The 2026 edition of Coachella roared to life Friday night in the California desert, and if opening night was any indication, this year's festival may go down as one of the most memorable in its history. With as many as 125,000 attendees flooding the Empire Polo Club each day, the weekend's first slate of performances delivered surprise collaborations, emotional milestones, and the kind of spontaneous magic that has kept Coachella at the center of music culture for over two decades.
The night's biggest surprise came on the Sahara stage, where global pop group Katseye brought out the three stars of the animated hit "KPop Demon Hunters" — Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, performing under their film characters as Huntr/x — for a show-stopping rendition of "Golden." The song, which won the Oscar, Golden Globe, Grammy, and Critics Choice Award for best original song, spent eight non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, making it the longest-leading hit by an animated act in chart history. "It's vindicating," Rei Ami told Variety about the song's success. "We worked our asses off. We've had the door shut in our faces. We were told we were too little, too much."
Over on the main stage, Teddy Swims turned what could have been a routine mid-day slot into a masterclass in showmanship. Performing on a set designed to look like a multi-room apartment — complete with a working doorbell — Swims welcomed a parade of guests through his "front door." Joe Jonas emerged first to duet on the Jonas Brothers ballad "When You Look Me in the Eyes," followed by Vanessa Carlton, who performed her resurgent hit "A Thousand Miles" to a sea of swaying phones. But the showstopper was the final ring of the bell, which brought out none other than David Lee Roth. The Van Halen legend, sporting his trademark leather vest and skintight pants, joined Swims for an electric rendition of "Jump" that had thousands of fans fist-pumping and singing along — proof that the song's power transcends generations.
History was also made at the Mojave tent, where Filipino girl group BINI became the first act from the Philippines to perform at Coachella. The eight-member group — Aiah, Colet, Maloi, Gwen, Stacey, Mikha, Jhoanna, and Sheena — delivered an electrifying set that wove contemporary pop with traditional Filipino dance and tribal-influenced rhythms, all while singing in Taglish, a blend of Tagalog and English. Fans arrived wearing Filipinianas and Filipino sun jewelry, waving flags and chanting the group's name a full half-hour before they took the stage. "We hope that this will be the start of more Filipino artists on the world stage," member Stacey said ahead of the performance.
The festival still has plenty of firepower ahead. Sabrina Carpenter headlines Friday night, while Justin Bieber — whose involvement has been so dominant in the cultural conversation that some have already dubbed it "Bieberchella" — takes the stage Saturday at 11:25 p.m. Reports suggest he may perform his two "Swag" albums in their entirety, based on warm-up shows at the Roxy and Troubadour. Karol G rounds out the headlining slate. But even before the marquee names take their turns, Coachella 2026 has already staked its claim: this is a festival where anything can happen, and on opening night, just about everything did.