Each April, the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio become the backdrop for one of music’s most anticipated gatherings. In its 26th year, Coachella 2025 delivered two weekends defined by distinct energies and evolving soundscapes, all grounded in the festival’s singular spirit.
Weekend 1: Desert Fire
From the moment Friday unfolded, the air buzzed with energy, endless possibility, and a whole lot of bass. Massio ignited the first set of the session at the iconic Sahara stage, unleashing a fiery wave of organic Afro house rhythms. His performance featured the much-anticipated Bona Fide Remix of ‘Neo Yame’, a standout track infused with the soulful vocals of RedRos8e that added an unmistakable African essence. This powerful tune, a collaboration with Joseph Kaz, set the tone for what would be an unforgettable start to the weekend.
Backstage at Sahara, we got an exclusive peek at Alok’s rehearsal—complete with 50 live dancers and a powerful message to ‘Keep Art Human.’ It was a poetic statement in a time when AI buzzes louder than ever. Coachella has always been about feeling, and this performance reminded us why nothing artificial can replicate soul.
Inside the icy oasis of Yuma, Beltran brought the temperature right back up with infectious Brazilian-infused tech minimalism, blending remixes like Kelis’ ‘Bossy’ with his own heavier cuts like ‘Smack Yo’ and ‘Firewhip’. He dropped more signature grunge-y underground beats with unreleased tracks like ‘Sunday Afternoon’ by LuSiD, setting the precedent for the rest of his high-octane set. The vibe: sweaty, ecstatic, and fully locked in.
Golden hour belonged to The Martinez Brothers x Loco Dice at Quasar. Their B2B was a rhythmic odyssey of their signature rolling, thick basslines and bouncy percussive drops like those in ‘Brazuca’ by Sunday Noise. At one point, they cracked the crowd wide open with a tech-house twist on Michael Jackson’s ‘Off The Wall’ – pure dancefloor nostalgia with a futuristic edge. Back in Yuma, BBC Radio’s Pete Tong and Ahmed Spins delivered a genre-bending set of Afro house, tribal electronica, and groove-laden deep house that transformed Yuma into a sonic melting pot – from ethereal, sensual tracks like ‘Waterfall’ by Ahmed Spins and Elderbrook to the uplifting, chilling piano riffs heard in ‘Lola’s Theme’ (Tripolism Remix) by The Shapeshifters.
Then came the crown jewel, Chris Stussy – a name that practically set the Yuma ablaze. Mixing soulful tech house with electro-tinged polish, his set, anchored by his masterpiece ‘Desire’, struck that elusive balance between sublime and seismic. The line outside the tent? Biblical. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, Crankdat threw a surprise set and detonated a DnB/Dubstep bombshell that had the entire valley shaking to close out the Do Lab.
Saturday was equally saturated in sound. Disco Lines kept it light-hearted at Sahara, with pop-infused, high energy tracks like ‘Techno and Tequila’ and the star of the show, his track ‘Wide Open’, while SOSA and Kaz James commanded the decks at Do LaB with electric and hip-hop grooves like ‘Liqour Store’ by Joel Corry and ‘Rocker In The Disco’ by Kaz James.
A B2B2B of Barry Can’t Swim, Salute, and 2manydjs turned Quasar into a rhythmic thunderstorm of synths and stabs with tracks like ‘Easy’ by Tiga, Chloé Caillet and Luke Alexi’s ‘The One’ featuring legend Jocelyn Brown, and ‘Second Story’ by Mark Knight.
Keinemusik closed Sahara with a spellbinding Afro house set, with the trio paying plenty of homage to their recent classics, including ‘Move’ and ‘Say What’, while slipping in personal favorite gems like DSF’s vibrant ‘Don’t Stress Me’ off label Rhythmica. They also included some highly anticipated unreleased cuts like ‘Positions’, leaving fans suspended between memory and anticipation.
Sunday unfolded with Tom Breu’s melodic house set, which featured a surprise guest appearance from JOPLYN, where they played their new emotionally charged anthem ‘TOGETHER 2.0’ live at the climax, preceded by free-spirited tracks like ‘Sweat!’ by Disfreq and ‘With You’ by Tom Breu and Sion Louks.
Quasar erupted that evening with a fiery unannounced set by Odd Mob, busting out banger after banger of his including ‘All Day, All Night’, his edit of ‘Deceiver’ with Green Velvet, John Summit’s ‘Palm of My Hands’ remix, and ‘Won’t Be Possible’ with Tiësto.
Speaking of Tiësto, he took the reins next and carried us into nightfall, crafting a euphoric sunset soundtrack that was part throwback, part evolution, blending tracks like Fred again..’s ‘Jungle’, Vintage Culture’s remix of ‘Sweet Disposition’ by The Temper Trap, and ‘Holding On (feat. rhys from the sticks)’ by Anti Up. Of course, his own anthems made their mark – tracks like ‘Raven’ with Sidepiece and ‘I Follow Rivers’ with Oaks bridged day and night with ease. Safe to say, anticipation is sky-high for his ‘Searching for Sunrise’ set at EDC Las Vegas next month.
Weekend 2: The Breezy Afterglow
Where Weekend 1 brought the heat, Weekend 2 cooled things off with a more relaxed, though no less electrifying vibe.
