop is served with every bit as much fashion and flair as a Gaga show. Despite stardom that stretches back decades, Elliott had never done a proper solo headline tour until last year. She dazzled fans at Crypto.com Arena in July 2024, so she should be in top form in the desert.

2. Lisa: The singer-dancer Lalisa Manobal has played Coachella twice before with the K-pop girl group Blackpink, including 2023 when Blackpink became the first Asian act to headline the festival. Now the four members are exploring solo albums, performances and acting – Lisa is currently starring in HBO’s “The White Lotus.” She’ll be fun to see on her own on Friday night, as will her bandmate Jennie for her own solo set on Sunday.

3. FKA Twigs: The British singer-dancer delivered a mesmerizingly beautiful performance at Camp Flog Gnaw in 2019. Fans that year booed Drake off the stage, but really, after Twigs’ set, it was all downhill, no offense to Flog Gnaw founder Tyler, the Creator. If you think of the artistry of someone like Kate Bush, you’ll find FKA Twigs living in the same neighborhood, even if their musical choices aren’t exact matches. Her strong new album “Eusexua” will add fresh songs, and the production should be a visual delight here, too.

4. Lola Young: This 24-year-old British singer-songwriter bares her soul via vulnerable lyrics and a gorgeous voice. It’s a combination that is quickly building Young a devoted following. Check out her single “Messy,” which hit No. 1 in the United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland, and reached No. 14 in the United States, for a taste of what she’ll bring to the stage on Friday.

5. Kneecap: You might not know this Northern Irish hip-hop trio, which raps in its native Irish language. But watch the Friday afternoon set and we predict you’ll come away a fan of the energetic, irreverent, wildly charismatic performance they’re sure to deliver. Or you can get a sneak peek by streaming the 2024 movie “Kneecap,” in which the three members of the group portray themselves in a feature film based on their unlikely rise to success.

6. Charli XCX: Though she’s been making music for years now, Charlie XCX was one of the biggest breakout stars of 2024, thanks to her album “Brat.” It spawned a lifestyle meme – the summer was Brat, you’re Brat, I’m Brat thanks to its collection of catchy club bangers, FOMO-inducing music videos, and remixes with collaborators that included Billie Eilish and Lorde. Will they or others join Charli on Saturday night? You gotta watch to find out.

7. Ivan Cornejo: Odds are, a lot of you don’t know the name, but it’s time now to recognize it. The 20-year-old singer-songwriter from Riverside who plays Saturday works a modern take on Mexican regional music that’s quickly building a cross-generational fandom. Last month, he headlined one day of Rolling Stone’s Future of Music showcase at South by Southwest, a collection of artists that also included Coachella acts Benson Boon, Rema, and CA7RIEL and Paco Amoroso.

8. Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil: This isn’t the first time an orchestra has rocked the stage at Coachella. That honor goes to Hans Zimmer, followed by Danny Elfman. But both of them had a wealth of film scores they’d created to draw upon, which begs the question: What will Dudamel do? We’ve no doubt that the creative genius who will leave Los Angeles for the New York Philharmonic next year will have something special planned for Coachella on Saturday.

9. Viagra Boys: The Swedish punk rockers capture some of the unhinged fun of punk with songs that deliver sharp satire via dark humor and an attitude that nothing’s serious and everything’s serious. Lead singer Sebastian Murphy was born in San Raphael in the Bay Area, but with a Swedish mother he eventually headed for Scandinavia. Expect a raucous good time on Saturday with the Boys.

10. HorsegiirL: She’s an anonymous German electronic musician who is only ever seen on stage wearing a full horsehead mask. She’s told interviewers her name is Stella Stallion and she’s been writing songs ever since she was “a young foal.” Those songs include “My Barn My Rules,” “Farm Fatale,” and “Praise the Farm.” I mean, who doesn’t want to check this out on Saturday?

11. Megan Thee Stallion: One of the most popular women in hip-hop, Ms. Thee Stallion is expected to bring a show that’s visually and musically rich. Before Charli XCX had Brat Summer, Megan’s single “Hot Girl Summer” did something similar in 2019. That song featured Nikki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign, the latter of whom is also on the bill Sunday, so … you can figure it out, right?

12: Basement Jaxx: The English electronic musicians Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton, have been dropping the beat since 1994, with songs such as “Where’s Your Head At” bringing everyone to the dance floor. That should happen again on Sunday when, like the Prodigy on Friday night, Basement Jaxx proves that the OGs of EDM still have a lot of juice left.

13. Shaboozey: One of two of the 2025 best new artist Grammy nominees in the lineup this year – Benson Boone plays Friday – Shaboozey’s mix of hip-hop, country, rock and Americana found lots of fans last year, many of them through his hit single “Tipsy.” Expect a lot of singing along — and drinking — along during that one on Sunday.

14. Kraftwerk: The German electronic band that paved the way for countless electronic rockers, synthpop groups, and EDM producers doesn’t play live that often. And they don’t move around a lot on stage – their song “The Robots” is a bit of musical autofiction. But the combination of synthesizers, drum machines and vocals, mixed with a crisp, clean visual production, should make for a mesmerizing performance on Sunday.

15) Amyl and the Sniffers: The Australian punk band played Coachella in 2022 and had the punk kids a-moshin’ at the Sonora stage. Last year, they opened for Foo Fighters in Los Angeles and are surely deserving of a bigger Coachella stage now. Energetic, bratty vocals from live-wire singer Amy Taylor and a propulsive garage rock beat from the rest of the band, what’s not to like?