ANAHEIM, Calif. — While texting with friends after the Britpop icons Oasis sold out two nights at the Rose Bowl this month, we ended up in a debate over whether the success of the Oasis reunion might get the band booked as a Coachella headliner for 2026.

The answer came late on Monday, Sept. 15, with the unexpectedly early drop of next year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and it was an unspoken but crystal-clear no.

Pop songstress Sabrina Carpenter headlines Friday — our chat thread nailed that one even before her name leaked a few days ago. Pop/R&B singer Justin Bieber gets Saturday, and Colombian reggaeton-pop star Karol G holds down Sunday night.

Pop, pop, pop goes the rock and roll headliners that used to be standard for Coachella. Which isn’t to say there’s no rock on the bill, there’s plenty, but that’s no longer what packs the festival field at the end of the day. If you wanna see Oasis play a big festival, start saving for a trip to the United Kingdom next summer, we suppose.

We took a dive into the lineup on Tuesday looking for trends and highlights for the festival next spring. Here’s what stood out.

They earned it

Both Sabrina Carpenter and Karol G have played the Coachella main stage in the past.

Carpenter’s sunset set in 2024 was a smash with the fans who cheered when Carpenter predicted the future that’s come to be, saying at the close, “See you back here when I headline!” Karol G also played the main stage in 2022, and now she’s worked her way up to headliner.

Bieber’s never had his own set at the desert fest, but he’s been a guest performer there four times, coming out to sing with Ariana Grande, Tems and Wizkid, Daniel Caesar and Chance the Rapper. So, in a different way, he, too, has earned his way in.

Still rockin’

Just because no rock bands have the clout to headline Coachella now doesn’t mean there’s not a lot of good rock and roll of many different genres to be found.

On Friday’s lineup, Nine Inch Noize, which is the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, plus the electronic music DJ/producer Boys Noize, and hardcore punkers Turnstile have prominent spots on the first line of the bill.

Saturday, meanwhile, sees indie rockers the Strokes listed second after Bieber, with quirky rock singer David Byrne and indie rock band Interpol also on the top line.

Sunday, the top-billed acts include punk godfather Iggy Pop and British rock band Wet Leg, with old-school Southern California punk bands Black Flag and Suicidal Tendencies lower in the day’s lineup.

Desert spectacles

The 2026 Coachella poster also includes two wild cards not clearly linked to a time, day or location at the festival.

Italian-American DJ/producer Anyma is listed below the Sunday lineup as presenting the world premiere of Aeden. Anyma, who has performed at Coachella in past years, is known for the visual spectacle of his shows.

Earlier in 2025, he became the electronic music artist to play a residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas, doing a run of shows there inspired by his album “Genesys” that included guest vocalists such as Ellie Goulding, Luke Steele of Empire of the Sun, FKA Twigs, who is also on the Coachella lineup for 2026, and Grimes.

Then, at the very bottom of the poster in a font size so small you might miss it on first glance, is that announcement of “the bunker debut of Radiohead Kid A Mnesia What the bunker is remains to be determined, but further research gives clues to what the performance or event will be.

Several years ago, Radiohead put together an art exhibit titled Kid A Mnesia to tie together art and music from two of the band’s albums, “Kid A” and “Amnesiac.” Original plans to make it a physical exhibition built inside shipping containers fell through due to site logistics and then the pandemic, so the project ultimately appeared only as a virtual exhibit online.

This announcement sure feels like Radiohead will finally get the physical exhibition of music and art it originally wanted. And, given that the band has decided to tour for the first time since 2018, perhaps the indie electronic rock band will make a surprise appearance at Coachella, too? One can hope.

Catch a rising star

Most Coachellas include one or two acts that start to breakout big between the time they’re announced to play the fest and the time they reach the desert.

Chappell Roan had an overflow crowd in the Gobi tent in 2024, which signaled her rocketing to huge stardom as that year rolled on. Lizzo had much the same experience in the larger Mojave tent in 2019.

With this lineup dropping seven months before the fest, it seems even more likely, so who’s gonna break out in 2026?

Here are a few guesses:

The girl group Katseye, described as the first global K-pop act due to the varied nationalities of its six members, already has started to soar. Their recent Gap ad, which was seen as a response to the American Eagle Sidney Sweeney ad, racked up 400 million views online within its first three days of release.

Irish singer CMAT is a festival star in Ireland and the United Kingdom, and her style of country-flavored R&B might grab fans of artists such as Lola Young, Adele and Amy Winehouse.

We’d say Addison Rae, who turned TikTok influencer fame into a music career, but she’s making her debut at the fest as the fourth-highest listed act on Saturday, so how much bigger could she be by April?

It’ll probably end up someone entirely unexpected, of course, though we can hope it’s one of the acts we’ve never heard of but whose names will be so much fun to write – c’mon Freak Slug, our money’s on you!

Classic rhythms ‘n beats

There are no buzzy reunions on the bill so far, but there are acts who’ve got long histories who will be fun for fans in search of something familiar and nostalgic.

Remember when Devo said they were going to stop touring a few years ago? Yeah, neither does Devo, who after clarifying that the report wasn’t entirely accurate, have continued to play shows and festivals regularly. They’ll appear on Friday, so polish your red energy domes early.

There are also a few terrific older electronic music artists, including Groove Armada, whose hit “I See You, Baby” will be a joyful ode to shaking that bleep come Friday, and Norwegian duo Röyksopp, whose blissed-out sounds are gonna feel great at the end of Sunday.

As far as the oldest of old school, the Bob Baker Marionettes will make their Coachella debut 62 years after the Bob Baker Marionette Theater opened in Los Angeles.

You ask, Who do these marionettes think they are coming to Coachella? Yo Gabba Gabba, the surprise kids-oriented show that was a hit at the fest in 2025, would like to have a word.

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