Loboman brought breezy, pop-infused house to Sahara kicking off Weekend 2 with tracks like Laszewo’s ‘Messy’ (a favorite anthem of this year’s festival), Fisher’s ‘Stay’, and Jamy Nox’s remix of ‘It Feels So Good (feat. Sonique)’ by Matt Sassari and HUGEL, setting the stage for Chris Lorenzo, who followed with a fat stack of his tech-house slammers like ‘U Should Not Be Doing That’. Lorenzo’s signature tech and bass had Sahara properly amped up with layered anthems like ‘Bad Bitch’ with Chynna and ‘MAMI’ with COBRAH.
We caught up with artist Stephanie Lin in the midday heat, the creative force behind ‘Taffy’, a towering desert installation composed of pastel-hued cylinders. Inspired by mid-century desert modernism, the sculpture shifted in tone and texture with the movement of the sun. Designed as both a visual anchor and a place of rest, ‘Taffy’ quietly underscored the deep connection between music, art, and the environment that defines the Coachella experience.
Max Styler has been one to watch, and his surprise Do LaB set Friday evening proved why. From the jump, heaters like ‘On Repeat’, ‘I Know You Want To’, and ‘See You Sweat’ had the crowd in a frenzy, dripping with energy and bass. Just when things couldn’t get hotter, he dropped a blistering remix of Bronski Beat’s ‘Smalltown Boy’, sending a shockwave through the dance floor. Bold, nostalgic, and high-octane – Styler delivered one of the weekend’s most unforgettable sets.
Vintage Culture again proved why he’s one of the scene’s emotional anchors. This weekend saw less techno, more tropical, and dance-floor focused. His remixes of ‘Ayo Technology’, and Empire of the Sun’s ‘Cherry Blossom’, plus tracks like Max Styler’s ‘Inferno’ lit the night on fire.
Saturday saw Pretty Girl heat up the Do LaB with her standout track ‘Rain Falls’ while over at Quasar, Kaskade Redux x Idris delivered what could only be described as a trance-laced love letter to millennial ravers, complete with ‘4AM’ synth nostalgia, tracks like ‘Tears Don’t Fall’ by Kaskade and Enisa, ‘Weak’ by Vintage Culture, Tom Breu, and Maverick Sabre, and Nic Fanciulli’s Remix of ‘Rhyme Dust’ by MK and Dom Dolla, leading us to one of the greatest standout sets of the weekend.
The Snakehips x What So Not B2B delivered a jaw-dropping bass-heavy 15 new tracks to Do LaB, plus What So Not’s ‘Mercy’ remix by Jon Casey and his much-loved track ‘Jaguar’, and Snakehips dropped his epic track ‘All My Friends’. Mau P burned Sahara to the ground with the track that saw him rise to international stardom, ‘Drugs From Amsterdam’, and a wild tech-trap hybrid remix of ‘Beats for Underground’ that broke the damn desert floor.
The night ended with another Keinemusik showcase – different set, same intoxicating groove. ‘Not Going Home’ and ‘More Love’ were crowd favorites, spun with that signature hypnotic warmth. Plus, they dropped a sick remix of Charli XCX’s fan favorite ‘360’, an homage to the artist who played her own hell of a set both weekends.
Sunday closed with pure gold. Tripolism kicked off Yuma with heaters like ‘Dope Dance’ and ‘Flying Away With You’, ending in a three-way group huge – because why not? Infectious, wholesome, and hard-hitting. Sammy Virji and friends (Salute and Interplanetary Criminal, anyone?) snuck in with a surprise UKG set that had Do LaB shaking, including Sammy’s tracks like ‘Damager’, ‘Goodums’, and Interplanetary Criminal’s ‘Slow Burner’. Did the US deserve this UKG goodness? We’ll let you decide.
Sparrow and Barbossa’s tribal-fueled progressive house made for a mesmerizing Yuma experience with soaring remixes of ‘Dirty Cash’ and ‘Champion’, while Gorgon City x Alesso Body Hi lit up Quasar with radiant chemistry, felt between tracks like ‘Touch’ by Gorgon City & Max Styler and ‘Lonely Heart’ by Alesso and John Alto. Zedd then took the Outdoor Stage by storm, closing with fan favorite ‘Clarity’ accompanied by the whole crowd belting every lyric and the LA Philharmonic. Yes, you read that right. An orchestra. At Coachella. For EDM. Plus, he brought out Incubus for ‘Wish You Were Here’; pretty sweet.
Polo & Pan followed, serenading the stars with cuts from their new album ’22:22′, amongst our favorites being ‘Disco Nap’ and a live performance of ‘22:23’ with Vico. The duo playing their beloved track ‘Mirror’ was the perfect coda to close the festival on a dreamy, synth-soaked note that still has us reminiscing.
There was just one more surprise. The tech house maestro himself, Mau P, circled back again to close out at Do LaB before it was all just a distant memory.
One Festival, Two Stories
Coachella 2025 reminded us why it remains the crown jewel of the global festival circuit. Weekend 1 was fire and frenzy; Weekend 2 was breeze and bliss. But both shared the same heartbeat – one that echoed through the desert long after the last beat dropped.
Coachella 2025 was a reminder. Of rhythm. Of connection. Of the ways sound can still surprise, stir, and unite us. Whether sweating under the mirrored disco shark at Yuma or getting down at Quasar to a sunset bassline, the energy never dipped.
Two weekends. Infinite beats. And the feeling that somehow, it all mattered.
See you under the desert sky next year.
Xx,
Chesney
