These Legendary Coachella Performances Made Music History

Every year, Coachella festival brings together an exciting lineup of current pop stars, up-and-coming indie artists, and classic rock stars for a double weekend of non-stop musical performances.

Over the decades, Coachella has been home to some of the most noteworthy sets ever performed, with many legendary musicians using the opportunity to celebrate their entire careers on a big stage.

Everybody's favorite Coachella performance will ultimately come down to personal preference—but these are the biggest, most memorable, and most unforgettable sets ever delivered in the Coachella valley.

Radiohead (2004)

Radiohead have performed at Coachella multiple times, serving as the festival's headliners on three occasions. The first of these was in 2004, just after the release of their record Hail to the Thief.

The band had been internationally popular for almost a decade by this point, and that was reflected in the festival's record-high sales. Their 2004 set at Coachella marked the first sold-out headline act in the history of the festival.

The band performed a collection of their greatest hits from the past decade, including "Karma Police", "No Surprises", and "Creep". They would return in 2012, where they performed even more hit singles from In Rainbows and A Moon Shaped Pool.

Rage Against The Machine (1999)

Rage Against The Machine headlined the inaugural Coachella festival in 1999, and their performance was a defining moment in the group's history. They famously brought out Maynard James Keenan of Tool for a performance of "Know Your Enemy", which felt like a true passing-of-the-torch moment for the rock band.

The group performed the biggest hits from their commercially successful debut album, including "Killing in the Name" and "Bullet in the Head", and newer songs from their recent record The Battle of Los Angeles, such as "Testify".

Although their performance went down in rock history, the 1999 Coachella festival was a financial failure, and Rage Against The Machine ended up giving half of their earnings back to the festival organizers.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers (2013)

Coachella 2013 was Red Hot Chilli Peppers' third time headlining the festival, but it was certainly their most memorable. The band was announced as a headliner at the last minute, causing a huge surge in second-hand ticket sales and cementing them as the undeniable talking point of the event.

They closed the festival during intense winds and a destructive sandstorm, which only added to the heavy rock atmosphere of their set. The band performed an impeccable track list featuring "Scar Tissue", "Can't Stop", "Californication", and an unexpected cover of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground".

Blur (2024)

One of Coachella's more controversial performances, Blur headlined the festival in 2024 and later remarked that they would never return following a lacklustre response from the audience.

The Britpop icons performed beloved tracks like "Song 2" and "Boys & Girls", but frontman Damon Albarn was visibly unhappy with the response they received. He ended his set by prompting the audience to sing along—and when they didn't, he said: "you're never seeing us again so you might as well f**king sing it."