Sabrina Carpenter brings her hits (and Susan Sarandon?) to Coachella

by

“How are you all doing, Sabrinawood?” Sabrina Carpenter called out to the massive crowd at Coachella on Friday night. Looking out at the tens of thousands of fans, she added, “I can’t believe I’m actually headlining!”

“I mean, I can a little bit.”

During her first performance at Coachella in 2024, Carpenter, who started as a Disney star and has become a pop sensation, promised she’d return as a headliner someday.

She made a highly anticipated return this weekend, proving her status as a major music star. With two chart-topping hits and Grammy-nominated albums already to her name, she’s ready to share the story of how she achieved success.

Music

Sabrina Carpenter kicked off Coachella 2026 with a headlining performance, and the P-pop group Bini made their debut at the festival. Unfortunately, Anyma had to cancel their set due to strong winds. Check out photos of performances by The XX, Katseye, Turnstile, and others.

Going into Coachella, I was really curious to see what Julien Baker would do. I’d seen reports of her shows in L.A. – she’d played similar sets as recently as November – and wondered if she’d basically repeat what she’d been doing on tour for her albums, ‘Short n’ Sweet’ (coming out in 2025) and ‘Man’s Best Friend’ from last year. I was hoping for something a little different, honestly.

She impressively staged an elaborate performance that started with a video. In it, Sam Elliott plays a police officer who pulls over Carpenter as she’s driving to pursue her dreams in Hollywood. He lets her off with a warning, and then she unexpectedly appeared live at Coachella, walking a red-carpet-style path and ultimately performing on a stage designed to look exactly like the Hollywood Hills.

The first part of the concert included songs from the singer’s most recent albums. She performed “Please Please Please” while standing in a setup resembling a recording booth, and “When Did You Get Hot?” had a similar vibe to En Vogue’s “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It).” She also played an older song, “Because I Liked a Boy.”

Susan Sarandon then took the stage for a lengthy speech, seemingly about the difficulties of being a child star. It wasn’t entirely clear what her message was, and it felt like a misstep by the event organizer, as if they’d expected the Coachella audience to be interested in her personal reflections on growing up in the entertainment industry.

The woman sitting next to me said Carpenter needed to look fantastic, just as Sarandon kept delaying the singer’s outfit change.

After returning to the stage in leggings and a blue sweater, Carpenter performed “Go Go Juice” and “Sugar Talking” in a space that resembled a dance studio. She then blended a section of Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana (At the Copa)” into her song “Feather.” This was followed by Will Ferrell appearing as a frustrated stagehand, comically complaining about the complicated requirements of Carpenter’s performance—though the segment didn’t quite succeed.

She ended the performance powerfully with fast-paced renditions of “Juno,” “Espresso,” and “Goodbye” leading into “Tears.” This final song was accompanied by a spectacular water show, demonstrating Carpenter’s ability to deliver impressive visuals when she chooses to.

Read More

2026-04-12 21:06