Welcome to Coachella 2026 Weekend 1, Day 2, which was full of both surprises and, to nobody’s surprise, more windy conditions.
Although we haven’t had any sets canceled today like we did yesterday (though, admittedly I’m writing this at 10:45 p.m. and there are still over two hours of the festival left, so that could change), the wind has definitely played a factor in my sets, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that our Sunday artists are keeping their exposure to the desert dust at a minimum.
Overall, The Desert Sun team was impressed with Saturday’s rock acts in particular, and even though Addison Rae’s vocals fell flat, she still gets points for choreography and overall vibes. Alas, our grade for Day 2 is an A.
Jack White shows rock’s not dead
“Long live rock and roll,” declared rock legend Jack White at the end of his hour-long surprise set in the Mojave tent
Well, White certainly did his part Saturday afternoon.
Words can’t really do justice to the exhilarating experience that was watching White wield his guitar to produce sounds that it’s almost hard to fathom coming from such a strange- (but cool-) looking piece of wood. But if I had to pick one phrase to sum it up, I would go with the classic “face-melting.”
Cliché? Maybe. But no other expression seems to do this experience justice.
Because to watch White on this hot April day was to watch a now 50-year-old man over and over again come about as close as humanly possible to making that tired rock metaphor become literal with one rollicking guitar solo after another, punctuated only by that ever-recognizable cartoonishly-high voice that it felt almost hard to believe could actually come from a person.
Yet if there ever a person who could make such a voice, one imagines they would probably look something like White whose distinctive stringy hair and almost shockingly pale face (I can’t be the first person to notice how he seems to evoke Sweeney Todd) are somehow key components to what has always been one of the coolest looks in rock. — Paul Albani-Burgio
Addison Rae brings energy even when vocals fall flat
TikTok star turned actress/singer Addison Rae may not be the strongest singer on the Coachella lineup this year, but she more than makes up for it in energy.
Marking her first time on the Coachella lineup, Rae was a bundle of joy to see on stage. She squealed with excitement as she looked out at the packed crowd, not believing her luck when she had the entire grounds singing along to her hit “Diet Pepsi.” It was bold to make her most popular song her opener, but she was just getting started with her 50-minute set.
She asked the crowd to join her in manifesting “money’s everything” as she strut across the stage in a money boa. She even ran out into the crowd for “Von Dutch,” her duet with Charli xcx who, sadly, did not come out as a special guest. In hindsight, however, that would have been too good to be true considering that the two did just that at the English singer’s set last year.
At certain points in her performance, she channeled pop princess Britney Spears, especially on “I Got It Bad,” which was remixed with the beat of “…Baby One More Time.” She even looked the part with her straight hair blowing in the wind — with a headset mic on — reminiscent of so many of Spears’ music videos.
Though her vocals were shaky at times, and sometimes she just lip-synced, she showed everyone her dance moves, which initially got her attention on TikTok. Flips, splits and intense choreography came so naturally to her that it easily was the highlight of her set. Though she didn’t bring out a special guest to join her on the mic, she did surprise the crowd with dancer Maddie Ziegler. The actress and former “Dance Moms” star came out during Rae’s performance of “Aquamarine,” and, unsurprisingly, she captivated viewers with her interpretive dance. — Ema Sasic
Sombr proves he’s this generation’s rock superstar
Whether you went into Sombr’s set knowing his songs or were just curious about this Timothée Chalamet/Finn Wolfhard-looking man, chances are you left as a fan.
The Grammy Award nominated pop rocker had the crowd in the palm of his hand from the start. I mean, when you step out in a black leather jacket and pants and wearing a black lace shirt underneath, who wouldn’t want to be in your corner?
Sombr looked good and sounded incredible throughout the whole set, pouring his heart out into emotional songs such as “i wish i knew how to quit you” and “potential.” And just to show how much the crowd was into him, they obliged to jump for him even when he called all of them “losers” via his video screen.
Based on the enormous turnout of festivalgoers of all ages — I even spotted an infant in the crowd — it’s clear Sombr is our next rock superstar. But seemingly not wanting to let all the fame go to his head, he brought out legendary Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan to sing the band’s hit “1979.” Though it was initially plagued with mic issues for Corgan, they bounced back by the time the iconic chorus began.
I didn’t know too much about your music prior to this set, Sombr, but consider me a fan. — Ema Sasic
Royel Otis members rock Mojave during afternoon set
The Australian indie-pop duo Royel Otis drew a full crowd at the Mojave tent on Saturday afternoon. They opened their performance with a humorous video featuring a pink background that welcomed fans to the desert. In the video, they playfully advised attendees not to check their bank accounts the following day and suggested they could sleep through the next week.
It was another rock performance proving that there’s an upswing on the genre at the festival by established a newer generation of bands. Geese received the same reception in the nearby Gobi tent, and so did SOMBR on the Outdoor Theatre stage. — Brian Blueskye
Labrinth starts off weird and loses the audience
After Labrinth posted a very cryptic message on social media a few weeks ago — saying he was “done with this industry” — many were wondering what on earth he’d do during his Coachella set.
Well, we can now report that he went a little weird.
A graphic popped up on the screen saying in order for one to heal, they have to sit with the internal chaos. It was followed by a graphic of the singer free falling. So, clearly off to a good start.
For the first 15 minutes of his set, a masked Labrinth was seen inside some type of industrial cage contraption on stage. Honestly, it was hard to make out what was going on, especially because we couldn’t actually see his face (for a second I didn’t even know if it was him on stage) and the graphics on screen were animated and often not clear. He didn’t call out to the audience at all during that time, so it mainly felt like he was going through the motion.
