Usually announced in the first or second week of January, the 2025 Coachella lineup came early this year and dropped early November. I was sitting in the library studying with some friends when we heard it came out, and excitedly rushed to our phones (which we totally weren’t on before) to see what Coachella had to offer this year. You see, we were planning on going this year for the first time, taking advantage of our years as UCLA students to go to one of the most renowned festivals in the world. Yet, when we looked over the lineup with a glint in our eyes in hopes of feeling an unbearable excitement– that feeling just did not come.Â
Is a festival ever worth spending $500+ dollars for? I think it can be. Considering how unbelievably expensive individual artist/group tours are, especially in LA and broader California, (for example, tickets for Kendrick Lamar and SZA were over $300 just for nosebleeds) you certainly get the bang for your buck when you go to a festival filled with popular artists. However, $500 is a hefty price to pay no matter what, and that’s not including everything else that comes with what it means to go to Coachella– accommodation, transportation, outfits, etc.Â
So, all things considered, in my very personal opinion; no, Coachella is not quite worth the pricey ticket this year. Let me explain.
For starters, the lineup is not exactly what I was looking for, or rather, hoping for. Lady Gaga is awesome, and so talented– she hasn’t been to Coachella since 2017 when she stepped in for a pregnant Beyonce, so I’m sure she will put on a great performance. I’m also predicting, with strong confidence, a Bruno Mars appearance, because of their hit single “Die With A Smile” released just this past year. So, I support this. Green Day, too, is of course a classic choice, sure to please the mostly older crowd (surprisingly) that are Coachella attendees, and it will be their first time ever at Coachella. Lastly, Post Malone will finish up on Sunday. Posty is a great singer, don’t get me wrong, but this was a surprising choice for a headliner for me. I am personally not that interested in his new country era; I saw it when he was not even a headliner at Outsides Lands 2024 for a special country set, and he didn’t even perform songs off his new album. I do believe he will be playing a greater selection of his music career this time, so there’s that.
So, the headliners are all respectable artists, of course. They have to be. However, are they particularly relevant and interesting now for my age group? I don’t think so. No Chappell Roan? Or Sabrina Carpenter? Lana and Tyler alone threw this out of the park this year. Why isn’t CharliXCX just a headliner? Where’s some big hip-hop and rap artists? I’m confused about Travis’s set– debuting his new album would be incredible, though, but from the poster I didn’t even realize he would be performing (Travis Scott Designs the Desert?). I needed something like the 2022 lineup (Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, and Ye). Instead, 2024 is a good lineup, but not something I would be devastated I was missing. The FOMO isn’t there. This lineup simply isn’t Coachella-hype worthy.
What really ruins this lineup for me, however, is the rest of the artists. I like many of the names I see– Meg Thee Stallion, Missy Elliot, Clairo, Keinemusik, FKA twigs, etc. Even Yo Gabba Gabba. There’s something for everyone there. Yet, it’s not enough to carry an overall mid lineup, especially compared to previous years.Â
Thus, the combination of the price and its overall lineup in comparison to both previous years and other, similar festivals that are also cheaper make Coachella 2025 a flop for me. I won’t blame you if you go– I’m sure it’s still going to be awesome if you are simply a music or festival lover. Personally, I’m planning on saving Coachella for another year and going to Rolling Loud or something else instead.Â