By Javier & Chuyita Suarez

The Desert’s Biggest Stage Is Back: Coachella 2026 Turns Up the Volume in Indio

The desert is about to glow again.

In just days, the gates swing open at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, returning to the Empire Polo Club in Indio for two back-to-back weekends — April 10–12 and April 17–19, 2026 — and if the lineup is any indication, this year’s edition isn’t just a concert… it’s a full-blown, three-day-per-weekend soundtrack for the spring.

Think pop royalty, indie legends, dance-floor giants, and a few glorious curveballs all sharing the same sun-baked playground.

Friday nights belong to Sabrina Carpenter, stepping confidently into headliner territory, backed by an eclectic wave that includes The xx, Disclosure, Turnstile, Ethel Cain, Teddy Swims, Devo, Central Cee, Foster the People, Blood Orange, and electronic pioneer Moby. It’s the kind of day where you might pogo in the afternoon and sway at sunset.

Saturday raises the wattage. Justin Bieber tops the bill, joined by a genre-hopping roster that reads like a streaming playlist come to life: The Strokes, Giveon, Addison Rae, Labrinth, David Byrne, Interpol, PinkPantheress, REZZ, and house titan Green Velvet. Expect long lines, loud cheers, and zero regrets.

Sunday closes with global firepower. Karol G headlines a high-energy finale alongside Young Thug, Kaskade, Major Lazer, Iggy Pop, FKA twigs, Wet Leg, Little Simz, Armin van Buuren, and Röyksopp. It’s less of a wind-down and more of a victory lap.

Beyond the stages, Coachella remains what Desert Local News readers know it to be: a temporary city of art towers, food pop-ups, fashion experiments, reunions, and that unmistakable Coachella moment when the sun drops behind the mountains and the lights flicker on like a movie set.

Two weekends. Three days each. Dozens upon dozens of artists. One desert.

For Indio — and for music fans across the valley — it’s not just a festival.

It’s springtime, amplified.