Finally, when he removed his mask and slowly started coming out of the cage, the artistic and creative Labrinth took over. His powerful vocals took center stage, and the visuals continued to entice. At one point, he had a camera attached to his microphone, and we all got an up-close-and-personal look at the singer.
Perhaps the upside of this performance came a bit too late for festivalgoers, as several were seen continuously leaving the set. Once The Strokes began their performance at the Coachella Stage, however, their speakers drowned out Labrinth’s set, leading to even more people exiting. — Ema Sasic
Nine Inch Noize proves visually stunning, haunting
The Saturday performance by Nine Inch Noize, a collaboration between Nine Inch Nails and Boys Noize, featured a haunting, surreal and intense musical and visual production.
Before the performance began, a large, tilted triangle with a platform at its center was set up on the Sahara stage. When the music began, the red lighting and blend of industrial and dark electronic music began, featuring a reimagining of Nine Inch Nails’ sound and the two recent collaborations on the “TRON: Ares” and “Challengers” soundtracks.
When a group of dancers repeatedly climbed up and slid down the triangular structure that resembled a volcano, a pyramid in an apocalyptic sky, or other various settings, it made the 45-minute performance more stirring. The set included some Nine Inch Nails classics such as “Heresy,” “Closer” and “Copy of A.” The visual effects and electronic music presentation was a perfect performance for the Sahara tent, but the stage’s overwhelming bass featured in DJ sets took away from the vocals. — Brian Blueskye
David Guetta fires up the Quasar crowd with all hits
Sometimes keeping it simple is the best option. That was the case for David Guetta at the Quasar Stage Saturday night. The French DJ played a succession of EDM remixes of popular songs, firing up the crowd into an energetic frenzy.
What do the songs “Day ‘n’ Nite” by Kid Cudi, “Satisfaction” by Benny Benassi, “Guess” by Charli XCX and “Club Can’t Handle Me” by Flo Rida have in common?
The answer is, you guessed it, they were all played in sequences by Guetta during this Coachella set.
That was just a sampling of the Top 40 hits mixed into Guetta’s roughly two-hour performance. The DJ put on a clinic on hyping up the crowd, exhibiting the talents that have allowed him to amass more than 30 billion streams on Spotify.
The 58-year-old said it had been 10 years since he last played at Coachella. It felt like he’d never left. — Sam Morgen
PinkPantheress turns the club vibes on
British singer-songwriter PinkPantheress created a club house vibe inside the Mojave tent, and she got a few friends to help her out with it too.
Among those on her “VIP” list were Precious Renee Tucker, who helped play the piano on “Pain” toward the beginning of PinkPantheress’ set.
Later on, as the club continued to get more lit, a few more famous faces popped up. The Dare came out to play a remix of Addison Rae’s “Fame is a Gun” and while PinkPantheress did a costume change into an outfit with a huge bow top. DJ horsegiirL was also spotted on stage as a fake club scene emerged and certain people were being allowed “inside.”
All the Gen Z festivalgoers ate up the set, screaming at the top of their lungs whenever they spotted a new guest on stage. Not to mention, they eagerly joined singalongs for her hits “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” and “Illegal.”
Finally, actor Tyriq Withers appeared as a special guest at the end of her set, playing Romeo. The two appeared to have kissed on stage, although a sign with the words “The End” blocked the audiences view. — Ema Sasic
The Strokes deliver the best set of Coachella 2026 (so far)
Were The Strokes too much for Coachella’s sound system?
That’s the conclusion I came to after their thrilling Coachella show was interrupted by several ever-so-brief instances of the sound system cutting out, only to be restored within a second or two.
The issue did nothing to detract from what was a truly thrilling show. On the contrary, it only seemed to emphasize how absolutely rocking it was. My Desert Sun colleagues and I have seen dozens of Coachella sets on the main stage between us, and we all agreed we could not recall another set that came anywhere close to matching the sheer volume with which The Strokes hits (and a few deeper cuts) were being blasted through the speakers.
It was the perfect way to see one of the great bands of the early 2000s, who also took advantage of Coachella’s ability to create a spectacle to accompany several of their tunes with a hypnotic barrage of lasers.
The classic tune “Sometimes,” which was accompanied not by lasers but by a nostalgic-feeling video of sights from the band’s hometown of New York, was an early highlight of the show. I also cherished hearing The Strokes’ biggest hit from their most recent album, “The Adults are Talking,” which sounded even better live than I would’ve expected.
But the true showstopper was, of course, “Reptilia” which saw the band take full advantage of the booming speakers and lasers at their disposal to deliver the best performance of a song I have heard at Coachella this year.
Frontman Julian Casablancas also found plenty of chances to showcase his sardonic wit, cracking multiple jokes about how the band was opening up for Justin Bieber and mock complaining (or was he being serious?) that he couldn’t see PinkPantheress’ set because it was taking place at the same time as his own.
“I love an intimate affair,” he sarcastically quipped at one point.
On that point, though, I have to disagree with Casablancas. I’ll take listening to The Strokes obliterate Coachella with thousands and thousands of new friends over an intimate affair any day.
Editor’s Note: For reasons related to workflow and our sanity, this roundup was written prior to Justin Bieber’s headlining set. It’s very possible that Mr. Bieber’s performance could knock the “A” grade we gave Day 2 down — or up — a few spots.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: We gave Coachella 2026 Day 2 an A grade. Here’s why
Reporting by Ema Sasic, Paul Albani-Burgio, Sam Morgen and Brian Blueskye, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
