Every year, whether you’re interested or not, it’s quite hard to avoid hearing about Coachella when April comes around. Social media feeds start to overflow with videos of Coachella outfits, Coachella performances and undoubtedly some form of Coachella drama. Coachella itself is technically recognized as a music and arts festival, but more accurately could be described as a massive networking event for influencers and companies to enjoy, as ‘regular’ civilians suffer in massive crowds, long lines and sweltering heat.

Something I found particularly interesting this year was following along with non-influencers’ experiences at the event. Those who aren’t sent by companies or able to buy an Airbnb in the area, instead camp out in a designated area near festival grounds. In said area, there are rows upon rows of cars and tents where people commit to spending the next three days on limited resources. I personally could never fathom the idea of both sleeping outside in the desert, or leaving all of my belongings out in the open for hours during the day, but I suppose if I were interested in attending the festival, that certainly would be more appealing than dropping another thousand dollars on housing nearby.

Coachella 2026 was the 25th year of the festival, spanning two weekends and headlined by Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G. Sabrina Carpenter and Karol G both put on insanely complex and impressive performances filled with choreography, visuals and electric energy. As someone who typically doesn’t pay much attention to the festival beyond major news, even I tuned in from a live stream to watch for these performances. Justin Bieber, who was arguably the most highly anticipated, ended up not meeting the expectations of most in attendance. I have mixed opinions about this because I didn’t necessarily have high expectations for his set, considering where he seems to be in his career, but at the same time, I know with absolute certainty if either of the female headliners had put such little effort into their sets, they would have been absolutely ripped apart and not given any of the grace so many gave Bieber. In addition to the headliners, however, I also got major FOMO from other sets throughout the weekend, including Swae Lee, who truly brought back 2016 energy, Blood Orange, Wet Leg and Royel Otis.

The two weekends of Coachella are typically treated as two completely different events: the first for companies and celebrities, and the second for ‘real fans,’ a notion that I generally would have considered dramatic, but this year I find understandable. Weekend one, there were hardly any guest performances, multiple sets were cut short and there were multiple technical malfunctions. During the second weekend, Sabrina Carpenter brought out Madonna to perform “Vogue” and “Like a Prayer,” and Justin Bieber brought out multiple guests as well, including Billie Eilish for “One Less Lonely Girl.” While these moments were incredibly exciting for me at home, they also bring me to my next point, and something that many people online have called attention to as well.

In almost every video I have seen of this year’s Coachella, it looks as though the audience has zero interest in what’s going on in front of them. Each time the live stream would pan to the crowd, all that was visible was a sea of phones attached to completely unmoving bodies. I will say, however, this is not even remotely a new concept. I feel like at every concert I have been to within the past ten years, everyone in the audience is more focused on recording the artist than actually enjoying the music. Now, I’m not one to tell people how to spend their own time at a show they spent money on, but it definitely does make me wonder why people prioritize recording and posting videos of a show rather than living in the moment, and this does not only apply to concerts. People are so concerned about how they are perceived and do things for the sole purpose of posting it, and I only wonder if we are losing the concept of living for ourselves and our own enjoyment… but I guess I can’t expect much more from the festival notorious for appealing to social media and influencers.