Lineup, tickets and more: What to know about Coachella 2025
Learn about the Coachella 2025 lineup, ticket options and what’s new at the festival. (Spoiler: Chappell Roan and Charli D’Amelio are not scheduled.)
During a recent encounter with Goldenvoice President Paul Tollett, the music festival mogul was entertained by a Vulture article I had just read on my iPad ranking every Coachella lineup.
Tollett was pleasantly surprised to see the recently released 2025 lineup featuring headliners Lady Gaga, Green Day and Post Malone at No. 19 and said “I’m getting nothing but positive responses this year.” The lineup also includes Charli XCX, The Original Misfits, Megan Thee Stallion, Gustavo Dudamel & LA Phil, The Go-Gos and more.
“Someone wrote to me and said ‘Green Day, Misfits, Circle Jerks, Amyl and the Sniffers — I feel targeted,'” Tollett said with a laugh. “Our thought is if you’ve been paying attention in the Southern California music scene, this show is for you. And if you’re brand new to the scene, it’s also for you. Green Day is still selling out stadiums and sold out SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The Misfits also headlined (Goldenvoice’s) the 40,000-capacity No Values festival.“
The 2025 festival will be held April 11-13 and April 18-20 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio. Here were our biggest takeaway from our conversation with Tollett.
Travis Scott will close out Saturday of Coachella 2025
Tollett confirmed that rapper Travis Scott will close out Saturday on the Coachella Stage following Green Day’s headlining performance and his “Travis Scott Designs the Desert” will be a separate immersive experience located near the Sonora Tent.
“That’s going to be pretty interesting,” Tollett said. “He laid out what he wants to do. It’s a little too early to give any details, but I think it’s the most significant experience the festival has ever had. Anything that gives you a chance to walk around and see something that’s interesting, that’s what discovery is all about.”
The 2025 event will mark Scott’s second performance at the festival since 2017. The rapper was confirmed to headline in 2020, but the festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Variety, Scott was still on the lineup for the festival’s return in 2022, but was removed by Goldenvoice following the tragedy at his 2021 Astroworld festival during which 10 people died in a crowd crush.
More than 500 lawsuits have been filed over the deaths and injuries at the concert, including many against Scott and the event’s promoter Live Nation. Some of those suits have since been settled.
When asked about any concerns about the rapper’s performance at Coachella in April, Tolett emphasized crowd safety and said “We’ve done Travis’ concerts before, and we know how to run this. It’s on the main stage where we have barricades set up and are prepared for any situation.”
The lineup was early because Goldenvoice ‘can’t keep a secret’
The 2025 lineup was released over a month early, breaking the tradition of announcing it in January. Tollett said the decision was made to release it early because artists generally want to know what day they — and other artists — are playing, which led to some leaks of this year’s lineup.
“We got done a little early on (with) some of the big ones, and the problem is we can’t keep a secret,” Tollett said. “Eventually, the word starts seeping out. You tell five to six or 10 people, two or three days go by and you start hearing about it and think ‘We better just get it out there and drop it now, otherwise the whole lineup is going to be out there.’ And I don’t like it when the lineup is released piecemeal. There’s entertainment value in seeing the (full) lineup poster.”
Expect Coachella’s Quasar Stage lineup to drop in January
In 2024, the festival debuted the new Quasar Stage, a 100-foot-wide stage with monolithic walls and LED screens, its walls separated by a triangular DJ stage in the center. Located on the southern end of the festival between the recently renovated Sahara Tent and the Do Lab, the stage featured back-to-back performances by Honey Dijon, Floating Points, Green Velvet, Jamie XX and more.
The stage will return this year, and Tollett expects its lineup to be released in January. But even though he and his team “loved” adding the new stage and it was a hit at the festival, he noted that organizers noticed the foot traffic issues between Quasar and the Sonora Tent and said they’re working on improving it.
Goldenvoice is working on those long lines for merch, restrooms and more
For festivalgoers who have been frustrated by the long lines at the merchandise booths, restrooms and more, let it be known that Tollett understands.
“I don’t want anyone waiting in line,” he said. In 2023, Goldenvoice moved headliner merch tents away from the front entrance to the back of the festival grounds.
“We’re trying to do one more thing this year (to the merch booths) that will make it even better,” Tollett said. “There shouldn’t be lines, and you should be able to see all your artists. Because for me, I don’t want anyone standing in a line and want the crowds the biggest they can be for the artists.”
Don’t expect changes to parking and traffic to and from the fest
In 2024, Goldenvoice announced changes to its parking policy, which required vehicles of four or more passengers to enter the day parking lots. As criticism from festivalgoers mounted over the policy, it was later called off.
Tollett said there will be no changes to parking and driving at the festival for the foreseeable future, but he still “encourages” festivalgoers to carpool.
Tollett says not to let influencers keep you from enjoying the fest
Many festivalgoers have criticized the organizers over catering to social media influencers and their audiences and for featuring cosmetic company booths and clothing brand pop-ups on the festival grounds.
These partnerships — such as the festival’s livestream deal with YouTube — and social influencers boosting the popularity of Coachella has impacted the lineups and turned many music fans off. In a 2022 thread on Reddit titled “Coachella is stupid,” user LuvIsLov described the festival as “a social media ego fest with (only) mainstream artists.” Festivalgoers are also spending their time at the Empire Polo Club making videos and taking selfies in front of the stages and art installations. These photos and videos have become fodder for comedians and internet memes.
“If someone has a hard time because there’s an influencer next to them, what about the rest of their day? People take photos everywhere,” Tollett said. “Throughout the years, there’s been different types of people here. ‘Oh, the show’s ruined because there’s too many hipsters.’ But it’s not that, because the show is the show, and some of the performances are the best performances of all time.”
As for the fashion vibe at the festival, Tollett said “no one dressed up” during the first decade.
“We used to say ‘Wear your cleanest dirty shirt’ and now a lot of people dress up and who should say they can’t? Do you want to have fun during the weekend? Sounds great, that’s entertainment, and it’s exciting. I concentrate on stages, booking, and making sure the performances come off solid,” Tollett said.
Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment for the Desert Sun. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com
