Life of Daniel
Experience the Excitement of Coachella 2025
Written by Daniel Meyers for Hustle Magazine
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival’s first weekend took place from April 11-13, and a second weekend will be held from April 18-20. Both weekends will include the same lineups, with Lady Gaga, Green Day, and Post Malone headlining. Overall, it was an enjoyable and memorable festival, and Coachella has outdone itself. By a landslide, Lady Gaga’s closing performance on the first night of the festival was the highlight of the first weekend.
Night One: Friday, April 11
Lady Gaga’s performance on the main stage was the highlight of the first night and the entire weekend, leaving the following performers with big shoes to fill. Most of Gaga’s setlist was from her latest album, Mayhem, which was released in March and will be supported by the upcoming concert tour, The Mayhem Ball, later this year. Other songs from Gaga’s setlist included “Paparazzi”, “Telephone”, “Vanish Into You”, “Die with a Smile”, and more. However, “Just Dance,” her debut single, was omitted from the setlist.
Gaga divided her performance into five acts: “Act I: Of Velvet and Vice,” “Act II: And She Fell Into a Gothic Dream,” “Act III: The Beautiful Nightmare That Knows Her Name,” “Act IV: To Wake Her Is to Lose Her,” and “Finale: Eternal Aria of the Monster Heart”, and included several costume changes. It began with a pre-recorded message voiced by two versions of herself, one dressed in red and one dressed in white, who said: “Her and I will find a way to live as twins, but I will know if in the end mistress of mayhem wins.” Her opening song was “Bloody Mary,” an underrated hit from Born This Way (2011). Gaga ended with “Bad Romance” from her extended play The Fame Monster (2009), dressed as a feathered angel risen from the afterlife.
Gaga sang hits across almost all her albums, but the highlight of her set list was by far her performance of “Born This Way,” more than halfway through her set. The singer led into the performance by thanking her fans for all the support they’ve given her since the beginning of her career. At the end, she thanked them for being “Born This Way” and started the song, with a performance that included several fireworks displays. This was a significant moment as Gaga, throughout her career, has been a huge supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community, and several people in the community have attributed her work to helping them be comfortable in their skin. In these times, the world needs more of that.
Night Two: Saturday, April 12
The best performance of Saturday night at Coachella was given by singer Charli XCX at the main stage. Most of her set list included songs from her most recent album, Brat (2024), including “Apple”, “360”, and “Guess” as well as “I Love It” by Icona Pop featuring Charli XCX. Surprisingly, the singer omitted “Boom Clap” from her setlist. She opened with “365” from Brat, and the last song on her set was her classic 2012 Icona Pop collab “I Love It,” a crowd favorite and a high-energy closer. Charli XCX performed in black micro-shorts with a chain belt, black knee-highs, a black bra, sheer black overshirt, and black sunglasses. She officially ended the performance with a message on the Coachella screens that said, “PLEASE DON’T LET IT BE OVER.”
The most memorable moment from Charli XCX’s performance would have to be her three surprise guests: Troye Sivan, Lorde, and Billie Eilish. Artists are known for featuring surprise performers during their sets at Coachella, but nothing beats the triple threat that Charli XCX gave her fans.
The festival only continued to get even crazier that evening. Senator Bernie Sanders had to be the most surprising guest of the night. He gave a speech at the Outdoor Theatre between Charli XCX and Clairo’s performances.
Night Three: Sunday, April 13
Megan Thee Stallion gave a memorable performance during her one-hour set at the main stage. The rapper brought out three surprise guests during her performance: Queen Latifah, Ciara, and Victoria Monet. Throughout her performance, she was plagued by technical issues, most notably when her mic was completely cut off during “Mamushi“, but Megan continued the song, then thanked her fans before exiting.
Coachella 2025 finished its first weekend with a performance by singer Post Malone, which stands out as the performance of that night. Malone gave his performance a mixed performance of his newer country songs, like “I Had Some Help”, along with some of his classic originals like “White Iverson” and “Better Now.” The artist opened with “Texas Tea” from his 2023 album, Austin, and ended with “Sunflower.” Throughout the majority of Malone’s performance, he went out of his way to thank his fans for all their love and support, expressing his appreciation for his success.
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival will continue for its second weekend from April 18-20, with all acts returning and following the same schedule.
