A suspicious gap in a tour schedule. A previous Coachella feature. An industry whisper. The internet is starting to gather clues about who could be performing at next year’s festival.
On Sept. 1, Hits Daily Double — a music industry trade publication that frequently reports booking information before festivals officially announce it — published a piece on Coachella negotiation rumors.
Hits reported that attendees should expect psychedelic rock band Tame Impala and pop star Dua Lipa to fill two of the headliner spots, while they could not confidently settle on the third.
Tame Impala, led by Kevin Parker, has a convenient break in his tour schedule to fit the April festival. He will finish the North American leg of his Deadbeat Tour in September and will take on Australia in October. He doesn’t head back on the road until late May, with the April Coachella dates open.
Parker reached new levels of success this year with the release of “Dracula (JENNIE Remix),” which has remained on the Billboard Global 200 list for over 48 weeks.
His song “Loser” was featured in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” and it became No. 3 on the Billboard Global 200 list just one month after the film’s release.
Tame Impala headlined Coachella in 2019 and made appearances at the festival in 2011, 2013 and 2015.
Dua Lipa has never headlined Coachella, nor performed a full solo set at the festival.
The pop star’s song “Training Season” has been on the Billboard Global 200 for 34 weeks, peaking at the No. 3 spot in September. She became known across the globe in 2017 with her breakout single “New Rules.”
Hits and festival fans alike are heavily debating the final headliner spot.
Hits hinted that Goldenvoice, the creators and producers behind Coachella, are trying to sign a deal with BTS.
The K-Pop band wraps their Arirang World Tour on March 16, 2027, in perfect time for the April festival.
Rumors of SZA performing are also spreading. At Coachella 2026, Justin Bieber brought out SZA as a special guest during his headline set on Weekend 2 to perform her song “Snooze.”
Others, including Bruno Mars, Olivia Rodrigo and Miley Cyrus, were on the list, but had other commitments.
Hits Daily Double has a history of accurate headline predictions. They predicted Sabrina Carpenter and KAROL G would headline Coachella 2026. While they did not foresee Justin Bieber taking one of the coveted spots, they did note that Anyma “could have a major Coachella moment.” The DJ filled the big EDM booking whose name is featured in as large a font as headliners on the infamous Coachella poster.
Hits believes British DJ Fred again.. will fill that EDM spot for Coachella 2027.
For the past two festivals, the lineup has dropped earlier than ever before.
Last year’s release date has led Coachella fans to believe that this year’s lineup could drop any day now. Fans are on the edge of their seats.
Acton Motsick, a sophomore studying philosophy, politics and law, is specifically excited for one of the predicted headliners.
“Tame Impala would be amazing at Coachella,” Motsick said. “I feel like they would do good lighting, and people would feel that.”
Charlotte Crawford, an acting for stage and screen sophomore, would like to see other artists on the desert stage.
“Always and forever Billie Eilish,” Crawford said. “She is such a good performer, and I love all of her music, so I’d love to see her. Or Zara Larsson has had a really good year. I think it would be really fun to dress up for her concert.”
Julia Carvalho, a business of cinematic arts junior, has already bought her tickets for next year’s festival.
“This is going to be my first Coachella,” Carvalho said. “I grew up really wanting to go. Especially in 2024, which would have been my freshman year, the lineup was insane. It was Lana Del Rey, NO DOUBT – the lineup was crazy. I feel like that set the tone of having FOMO.”
Carvalho said she’s just eager to be on the festival grounds.
“Honestly, I’m most excited to see the fairgrounds as someone who hasn’t gone before and see how it’s actually set up physically in person,” she said. “I’m excited to see how they put on this big production in the middle of a city.”