Post Malone and Megan Thee Stallion will headline the final day of the 2025 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival Sunday, two days after the annual festival touched off a political controversy with messages of support for Palestinians in Gaza and profane criticism of Israel.
The Irish hip-hop band Kneecap displayed a large sign behind the stage during their set Friday bearing the digital message: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. It is being enabled by the US who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. F___ Israel, Free Palestine.”
Band member Mo Chara told the crowd that “the Palestinians have nowhere to go. It’s their f___ing home. And they’re bombing them from the skies. If you’re not calling it a genocide what … are you calling it?”
Kneecap are a trio from Northern Ireland whose music features skillful rapping set to driving electronic beats. They rap in both English and Irish Gaelic, and their lyrics often focus on the theme of independence from Great Britain.
The band was featured in the 2024 comedy biopic “Kneecap.”
Kneecap also displayed similar anti-Israel messages during their set on Coachella’s first weekend, but those images were cut from the concert’s live feed.
“Our messaging on the US-backed genocide in Gaza somehow never appeared on screens either,” they wrote last week: “Back next Friday Coachella and it’ll be sorted.”
The American band Green Day also got political during their set on Saturday, when lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong changed a lyric in the 2004 song “Jesus of Suburbia” from “Runnin’ away from pain when you’ve been victimized” to “Running away from pain like the kids from Palestine.”
Attempts to reach Coachella organizers for a comment on Kneecap’s political messages Sunday were not immediately successful.
Politics also mixed with music during the festival’s first weekend, when Sen. Bernie Sanders made a surprise appearance during singer-songwriter Clairo’s set on April 13, telling the crowd, “You can turn away and ignore what goes on, but if you do, you do it at your own peril.”
Sunday’s finale at the Empire Polo Club grounds in Indio will also include performances from Junior H, Shaboozey, Soft Play, Kraftwerk, Muni Long, Tripolism, Ty Dolla $ign, Circle Jerks, Basement Jaxx and others.
Saturday’s Coachella highlights included Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil featuring “Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, headliner Travis Scott, El Malilla, T-Pain, Charli xcx, Jimmy Eat World and Record Safari.
On Friday, a Lady Gaga headset mic malfunction, and her decision to power through it, won praise from fans in Indio — and online.
As her microphone started making crackling sounds before shutting down, Gaga kept singing — and dancing — to her hit “Abracadabra” while making a smooth transition to a handheld mic.
“I’m sorry my mic was broken for a second,” she told the crowd later in her set. “At least you know I sing live. I guess all we can do is our best, and I’m certainly giving you my best tonight.”
Social media quickly filled with mostly favorable reactions.
“I was watching it live while it happened, fan @nicholkola noted on Reddit. “… she’s a professional so she just used a mic the rest of the song. By the time the entire set was done, I forgot about the issues. She gives her all in her performances.”
Police Sgt. Abe Plata said Thursday’s camper arrivals went smoothly, after many motorists waited for hours in long lines to access the camping area during the first weekend. Festival organizers said they added more toll plazas for this weekend’s event to avoid a repeat of those waits.
Up to 40,000 campers were expected on-site, while thousands more stayed in area hotels or traveled daily via Interstate 10, ride-shares or private vehicles, organizers said.
Avenue 50, between Monroe Street and Madison Avenue, will remain closed until May 5 for the dual-weekend entertainment associated with Coachella, as well as the Stagecoach Music Festival. According to the city of Indio, there will be no access on Avenue 49, between Hjorth and Monroe streets, or along Avenue 50, between Jackson and Madison streets, or on Hjorth, from Avenues 49 to 50, or along Madison, between Avenues 49 and 52.
Officials cautioned travel delays will be heavy along Washington Street, between I-10 and Avenue 52, as well as on Jefferson Street and Avenues 48 and 52 going into the Empire Polo Club grounds. Extensive delays are also anticipated on Highway 111 at Jefferson and Monroe, and at all the exits into Indio from the freeway.
Options for slightly faster travel may be available on Jackson, Calhoun Street and Golf Center Parkway, going north- and southbound, while less vexing east- and westbound travel might be open on Fred Waring Drive, Miles Avenue and Dr. Carreon Boulevard, officials said.
Shuttle services were available from area hotels and motels daily.
A designated pay ride spot was also reserved for Uber and Lyft users at the southwest corner of Avenue 49 and Monroe, while family and taxicab pickups and drop-offs were designated on the northeast corner of Avenue 52 and Madison.
The Indio Police Department was receiving support from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and the California Highway Patrol throughout the event. Arrests for various, usually misdemeanor, violations are common during the celebrations, officials noted. The number of arrests during the first weekend increased by 17% compared to last year’s event, according to the Indio Police Department.
The highly-anticipated Stagecoach Music festival will follow next weekend, April 25 to 27, at the Empire Polo Club.