What’s the deal with Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails at Coachella?

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Rumors about the Coachella 2026 lineup started circulating before the official announcement, with artists like Sabrina Carpenter and Karol G being mentioned as potential headliners. Considering both artists had recently achieved significant success, these predictions weren’t surprising – they simply turned out to be accurate.

After releasing two albums, “Swag” and “Swag II,” in quick succession this summer, Justin Bieber was a natural fit to headline Saturday’s festival.

But the most exciting discovery within the festival’s detailed lineup was a surprising addition that quickly caught fans’ attention: performances by Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead, playing their *Kid A Mnesia* album as ‘The Bunker Debut.’ Considering the huge online buzz around both of these groups, here’s a quick rundown of what we know about their involvement.

It’s no surprise that dedicated Radiohead fans immediately took to social media to guess whether the band might make an unexpected appearance. With Radiohead having just announced their first live performances in seven years, many thought a show in Indio was a real possibility.

One fan pointed out Radiohead’s appearance on the Coachella lineup, and others quickly expressed their excitement about the potential debut of “Radiohead Kid A mnesia” at the festival.

Adding to the excitement, the Friday lineup also featured “Nine Inch Noize,” a new project combining Nine Inch Nails with electronic music producer Boys Noize (Alex Ridha). This marked Nine Inch Nails’ first time performing at the festival in nearly two decades, since 2005.

This is a simpler connection to understand. Recently, Boys Noize opened for Trent Reznor’s band on the “Peel It Back” tour and also created some remixes of their popular songs.

One fan pointed out that NIN is being billed as “Nine Inch Noize,” likely because Boys Noize is already part of the tour as a featured performer.

The performance featured a version of Nine Inch Nails’ song “Closer,” originally released in 1994 on the album “The Downward Spiral.” Boys Noize took the song’s existing electronic elements and amplified them, turning it into a high-energy techno track. During the show, Trent Reznor moved around enthusiastically under purple lighting, while Boys Noize skillfully mixed the music on his turntables.

After seeing a video of the performance online, fans flooded the comments section, asking for a recorded version of the remix. One commenter wrote, “I really need a studio recording of this!”

Boys Noize is also listed separately as a performer at the festival, on Saturday.

If you missed the release of Radiohead’s *Kid A Mnesia*, don’t worry! This album combines the best tracks from their albums *Kid A* and *Amnesiac*, which were originally released only eight months apart. When it came out in 2021, fans were excited after band members hinted at something new online, leading many to hope for a tour or even a completely new album.

It wasn’t the new, tenth studio album Radiohead fans had been hoping for – their last release, the hauntingly beautiful “A Moon Shaped Pool,” came out in 2016. Instead, they received “Kid A Mnesia.” Many believe the albums share a similar sound, leading to speculation that “Amnesiac” might have originally been material intended for “Kid A.”

It’s strange to see a project from 2022 listed on the Coachella 2026 lineup. Also, what exactly *is* the Bunker?

Radiohead won’t be performing at Coachella this year, according to a statement to The Times. While more information is expected, it’s confirmed the band won’t be physically present at the festival – they last played in 2017 and won’t be returning to Indio at this time.

As a big fan, I’ve been trying to figure out what ‘The Bunker’ actually *is*. It seems connected to this really cool, immersive experience the band put out in 2021 with the compilation album. They describe it as this wild, flipped-around digital and physical world, built from original artwork and recordings, and it’s basically a celebration of the 21st anniversary of *Kid A* and *Amnesiac*.

This fits with what Radiohead has been doing lately. In August, they launched an exhibition called “This Is What You Get” which showcases the band’s visual history. You can see it at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford until January 11, 2026.

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2025-09-19 20:01