Coachella 2025 took place on April 11–13 and 18–20 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. The iconic music festival returns with over 150 artists, extreme temperatures, viral fashion moments and a spotlight on both nostalgia and next-gen talent.
Some headliners for this event are Lady Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone and Travis Scott. Some other notable performers are Missy Elliot, Charli xcx, Megan thee Stallion, Benson Boone, The Misfits and many more.
One performance sparked controversy but not to the performer but to the crowd. During Benson Boone’s set he sang a cover of Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, while singing he brought out Brian May, a founding member and lead guitarist of Queen.
Controversy started when people on Coachella’s live stream noticed that you couldn’t hear anyone cheering and many took to social media. A fan account of Boone posted a tiktok of the performance and many in the comments took notice of the lack of cheering.
A TikTok commenter said “imagine bringing out the lead guitarist of QUEEN and the crowd doesn’t go ABSOLUTELY INSANE.” Boone took to TikTok with a video of him recreating him singing at Coachella with the caption saying “Me trying to get the crowd at Coachella to understand what an absolute legend Brian May is and the cultural impact he has on music and THE WORLD.”
Another crowd that caused mayhem was the crowd during Charlie xcx’s set. Many came to social media saying that the crowd during Charli xcx’s set was dead. A TikToker took to TikTok with a video of Charlie xcx and Troye Sivan – an artist she brought out during her set – with a caption of “crowd was dead but charlie and troye SERVED i’m so obsessed.”
A TikTok user took to the comments of the video and stated that the live streams mute the crowd on purpose and the crowd was definitely not dead. The creator responded saying “its not muted though because i can still hear the crowd…not just this performance but when the artist says as loud as you can its DEADLY silent or nobody knows lyrics.” This later started a feud in the comments.
Green Day also sparked controversy with Billie Joe Armstrong taking aim at President Donald Trump and expressing support for Palestine. During Green Day’s set, a firework launched into the crowd, hit an artist trailer with sparks flying off of it and hitting festival goers.
Another controversial topic was the outfit choices. Many took to social media about influencer outfit choices. A TikTok creator took to social media pictures of influencers outfits with the song WTHELLY by Rob49. The captions includes hashtags including #bad and #badoutfit with other hashtags of the influencers included.
Many other influencers took to social media rating the best and worst outfits on the weekends. Some influencers include James Charles, Alix Earle, Julia Fox and Charli D’amelio.
The festival faced criticism for being dominated by influencers, leading to discussions about “influencer fatigue” and it being a “content farm.” Consumers expressed annoyance with overconsumption and lavish lifestyles portrayed by influencers, especially during economic uncertainty. Some attendees felt that the festival had shifted focus from music to being a platform for influencer content.
An independent magazine on TikTok in a post said “Every year, brands, influencers, and platforms extract content from the same dusty field and repackage it as a lifestyle aspiration… Until we stop treating culture as currency and each other as backdrops, festivals like Coachella will keep feeling less like a community – and more like commerce.”
With current economic uncertainty many choose for car camping, this year reminded many back to Fyre Festival. Fyre Festival was a 2017 luxury music festival that promised beachside villas, gourmet food, and major artists—but ended in disaster with no real accommodations, no performances and stranded guests. What was supposed to be the next big thing became a viral tale about influencer culture, fake promises, and festival flops.
Festival goers waited up to 12 hours just to get into camping, many reported running out of gas and water while waiting. A creator took to TikTok saying they had been waiting since 3AM and at the time of recording — at 1p.m. — they had not even gone through security. The creator later goes on to say that it was almost over 100 degrees out, no bathrooms for use, they claim that they are extremely disappointing and extremely dehumanizing.
Despite the heat, the wait times, and the drama, Coachella 2025 still managed to be the internet’s main character for two weekends straight. Whether people came for the music, the outfits, or just to be seen, one thing’s for sure—Coachella continues to be more than a festival.