Music News

AMÉMÉ brought the Afro-house vibes to the Yuma Tent in 2022, which he’ll take over again this year. “You have to think about the crowd once they’re in motion; they throw back what you give them,” he told Paper three years ago.

The South African DJ/producer has solidified himself as a Coachella mainstay after taking over the Yuma Tent in 2016, Mojave Tent in 2018 and Sahara Stage in 2019 and 2022. “The music lovers that go to Coachella are people who are fully aware of the culture of music,” Black Coffee said in a weekend one recap video posted to his Facebook three years ago. “I’m nervous about the stage, though. It’s big, it’s a big stage. I’m very nervous about it, but I’m also looking forward to playing there. I’m always up for the challenge.”

The Afro-fusion superstar performed at Coachella for the first time in 2019, but seeing his name in the fine print of the festival lineup inspired him to speak out — and name his next album after what he prefers to be recognized as. “@coachella I really appreciate you. But I don’t appreciate the way my name is written so small in your bill,” he wrote in an Instagram Story. “I am an AFRICAN GIANT and will not be reduced to whatever that tiny writing means. Fix tings quick please.”

Three months later, he released his fourth studio album African Giant, which reached No. 104 on the Billboard 200 and earned Burna his first Grammy nomination in 2020 for best world music album. The “Last Last” hitmaker returned to the main Coachella stage four years later and hosted the birthday party of a lifetime, in theme with his 2022 album Love, Damini, which peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on World Albums and earned a 2023 Grammy nomination for best world music album. “Last time I was here, … you were a quarter of the size. This is a big blessing,” he told the crowd.

Congolese band Jupiter & Okwess exported its signature bofenia rock to the Gobi Tent two years ago. Frontman Jupiter Bokondji was one of several musicians who participated in an event hosted by U.N. representatives and the Sean Penn-co-founded emergency relief non-profit CORE during the first weekend of the festival that year to learn about artists’ role in promoting efforts to fight famine across the globe.

Major League Djz performed at the DoLab, a designated hub for electronic dance music within Coachella that has its own lineup, in 2022. “Performing at Coachella is a dream come true, and we are going to kill it and represent the amapiano culture at the highest level,” the twin brother DJ/producer duo told Drum ahead of their set.

Mbongwana Star brought its post-punk-meets-Congolese rumba sound from Kinshasha, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo — which the seven-piece band named its critically acclaimed 2015 debut album after — to the Gobi Tent in 2016. “We give it our all whether it is a big festival or small venue,” co-founding member Yakala “Coco” Ngambali told Buzz Bands ahead of the group’s performance.

Nigerien guitarist Mdou Moctar, known as the Hendrix of the Sahara, exported his psychedelic blend of hard rock and desert blues to a different desert halfway across the world when he took over the Gobi Tent last year. The Tuareg musician and his band performed at the festival a month before releasing his sixth studio album, Funeral for Justice.

Guinean-French MC MHD exported his signature Afro-trap from the 19th arrondissement of Paris to the Mojave Tent in 2018. “There’s always been this language barrier, but things are evolving, especially when I got invited to perform at Coachella,” he told BBC that year.

Mr. Eazi helped pave the way for more Afrobeats acts to perform at Coachella when he did the honors in 2019. “My name is Mr Eazi from Nigeria. Representing Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa — in fact, the whole of Africa,” he told the crowd at the main Coachella stage.

Sampa the Great became the first Zambian act to perform at Coachella in 2022. “Zambian bands don’t always tour internationally, they don’t always get success. We want to be able to live out our dreams and what came with it was being the first Zambian band to do it. It feels good to show younger Zambians that you can do this too,” she told The Guardian shortly after her historic set at the Gobi Tent.

Spinall became the first Afrobeats DJ to perform at Coachella in 2024. He brought out his “Sere” collaborator Fireboy DML and his “Psalm 23” collaborator Teni to the Sahara Tent for his history-making set.

The Nigerian singer-songwriter’s certified smashes and soon-to-be hits shared the stage at Mojave Tent last year. She not only brought out Wizkid and Justin Bieber to perform their Hot 100 top 10 collab “Essence,” but she also live debuted her new single “Love Me JeJe” ahead of her debut studio album Born in the Wild. The fan-favorite song reached the top 40 of Rhythmic Airplay and won a 2025 Grammy for best African music performance.

Uncle Waffles became the first amapiano act to perform at Coachella in 2023. “The sound deserves to be on stages this big,” she told Billboard ahead of her historic set at the Sonora Tent. She was also one of the surprise DJs at the Do Lab.